Featured Datasets

• Union Army Recruits in Black Regiments in the United States, 1862-1865
• White Attitudes Toward Black Civil Equality in the Nineteenth Century: Iowa's Equal Rights Referenda of 1857, 1868, and 1880
• Hispanic Established Populations for Epidemiologic Studies of the Elderly, Wave III, 1998-1999: [Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas]
• Immigrants Admitted to the United States, 2000
• Mexican-American Families in Los Angeles, 1844-1880
• Survey of Consumer Attitudes and Behavior Series
• American Housing Survey Series
• The Multi-City Study of Urban Inequality

Union Army Recruits in Black Regiments in the United States, 1862-1865

This data collection was designed to examine the characteristics of free Blacks and ex-slaves mustered into the Union Army between 1862 and the end of the Civil War. In addition to variables on personal characteristics, such as skin, eye, and hair color; height; age; birthplace; and occupation before enlistment; the data also contain Army-related variables, such as regiment and company number; rank; enlistment date and place; changes in rank; and date and cause of end of service. (more) Judgmental sample of eight Black infantry regiments in the Union Army. The sample represents slightly under 5 percent of all Black troops and has wide regional coverage within the Southern states.

White Attitudes Toward Black Civil Equality in the Nineteenth Century: Iowa's Equal Rights Referenda of 1857, 1868, and 1880

The primary objective of this data collection was to provide a quantitative underpinning for the analysis of Northern racial attitudes in the United States during the Civil War era. The data contain the results of the three popular referenda on Black civil equality held in 1857, 1868, and 1880 in the state of Iowa: the first just prior to the onset of the Civil War,the second following the Civil War, and the third coming at the close of the Reconstruction period. (more) In order to provide a more comprehensive political context for these well-spaced referenda, the data files contain all relevant annual elections occurring in Iowa between August 1848 and June 1882, capturing the period of time beginning with the first elections involving antislavery candidates through the end of Reconstruction. The data contain results from 186 of 292 Iowa townships that had surviving 1857 referenda returns. Of the 186, 127 townships had records for all three of the referenda regarding the rights of Blacks (1857, 1868, and 1880)

Hispanic Established Populations for Epidemiologic Studies of the Elderly, Wave III, 1998-1999: [Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas]

This dataset comprises the second follow-up of the baseline Hispanic EPESE and provides information on 1,980 of the original respondents. The Hispanic EPESE collected data on a representative sample of community-dwelling Mexican-American elderly, aged 65 years and older, residing in the five southwestern states of Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas. The primary purpose of the series was to provide estimates of the prevalence of key physical health conditions, mental health conditions, and functional impairments in older Mexican Americans and to compare these estimates with those for other populations. (more) The Hispanic EPESE attempted to determine whether certain risk factors for mortality and morbidity operate differently in Mexican Americans than in non-Hispanic White Americans, African Americans, and other major ethnic groups. The public-use data cover background characteristics (age, sex, origin of Hispanic ethnicity, income, education, marital status, number of children, employment, and religion), height, weight, social and physical functioning, chronic conditions, related health problems, health habits, self-reported use of dental, hospital, and nursing home services, and depression. The follow-ups provide a cross-sectional examination of the predictors of mortality, changes in health outcomes, and institutionalization and other changes in living arrangements, as well as changes in life situations and quality of life issues.

Immigrants Admitted to the United States, 2000

This data collection contains information on the characteristics of aliens who became permanent legal residents of the United States in fiscal year 2000 (October 1999 through September 2000). Data are presented for two types of immigrants.(more) The first category, new arrivals, arrived from outside the United States with valid immigration visas issued by the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service. The second category, adjustments, were already in the United States with temporary status and were adjusted to legal permanent residence through petition to the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service. Variables include port of entry, month and year of admission, class of admission, and state and area to which the immigrants were admitted. Demographic information such as age, sex, marital status, occupation, country of birth, country of last permanent residence, and nationality is also provided.

Mexican-American Families in Los Angeles, 1844-1880

This data collection contains two data files created from manuscript census returns. Part 1 is an aggregation of social characteristics of Spanish-surnamed and Mexican-born families in the city of Los Angeles from 1844-1880. The data were used to study family composition and socioeconomic mobility. (more) Data items include real property held by head of household (1844, 1850, and 1880 missing), number of children in household, number of adults who were literate in household (no data for 1844), last name of head of household, place of birth of head of household, and occupational category (i.e., rancher or farmer, professional, mercantile, clerk, skilled, and unskilled). Part 2 is composed of data used to study the socioeconomic development of the Mexican-American community in Los Angeles. The main emphasis was on an analysis of literacy, occupational mobility, schooling, family structure, demographic changes, and property mobility.

Survey of Consumer Attitudes and Behavior Series

These surveys were undertaken to measure changes in consumer attitudes and expectations, to understand why these changes occur, and to evaluate how they relate to consumer decisions to save, borrow, or make discretionary purchases. This type of information is essential for forecasting changes in aggregate consumer behavior. Since the late 1940s, these surveys have been produced quarterly through 1977 and monthly thereafter. (more) Each monthly survey probes a different aspect of consumer confidence. Open-ended questions are asked concerning evaluations and expectations about personal finances, employment, price changes, and the national business situation. Additional questions probe buying intentions for automobiles and the respondent's appraisals of present market conditions for purchasing houses, automobiles, and other durables. Demographic information includes ethnic origin, sex, age, and education.

American Housing Survey Series

The American Housing Surveys (AHS), prior to 1984 called the Annual Housing Surveys, were first conducted in 1973 by the United States Bureau of the Census. This series comprises two types of data collections: a national survey of housing units, and surveys of housing units in selected metropolitan areas. The interviews cover core questions that are repeated each year, and an additional set of questions on recurring or one-time supplemental topics. (more) Beginning with the 1997 data, these were combined by the Census Bureau into one collection, called the National Microdata. The metropolitan-area data were originally released as SMSA Files, MSA Files, MSA Core Files, MSA Core Question Files, and MSA Core and Supplement Files. Supplemental data on transportation were released in Travel-to-Work Files for some survey years, in addition to the data on this topic contained in the national datasets. Other recurring supplementary topics include mobility, second and mobile homes, disabilities, cars and major appliances, energy conservation, housing modifications, and additional questions on housing and neighborhood quality. An important feature of these surveys is that generally the same housing units remain in the sample year after year, and it is the housing unit rather than its occupants that is followed.

The Multi-City Study of Urban Inequality

The Multi-City Study of Urban Inequality was designed to broaden the understanding of how changing labor market dynamics, racial attitudes and stereotypes, and racial residential segregation act singly and in concert to foster contemporary urban inequality. This data collection comprises data for two surveys: a survey of households and a survey of employers. (more) Multistage area probability sampling of adult residents took place in four metropolitan areas: Atlanta (April 1992-September 1992), Boston (May 1993-November 1994), Detroit (April-September 1992), and Los Angeles (September 1993-August 1994). Questions on labor market dynamics included industry, hours worked per week, length of time on job, earnings before taxes, size of employer, benefits provided, instances of harassment and discrimination, and searching for work within particular areas of the metropolis in which the respondent resided. Questions covering racial attitudes and attitudes about inequality centered on the attitudes and beliefs that Whites, Blacks, Latinos, and Asians hold about one another, including amount of discrimination, perceptions about wealth and intelligence, ability to be self-supporting, ability to speak English, involvement with drugs and gangs, the fairness of job training and educational assistance policies, and the fairness of hiring and promotion preferences.. The data in Part 2 represent a telephone survey of current business establishments in Atlanta, Boston, Detroit, and Los Angeles carried out between spring 1992 and spring 1995 to learn about hiring and vacancies, particularly for jobs requiring just a high school education.