Archives.com, home of the
1940 U.S. Census Community Project, has released an interactive census graphic
to celebrate the fact that the 1940 Census is now fully indexed and searchable,
free to all, thanks to the contributions of thousands of volunteers. The
graphic, called “The American Family Through Time” and set up like a board
game, is fun to explore and informative to boot.
Clicking on one of the
decades launches a descriptive page on that census, including population data
from the U.S. Census Bureau displayed in colorful pie charts. Another click
takes you to a handy list of questions asked on each census. Back on the main
board, you can access graphics on occupations, housing, and
education. There’s even a card pile of “Fun Census Facts” full of census trivia
to keep you busy. It’s an entertaining way to illustrate what otherwise could
be some rather dry material.
Progressing through the board
really brings home the changes in census statistics over the years. Makes me
wonder what the Americans of 1790 would think if they could see the country
today. One thing's for sure: we’ve come a long way, baby.
--Shelley
What a fun thing to know about! Thanks so much for sharing this. I often wonder what our ancestors would think of so many things, including how fascinated we are by their census numbers!
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