THE GREAT DEPRESSION – USING CENSUS DATA TO ADDRESS AN ECONOMIC CRISIS

STUDENT VERSION

Activity Items

These items are part of this activity and appear at the end:

• Item 1: Unemployment Census Photo
• Item 2: Map of the United States Showing Geographic Divisions: 1937
• Item 3: Percentage of People Ages 15–74 Who Were Unemployed or Partly Unemployed, by Sex, by Region: 1937

What I Will Learn

• I will study map data about U.S. unemployment (people without jobs) in 1937. I will explain why collecting this kind of information was important during the Great Depression, a time between the regular census counts.
• I will form an opinion about the New Deal, a set of government programs, and back it up with real data.

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Introduction

The U.S. government counts every person in the country every ten years. This count is called the decennial census (say it: dee-SEN-ee-ul). During the 1930 census, taken near the start of the Great Depression, people were asked if they had a job. The Great Depression was a period when the economy crashed and many people lost their jobs and money.

If someone hadn't worked the day before the census taker came, they were asked more questions. These included whether they were able to work, how their job search was going, how long they had worked before, and why they had lost their job.

But lawmakers needed more information, and they needed it more often, to understand how bad the crisis really was. This information would help them create and support the New Deal, a group of programs meant to help people and fix the economy.

So in 1937, three years before the next full census, the Census Bureau ran two special surveys about unemployment. The first was sent to every home in the country, and people could choose whether or not to fill it out. The second was called the Enumerative Check Census. It was sent to about 510,000 households. This was the first time the government tried to estimate unemployment across the whole country by studying a random sample, or small selected group, of the population.

The Census Bureau picked areas along mail routes to survey, skipping business districts. However, this meant that 18 percent of people who didn't live along a mail route were left out. Because of this, the survey wasn't as accurate as hoped. (See Item 1: Unemployment Census Photo for more.)

The first survey went to every home, but many people didn't report that they were unemployed, so the results were too low. The Enumerative Check Census actually gave a more accurate picture of unemployment across the nation.

In 1940, the Census Bureau used statistical sampling for the first time during a full decennial census. Sampling means asking only a smaller, randomly chosen group of people extra questions instead of asking everyone. This let the government learn more detailed information without spending a lot of extra money or bothering every single household. That year, census workers, called enumerators, asked a random 5 percent of the population additional questions beyond the regular census form. The Census Bureau then used the answers from this sample to make estimates about the entire country.

Sampling continued to be used in every decennial census through the end of the 1900s. A certain percentage of people were asked to fill out longer forms with more detailed questions. Today, the Census Bureau collects this kind of detailed information every month through a survey called the American Community Survey.

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Questions

1. During the 1930 Census, right after the stock market crash of 1929 and the start of the Great Depression, why might people have been unwilling to tell an enumerator about their job situation in person?

1. What were the good points and bad points of collecting unemployment data in 1937, between the regular census years of 1930 and 1940?

1. What were the good points and bad points of asking a random sample of people extra questions beyond the normal census questions?

1. Look at Item 2 (the map of U.S. regions in 1937) and Item 3 (the unemployment percentages by region). Which region or regions had the highest percentage of unemployed men and women?

1. Which region likely needed the least amount of money for New Deal programs? Use data from Item 3 to explain your answer.

1. Imagine you are a member of Congress in 1938. President Franklin D. Roosevelt is asking for more money for the New Deal. Using data from Item 3 and what you know about this time period, argue for or against giving the New Deal more funding.

1. Which New Deal programs, started between 1930 and 1940, could have been helped by having good unemployment statistics?

1. Besides employment, what other topics do you think would have been useful to ask about in the survey? This could help lawmakers understand how the Great Depression affected American families.

1. What kinds of questions do you think are important to include in today's American Community Survey to track important trends among people in the United States?

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Item 1: Unemployment Census Photo

Census Bureau Director William L. Austin and Unemployment Census Director John D. Biggers watch as questionnaires from the 1937 unemployment survey are received and checked in, on November 24, 1937.

www.census.gov/history/www/sights_sounds/photos/1930_photos.php#
Click the link above to see the photo gallery online.

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Item 2: Map of the United States Showing Geographic Divisions: 1937

archive.org/stream/censusofpartiale04bigg#page/76/mode/2up
Click the link above to see the original map.

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Item 3: Percentage of the Population 15 to 74 Years of Age in Enumerative Check Areas Unemployed (Including Emergency Workers) and Partly Unemployed, by Sex, for Geographic Divisions: 1937

archive.org/stream/censusofpartiale04bigg#biggpage/78/mode/2up
Click the link above to see the original maps.