# PUBLIC USE SAMPLE OF THE 1880 CENSUS

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA · 1993 · $193,663

## Abstract

This proposal seeks funding to create and distribute a nationally
representative 1 in 500 Public Use Microdata Sample of the 1880 United
States Population Census.  Public Use samples already exist for the census
years 1900, 1910, 1940, 1950, 1960, 1970, and 1980.  Although the
historical samples for the period 1900-1950 have only been available for a
few years, they have already led to an outpouring of new research on the
nature of long-term social change.  An 1880 census file will not only
constitute an invaluable resource in its own right, but will also enhance
the value of the previously created public use samples; used in
combination, the eight data sets spanning a century of cataclysmic social
and economic change will comprise our most important resource for the study
of changing social structure.  Microdata files allow researchers to make
tabulations tailored to their specific research questions.  Without
individual-level data, even some of the basic questions about changing
social structure may be unanswerable because of the incompatibility of
published data for different census years.  In addition, the public use
samples have allowed researchers to move beyond simple tabular analysis and
apply increasingly sophisticated multivariate techniques.  The existence of
these data have dramatically increased the power of quantitative social
science research.

By extending the series backwards, the 1880 public use sample will both
provide a baseline for understanding the social change of the twentieth
century and greatly improve our understanding of American society in the
second half of the nineteenth century.  The late nineteenth century is a
critical period in the study of fertility decline, urbanization,
immigration, morbidity, household composition, and occupational structure.
The case for a sample from 1880 is especially compelling because although
the original enumeration was of unprecedented quality, many of the most
important variables were never tabulated.  The enumerator's manuscripts
therefore include a great deal of information on demography and social
structure that can only be taken advantage of through the creation of a new
microdata set.

In addition to converting a sample of the 1880 population into machine-
readable form, the project will evaluate the sample quality through
consistency checks, random spot verification, and comparison with aggregate
statistics in the published census volumes; edit and allocate missing,
illegible, and inconsistent data through logical rules and imputation
procedures; construct new variables on household composition and
relationships within families; create alternative coding schemes to ensure
that the 1880 sample is compatible with all other public use samples
currently available; and prepare documentation for the user file, including
detailed descriptions of the sampling and data processing procedures, and a
guide to the use of the sample.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 2199719
- **Project number:** 5R01HD025839-04
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA
- **SAM.gov UEI:** KABJZBBJ4B54
- **Principal Investigator:** Steve Ruggles
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 1993
- **Award amount:** $193,663
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 1989-12-01 → 1994-11-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/2199719

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 2199719, PUBLIC USE SAMPLE OF THE 1880 CENSUS (5R01HD025839-04). Retrieved via MORVS 2026-10-25 from https://api.morvs.ai/grant/nih/2199719. Licensed CC0.

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