The Hard Count: The Political and Social Challenges of Census Mobilization

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The Russell Sage Foundation The Russell Sage Foundation, one of the oldest of America’s general purpose foundations, was established in 1907 by Mrs. Margaret Olivia Sage for “the improvement of social and living conditions in the United States.” The Foundation seeks to fulfill this mandate by fostering the development and dissemination of knowledge about the country’s political, social, and economic problems. While the Foundation endeavors to assure the accuracy and objectivity of each book it publishes, the conclusions and interpretations in Russell Sage Foundation publications are those of the authors and not of the Foundation, its Trustees, or its staff. Publication by Russell Sage, therefore, does not imply Foundation endorsement. BOARD OF TRUSTEES Thomas D. Cook, Chair Alan S. Blinder John A. Ferejohn Alan B. Krueger Kenneth D. Brody Larry V. Hedges Cora B. Marrett Christine K. Cassel Jennifer L. Hochschild Eric Wanner Robert E. Denham Kathleen Hall Jamieson Mary C. Waters Christopher Edley Jr. Melvin J. Konner Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data The Hard Count : the political and social challenges of census mobilization / D. Sunshine Hillygus . . . [et al.]. p. cm. ISBN 0-87154-363-X 1. United States—Census—History. 2. United States—Population—History. 3. United States—Census, 2000. I. Hillygus, D. Sunshine. HA181.C68 2006 317.3—dc22 2005057522 Copyright © 2006 by Russell Sage Foundation. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system , or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording , or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Reproduction by the United States Government in whole or in part is permitted for any purpose. The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials. ANSI Z39.48-1992. Text design by Genna Patacsil. RUSSELL SAGE FOUNDATION 112 East 64th Street, New York, New York 10021 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 To the memory of Daniel Patrick Moynihan A social scientist who understood policymaking and a policymaker who understood the contribution of the social sciences. On the topic at hand, he wisely observed: “There is simply nothing so important to a people as how many of them there are, whether the number is growing or declining, how they are distributed between ages, sexes and different social classes and racial and ethnic groups, and … which way these numbers are moving” (Moynihan 1977, 89). ...