Showing 1 – 26 of 26 results.
Curated
Confederate Amnesty Records for the United States Civil War, 1863-1866 (ICPSR 9429)
Released/updated on: 2009-06-11
Geographic coverage: United States
Time period: 1863-01-01--1866-01-01
This data collection was designed to compare the heights of southern whites with those of slaves and northern white males between 1863 and 1866. Information provided includes month, day, and year of amnesty, county and state, age, color of skin, eyes, and hair, occupation, last name, first name, oath administrators, feet component in height, inch component in height, and height in inches.
Curated
Demographic Characteristics of the Population of Detroit, 1850-1880 (ICPSR 31)
Released/updated on: 2008-03-25
Geographic coverage: Detroit, United States, Michigan
Time period: 1850-01-01--1880-01-01
This data collection provides information for native-born Americans, Irish Americans, and German Americans living in Detroit, Michigan, between 1850 and 1880. Demographic variables provide information on age, sex, occupation, marital status, marriage patterns, ethnic background, place of birth, and spouse's and parents' place of birth. Additional information is provided on family size, number of children of adults, number of individuals in the house beyond the immediate family, total number of individuals in the nuclear family, position of individuals within the family, number of children eligible to be in school, activities of school-age children, adult male skill level, literacy level, length of time the family had been in the United States, ownership and value of real estate, constitutional and legal status, and physical condition.
Curated
Descriptors and Measurements of the Height of Runaway Slaves and Indentured Servants in the United States, 1700-1850 (ICPSR 9721)
Released/updated on: 2006-01-12
Geographic coverage: United States
Time period: 1700-01-01--1850-01-01
The purpose of this data collection was to provide data on
the height of slaves and indentured servants in the colonial and
antebellum periods of United States history. Data were taken from
newspaper advertisements describing the runaways. Variables include
the state in which the advertisement was published, the year of the
advertisement, the first and last names of the runaway slave or
indentured servant, and his or her race, sex, age, height, place of
birth, legal status (whether he or she was a convict or in jail at
time of advertisement), profession, and knowledge of the English
language.
Curated
Height of Free African Americans in Maryland, 1800-1864 (ICPSR 3422)
Released/updated on: 2005-11-04
Geographic coverage: United States, Maryland
Time period: 1800-01-01--1864-01-01
This data collection was designed to ascertain the nutritional status of free African Americans in Maryland during the early to mid-19th century. These data supply information on the person's age, sex, year of birth, height, county of birth, county of residence (where the Certificate of Freedom was granted), complexion, and whether the person was born free or was manumitted after birth. In some cases, the county in which the person grew up is also documented.
Curated
Historical, Demographic, Economic, and Social Data: The United States, 1790-1970 (ICPSR 3)
Released/updated on: 2005-12-22
Geographic coverage: United States
Time period: 1790-01-01--1970-01-01
Detailed county and state-level ecological or descriptive data for the United States for the years 1790 to 1970 are contained in this collection. These data files contain extensive information about the social and political character of the United States, including a breakdown of population by state, race, nationality, number of families, size of the family, births, deaths, marriages, occupation, religion, and general economic conditions. Though not complete over the full time span of this study, statistics are available on such diverse subjects as total numbers of newspapers and periodicals, total capital invested in manufacturing, total numbers of educational institutions, total number of churches, taxation by state, and land surface area in square miles.
Curated
Historical, Demographic, Economic, and Social Data: The United States, 1790-2002 (ICPSR 2896)
Released/updated on: 2010-05-21
Geographic coverage: United States
Time period: 1790-01-01--2002-01-01
This data collection contains detailed county and state-level ecological and descriptive data for the United States for the years 1790 to 2002. Parts 1-43 are an update to HISTORICAL, DEMOGRAPHIC, ECONOMIC, AND SOCIAL DATA: THE UNITED STATES, 1790-1970 (ICPSR 0003). Parts 1-41 contain data from the 1790-1970 censuses. They include extensive information about the social and political character of the United States, including a breakdown of population by state, race, nationality, number of families, size of the family, births, deaths, marriages, occupation, religion, and general economic condition. Parts 42 and 43 contain data from the 1840 and 1870 Censuses of Manufacturing, respectively. These files include information about the number of persons employed in various industries and the quantities of different types of manufactured products. Parts 44-50 provide county-level data from the United States Census of Agriculture for 1840 to 1900. They also include the state and national totals for the variables. The files provide data about the number, types, and prices of various agricultural products. Parts 51-57 contain data on religious bodies and church membership for 1906, 1916, 1926, 1936, and 1952, respectively. Parts 58-69 consist of data from the CITY DATA BOOKS for 1944, 1948, 1952, 1956, 1962, 1967, 1972, 1977, 1983, 1988, 1994, and 2000, respectively. These files contain information about population, climate, housing units, hotels, birth and death rates, school enrollment and education expenditures, employment in various industries, and city government finances. Parts 70-81 consist of data from the COUNTY DATA BOOKS for 1947, 1949, 1952, 1956, 1962, 1967, 1972, 1977, 1983, 1988, 1994, and 2000, respectively. These files include information about population, employment, housing, agriculture, manufacturing, retail, services, trade, banking, Social Security, local governments, school enrollment, hospitals, crime, and income. Parts 82-84 contain data from USA COUNTIES 1998. Due to the large number of variables from this source, the data were divided into into three separate data files. Data include information on population, vital statistics, school enrollment, educational attainment, Social Security, labor force, personal income, poverty, housing, trade, farms, ancestry, commercial banks, and transfer payments. Parts 85-106 provide data from the United States Census of Agriculture for 1910 to 2002. They provide data about the amount, types, and prices of various agricultural products. Also, these datasets contain extensive information on the amount, expenses, sales, values, and production of farms and machinery.
Curated
Indiana Voter: Nineteenth Century Rural Bases of Partisanship, 1870 (ICPSR 30)
Released/updated on: 2008-03-25
Geographic coverage: Indiana, United States
This data collection contains information on adult males living in nine counties of Indiana in 1870. The variables provide individual-level demographic information, such as county and township of residence, age, race, place of birth, parents' place of birth, status within the family, occupation, religious affiliation, and literacy level. Other variables provide information on the individual's and the family's real and total wealth, respectively, political party affiliation of the individual, disability condition, number of years the individual lived in Indiana, and percentage of life spent in Indiana.
Curated
Mortality in the South, 1850 (ICPSR 7424)
Released/updated on: 1992-02-16
Geographic coverage: North Carolina, United States, Texas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Louisiana, Georgia, South Carolina
This study recorded information on deaths that occurred in 1850 in seven states of the southern United States: Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas. The data were obtained from the manuscript mortality schedules of the 1850 United States Census. Variables identify the state and county in which each death occurred, and provide information on the age, sex, race, legal status (free or slave), place of birth, and occupation of the deceased. The month and cause of death as well as the number of days of illness before death are also documented.
Curated
New Orleans Slave Sale Sample, 1804-1862 (ICPSR 7423)
Released/updated on: 2008-08-04
Geographic coverage: United States, Louisiana, New Orleans
Time period: 1804-01-01--1862-01-01
This study includes data on slave sales that occurred on the New Orleans slave market between 1804-1862. For each sale, information was recorded on the date of the sale, the number of slaves on the invoice, the geographical origin of the buyer and seller, the sale price, and characteristics of the slaves sold (age, sex, family relationship, and occupation). The information presented for each transaction was obtained from the notarized bills of sale in the New Orleans Notarial Archival Office. These bills often contained information on several persons who were sold in a group or as a "lot." Whenever feasible, sale and personal characteristics of individuals appearing in such groups were entered on separate records. This was usually done when separate sale prices were recorded for each member of the group. When separate prices were not recorded for children sold in a group, information describing those children was attached to the record of a principal slave with whom they were associated on the original bill of sale.
Curated
New Orleans Slave Sample, 1804-1862 [Instructional Materials] (ICPSR 3464)
Released/updated on: 2002-11-27
Geographic coverage: United States, Louisiana, New Orleans
Time period: 1804-01-01--1862-01-01
These instructional materials were prepared for use with NEW ORLEANS SLAVE SALE SAMPLE, 1804-1862 (ICPSR 7423), compiled by Robert W. Fogel and Stanley L. Engerman. The data file (an SPSS portable file) and accompanying documentation are provided to assist educators in instructing students about the economics of slavery and the lives of the people recorded in the slave market. An instructor's handout is also included. This handout contains the following sections, among others: (1) general goals for student analysis of quantitative datasets, (2) specific goals in studying this dataset, (3) suggested appropriate courses for use of the dataset, (4) tips for using the dataset, and (5) related secondary source readings. The dataset includes data on slave sales that occurred on the New Orleans slave market between 1804-1862. For each sale, information was recorded on the date of the sale, the number of slaves on the invoice, the geographical origin of the buyer and seller, the sale price, and characteristics of the slaves sold (age, sex, family relationship, and occupation). The information presented for each transaction was obtained from the notarized bills of sale in the New Orleans Notarial Archival Office. These bills often contained information on several persons who were sold in a group or as a "lot." Whenever feasible, sale and personal characteristics of individuals appearing in such groups were entered on separate records. This was usually done when separate sale prices were recorded for each member of the group. When separate prices were not recorded for children sold in a group, information describing those children was attached to the record of a principal slave with whom they were associated on the original bill of sale.
Curated
Nineteenth Century Family History in Michigan: 1850-1880 (ICPSR 32)
Released/updated on: 2008-03-26
Geographic coverage: Detroit, Flint, United States, Lansing, Michigan
This data collection provides information on the characteristics of 1,194 Michigan families in rural places, towns and villages, and the urban areas of Detroit in 1850 and 1880. Data are provided on the geographic location of each household and type of locale, total number of residents in the household, and total number of children of the head of each household. Demographic variables provide information on age, race, place of birth, and occupation of the household head and their spouse, place of birth of father and mother of the household head and of their spouse, sex of the household head and their children, and age of the children. Additional variables provide information on the number of children listed as unemployed, the number of parents or parents-in-law of the household head residing in the household, the number of other related adults aged 14 and older, other related children aged 14 and younger living in the household, the number of servants or employees in the household, and the number of boarders or roomers in the household.
Curated
Old Age in the United States, 1880 (ICPSR 8427)
Released/updated on: 1992-10-31
Geographic coverage: United States
This data collection describes the social conditions of the older population of the United States in the late nineteenth century. Variables include personal characteristics such as age, sex, marital status, race, birthplace, number of children, and occupation of sampled older persons. Detailed information, extracted from the 1880 United States Census manuscript census schedules, is provided on household composition and family structure. In addition, occupational and ethnic characteristics of family heads appearing on the same sampled census page as the older person (on census pages grouped by street location) are reported. The data collection consists of three independent samples: (1) a national sample, (2) a Southern urban sample, and (3) a Southern Black sample. Older Blacks are over-represented in the Southern urban and Southern Black samples in order to focus on their family experiences in the urban and rural South.
Curated
Philadelphia Social History Project: Pennsylvania Abolition Society and Society of Friends Manuscript Census Schedules, 1838, 1847, 1856 (ICPSR 3805)
Released/updated on: 2009-02-26
Geographic coverage: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Initially taken in 1838 to demonstrate the stability and significance of the African American community and to forestall the abrogation of African American voting rights, the Quaker and Abolitionist census of African Americans was continued in 1847 and 1856 and present an invaluable view of the mid-nineteenth century African American population of Philadelphia. Although these censuses list only household heads, providing aggregate information for other household members, and exclude the substantial number of African Americans living in white households, they provide data not found in the federal population schedules. When combined with the information on African Americans taken from the four federal censuses, they offer researchers a richly detailed view of Philadelphia's African American community spanning some forty years.
The three censuses are not of equal inclusiveness or quality, however. The 1838 and 1847 enumerations cover only the "old" City of Philadelphia (river-to-river and from Vine to South Streets) and the immediate surrounding districts (Spring Garden, Northern Liberties, Southwark, Moyamensing, Kensington--1838, West Philadelphia--1847); the 1856 survey includes African Americans living throughout the newly enlarged city which, as today, conforms to the boundaries of Philadelphia County. In spite of this deficiency in areal coverage, the earlier censuses are superior historical documents. The 1838 and 1847 censuses contain data on a wide range of social and demographic variables describing the household indicating address, household size, occupation, whether members were born in Pennsylvania, status-at-birth, debts, taxes, number of children attending school, names of beneficial societies and churches (1838), property brought to Philadelphia from other states (1838), sex composition (1847), age structure (1847), literacy (1847), size of rooms and number of people per room (1847), and miscellaneous remarks (1847). While the 1856 census includes the household address and reports literacy, occupation, status-at-birth, and occasional passing remarks about individual households and their occupants, it excludes the other informational categories. Moreover, unlike the other two surveys, it lists the occupations of only higher status African Americans, excluding unskilled and semiskilled designations, and records the status-at-birth of adults only. Indeed, it even fails to provide data permitting the calculation of the size and age and sex structure of households.
Variables for each household head and his household include (differ slightly by census year): name, sex, status-at-birth, occupation, wages, real and personal property, literacy, education, religion, membership in beneficial societies and temperance societies, taxes, rents, dwelling size, address, slave or free birth.
Curated
Slave Hires, 1775-1865 (ICPSR 7422)
Released/updated on: 2006-10-11
Geographic coverage: North Carolina, Mississippi, United States, Tennessee, Louisiana, Georgia, Virginia, Maryland, South Carolina
Time period: 1775-01-01--1865-01-01
This study presents data pertaining to slave hiring transactions that occurred between 1775-1865 in eight states of the southern United States: Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Louisiana, Tennessee, Georgia, and Mississippi. The data were obtained from probate records on deposit in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints Genealogical Society Library, Salt Lake City, Utah. Variables document the location of the hiring transaction and the period and rate of hire, as well as the hired slaves' age, sex, occupational skills, and condition of health. A related study is SLAVE SALES AND APPRAISALS, 1775-1865 (ICPSR 7421), also prepared by Robert W. Fogel and Stanley L. Engerman.
Curated
Slave Sales and Appraisals, 1775-1865 (ICPSR 7421)
Released/updated on: 2006-10-11
Geographic coverage: North Carolina, Mississippi, United States, Tennessee, Louisiana, Georgia, Virginia, Maryland, South Carolina
Time period: 1775-01-01--1865-01-01
This study presents data pertaining to slave sales and appraisals that took place from 1775 to 1865 in eight states of the southern United States: Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Louisiana, Tennessee, Georgia, and Mississippi. The data were obtained from probate records on deposit in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints Genealogical Society Library, Salt Lake City, Utah. Variables document the sale locations and the appraised and sale values of the slaves, as well as the slaves' age, sex, occupational skills, and condition of health. A related study is SLAVE HIRES, 1775-1865 (ICPSR 7422), also prepared by Robert W. Fogel and Stanley L. Engerman.
Curated
Slave Trials in Anderson and Spartanburg Counties, South Carolina, 1818-1861 (ICPSR 8674)
Released/updated on: 2007-09-18
Geographic coverage: United States, South Carolina
Time period: 1818-01-01--1861-01-01
This dataset is part of a larger data collection effort conducted by the principal investigator to study crime, justice, and penal reform in Massachusetts and South Carolina from 1760 to 1880. Data are presented in this file on over 600 slave trials in two counties of ante-bellum South Carolina from 1818 to 1861. Included are variables documenting the accused crime, verdict, punishment, and item stolen (if applicable), as well as the defendant's name, sex, status, owner, and date of the trial.
Curated
Social Bases of City Politics: Atlanta, 1865-1903 (ICPSR 7690)
Released/updated on: 1992-02-16
Geographic coverage: United States, Atlanta, Georgia
Time period: 1865-01-01--1903-01-01
This data collection contains biographical and political career information on 824 persons in Atlanta, Georgia, who campaigned for a city office at some point between 1865 and 1903. Data include name of individual, first year of office for which individual was campaigning, office for which campaigning (i.e., mayor, alderman, or councilman), result of campaign, votes received in first through seventh wards, type of election, political party affiliation, ward base of campaign, ward of residence, age elected, race, ethnic status, birthplace, date of arrival in Atlanta, cross occupational listing, occupations ten years before and ten years after the campaign, total time served in minor city office, total time served in Fulton County office, total times a member of the city Democratic executive committee before and during the campaign, Civil War experience, pre-Civil War sentiment (e.g., Secessionist or Unionist), religion, property assessment, and membership in fraternal groups, social clubs, and the fire department.
Curated
Social Composition of Detroit, 1880-1900 (ICPSR 8200)
Released/updated on: 2006-01-12
Geographic coverage: Detroit, United States, Michigan
Time period: 1880-01-01--1900-01-01
This data collection consists of detailed examinations of various facets of life in Detroit in the years from 1880 through 1900. Data from 13 different primary sources (such as the manuscript censuses) were collected to analyze the effect that technological innovation and the environmental change that went with it had on the American social structure. Detroit is seen as a city that experienced all the problems of industrialization, as well as the advantages. It had a diverse ethnic population and grew rapidly in the years from 1880-1900. In addition to 1880 and 1900 census information, the study variables elicit information pertaining to the lifestyles, work experiences, and nationalities of people employed in various trades, including furniture making, railroad work, and vehicle manufacturing. The files on land use in 1880 and 1900 contain information on the number, type, and use of buildings in a given block. The files entitled, Charities and Women, contain information on nationality of respondents, their health and the health of their children, their current and previous residences, income, and property owned.
Curated
Socioeconomic indicators for Functional Urban Regions in the United States, 1820-1970 (ICPSR 7509)
Released/updated on: 1992-02-16
Geographic coverage: United States
Time period: 1820-01-01--1970-01-01
This study provides social, demographic, and economic data on the United States population compiled from ICPSR holdings of county-level census materials and enhanced with information obtained from the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) of the United States Department of Commerce. County-level socioeconomic indicators were aggregated and reported for 171 functional urban regions encompassing the entire contiguous United States. These regions, established in the early 1960s by BEA, comprise whole counties surrounding a central Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area node that served as a recipient location of work commuting or a center of newspaper circulation, wholesale trade, or banking transactions. Total population counts, proportions of adults, males, African-Americans, and foreign-born, measures of population change, number of persons per household, and per capita values of manufactured and farm products are listed for census years between 1820-1970. For some years, data on per capita income were obtained from BEA publications. The study also includes derived measures computed by the principal investigators, such as logarithmic values of population totals, Z-scores of most of the basic indicators, and measures of decadal population growth for each region normalized by the rate of population growth for the nation as a whole. A description of the methods employed in computing these variables, as well as a report of the initial analysis using these data, is found in Sam Bass Warner, Jr. and Sylvia Fleisch, "The Past of Today's Present: A Social History of America's Metropolises, 1960-1860," JOURNAL OF URBAN HISTORY 3,1 (November 1976), 3-118.
Curated
Southern Agricultural Households in the United States, 1880 (ICPSR 9430)
Released/updated on: 2007-09-19
Geographic coverage: North Carolina, Mississippi, United States, Texas, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Virginia, Arkansas, South Carolina
Time period: 1879-01-01--1880-01-01
This data collection describes the organization of agriculture and the operation of the Southern economy following the Civil War, with emphasis on the relationship between race and tenure status of farm operators. Economic and agricultural data were compiled from the 1880 Census of Agriculture. Information provided includes the location of the farm (region, state, county, and enumeration district), tenure of the farm operator, number of acres in tillage, meadows, woodland, and other uses, type of crops being farmed and production figures, and the number of various livestock (horses, mules, oxen, cows, sheep, and swine). Additionally, data are presented on the value of the farm, farm implements, livestock, and farm products, and costs associated with fences, fertilizer, and wages. Demographic information drawn from the 1880 Census of Population includes the race, literacy, age, and birthplace of the farm operator, number of people living in the house, and number of people working on the farm.
Curated
Union Army Recruits in Black Regiments in the United States, 1862-1865 (ICPSR 9426)
Released/updated on: 2007-07-24
Geographic coverage: North Carolina, District of Columbia, United States, Kentucky, Alabama, Florida, New York (state), Arkansas, New Jersey, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Iowa, Illinois, Texas, Massachusetts, Missouri, Louisiana, Ohio, Georgia, Maryland
Time period: 1862-01-01--1865-01-01
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.
Curated
Union Army Recruits in Black Regiments in the United States, 1862-1865: [Instructional Materials] (ICPSR 3466)
Released/updated on: 2004-02-27
Geographic coverage: North Carolina, New York, District of Columbia, United States, Kentucky, Alabama, Florida, Arkansas, New Jersey, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Iowa, Illinois, Texas, Massachusetts, Missouri, Louisiana, Ohio, Georgia, Maryland
Time period: 1862-01-01--1865-01-01
These instructional materials were prepared for use with UNION ARMY RECRUITS IN BLACK REGIMENTS IN THE UNITED STATES, 1862-1865 (ICPSR 9426), compiled by Jacob Metzer and Robert A. Margo. The data file and accompanying documentation are provided to assist educators in instructing students about the demographic, military, and medical history of African-American men who volunteered for service in the Union Army during the American Civil War. An instructor's handout has also been included. This handout contains the following sections, among others: (1) General goals for student analysis of quantitative datasets, (2) Specific goals in studying this dataset, (3) Suggested appropriate courses for use of the dataset, (4) Tips for using the dataset, and (5) Related secondary source readings. 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).
Curated
Union Army Slave Appraisal Records from Mississippi, 1863-1865 (ICPSR 9427)
Released/updated on: 1992-02-17
Geographic coverage: Mississippi, United States
Time period: 1863-01-01--1865-01-01
This data collection, designed to study conditions of slave life, contains information on contrabands and runaways. Information is provided regarding the county where the appraisal was conducted, date of appraisal, name, age, eye and face color, weight, height, sex, and appraised value of the slave in dollars.
Curated
Simple Crosstabs
United States Historical Election Returns, 1788-1823 (ICPSR 79)
Released/updated on: 2026-02-11
Geographic coverage: North Carolina, Vermont, Rhode Island, Indiana, United States, Tennessee, Maine, Kentucky, Alabama, Delaware, New York (state), New Jersey, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Mississippi, Illinois, Connecticut, Missouri, New Hampshire, Ohio, Georgia, Virginia, Maryland
Time period: 1788-01-01--1823-01-01
This data collection contains general election returns for the offices of president, governor, and United States representative in the period 1788-1823. These returns comprise an extension of the general election collection (see United States Historical Election Returns, 1824-1968 (ICPSR 1)) back to the occurrence of the first elections held under the United States Constitution. The data are recorded chiefly at the county level, although town-level returns were collected and preserved as well for the New England states. This collection of Early National period election returns is much less complete than the body of returns available for the years from 1824 to the present. Fugitive and nonextant sources resulted in the recovery of only approximately half of the possible returns for elections in this period. The collection and processing of the pre-1824 election materials was supported by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to the State Historical Society of Wisconsin.
Curated
Urban Composition of United States Counties, 1850 (ICPSR 7455)
Released/updated on: 1992-02-16
Geographic coverage: United States
This dataset contains several measures of urban concentration for each of the 1,606 United States counties in existence in 1850. Included are measures of the white and total populations in each county, as well as percentages of the white and total populations that resided in towns of various sizes. Town-level population counts were collected from Tables I and II of the SEVENTH CENSUS OF THE UNITED STATES, 1850. The principal investigator manually aggregated individual town counts to various town size measures, and calculated percentages of county population totals. Variables on total and white populations of each county were added to this data collection by ICPSR, from HISTORICAL, DEMOGRAPHIC, ECONOMIC, AND SOCIAL DATA: THE UNITED STATES, 1790-1970 (ICPSR 0003).
Curated
White Attitudes Toward Black Civil Equality in the Nineteenth Century: Iowa's Equal Rights Referenda of 1857, 1868, and 1880 (ICPSR 4284)
Released/updated on: 2005-12-19
Geographic coverage: Iowa, United States
Time period: 1848-08-01--1882-06-01
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. 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. In addition, the data contain the results of various other referenda, including banking and liquor prohibition referenda voted upon during the time period. Parts 1 and 2 contain county-level data for all 99 Iowa counties. Part 1, County File: Elections and Referenda, contains the outcomes for the various elections and referenda that were put to the vote in Iowa during the mid- to late-1800s. Part 2, County File: Miscellaneous, contains various characteristics describing the voting Iowan population including religion and occupation data. Parts 3 and 4 contain township-level data. 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). As a result, Part 3, Township File: Referenda, contains the outcomes, by township, for the three civil rights referenda voted on in the state of Iowa. Part 4, Township File: Voters, contains hand counted voter birthplace data keyed to each of the three referenda.