County boundaries and populations form Montana from 1870 to 2010 Census

This component of the Philadelphia Social History Project examines the demographic composition of city grid squares using census data from years 1850, 1860, 1870, and 1880. The collection consists of two types of data files: (1) grid tallies, and (2) grid dictionaries. The grid tally files consist of counts of individuals living in PSHP grid squares, with totals broken down by race/ethnicity, sex, and age. The grid dictionary files link lines in the census manuscripts to PSHP grid squares, allowing users to follow the movements of census-takers as they moved house-to-house on foot, adding individuals to the printed census manuscript forms. The "grid" network consists of a set of vertical and horizontal lines drawn at fixed intervals across a city map, forming the foundation for the spatial organization of the data. The grid dictionary files show when census-takers crossed from one grid square to another; each row in the grid dictionary describes a set of rows that are in a specific grid square by listing the starting page/line and the ending page/line.

The Nevada Census Microdata provides a complete-count transcription of the manuscript census pages from the state of Nevada, for the federal censuses of 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, and 1920. It includes nearly all of the information that was recorded on the census forms, though the questions asked by census-takers changed over time. This data can help researchers investigate historical questions related to immigration, migration, industrialization, work, and family. The multiple years covered by the data permit valuable longitudinal studies, at least within the state of Nevada. Future phases of the project will include more extensive documentation and refining field names and values to make this data as compatible as possible with other sources used in historical demography, such as those published by the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS).

The social and demographic data included in this collection consist of a single data file for each decennial year between 1870 and 2000, covering 10 of the 12 Great Plains states. Information on a variety of social and demographic topics was gathered to historically characterize populations living in counties within the United States Great Plains, in terms of: (1) urban, rural, and total population, (2) vital statistics, (3) net migration, (4) age and sex, (5) nativity and ancestry, (6) education and literacy, (7) religion, (8) industry, and (9) housing and other characteristics. These data include selected material compiled as part of the United States population census. The United States Census of Population and Housing has been conducted since 1790 on a regular schedule that is decennial. The county-level social and demographic data produced by the United States government as a result constitute a consistent series of measures capturing changes in the United States population's size, composition, and other characteristics. A subset of the variables available from the short and long-form survey questionnaires of the United States Census of Population and Housing (as compiled for counties) were extracted from previously existing digital files. Besides the decennial census of the population, county-level data were drawn from an assortment of existing digital files as well as sources that were manually digitized. Other data include compilations of county-level information gathered from various federal agencies and private organizations as well as the agriculture and economic censuses. Supplementing these compilations are manually digitized consumer market data, religious data, and vital statistics, including information about births, deaths, marriage, and divorce.

In 1800, the region of Germany was not a single, unified nation, but a collection of decentralized, independent states, bound together as part of the Holy Roman Empire. This empire was dissolved, however, in 1806, during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic eras in Europe, and the German Confederation was established in 1815. Napoleonic reforms led to the abolition of serfdom, extension of voting rights to property-owners, and an overall increase in living standards. The population grew throughout the remainder of the century, as improvements in sanitation and medicine (namely, mandatory vaccination policies) saw child mortality rates fall in later decades. As Germany industrialized and the economy grew, so too did the argument for nationhood; calls for pan-Germanism (the unification of all German-speaking lands) grew more popular among the lower classes in the mid-1800s, especially following the revolutions of 1948-49. In contrast, industrialization and poor harvests also saw high unemployment in rural regions, which led to waves of mass migration, particularly to the U.S.. In 1886, the Austro-Prussian War united northern Germany under a new Confederation, while the remaining German states (excluding Austria and Switzerland) joined following the Franco-Prussian War in 1871; this established the German Empire, under the Prussian leadership of Emperor Wilhelm I and Chancellor Otto von Bismarck. 1871 to 1945 - Unification to the Second World War The first decades of unification saw Germany rise to become one of Europe's strongest and most advanced nations, and challenge other world powers on an international scale, establishing colonies in Africa and the Pacific. These endeavors were cut short, however, when the Austro-Hungarian heir apparent was assassinated in Sarajevo; Germany promised a "blank check" of support for Austria's retaliation, who subsequently declared war on Serbia and set the First World War in motion. Viewed as the strongest of the Central Powers, Germany mobilized over 11 million men throughout the war, and its army fought in all theaters. As the war progressed, both the military and civilian populations grew increasingly weakened due to malnutrition, as Germany's resources became stretched. By the war's end in 1918, Germany suffered over 2 million civilian and military deaths due to conflict, and several hundred thousand more during the accompanying influenza pandemic. Mass displacement and the restructuring of Europe's borders through the Treaty of Versailles saw the population drop by several million more.

Reparations and economic mismanagement also financially crippled Germany and led to bitter indignation among many Germans in the interwar period; something that was exploited by Adolf Hitler on his rise to power. Reckless printing of money caused hyperinflation in 1923, when the currency became so worthless that basic items were priced at trillions of Marks; the introduction of the Rentenmark then stabilized the economy before the Great Depression of 1929 sent it back into dramatic decline. When Hitler became Chancellor of Germany in 1933, the Nazi government disregarded the Treaty of Versailles' restrictions and Germany rose once more to become an emerging superpower. Hitler's desire for territorial expansion into eastern Europe and the creation of an ethnically-homogenous German empire then led to the invasion of Poland in 1939, which is considered the beginning of the Second World War in Europe. Again, almost every aspect of German life contributed to the war effort, and more than 13 million men were mobilized. After six years of war, and over seven million German deaths, the Axis powers were defeated and Germany was divided into four zones administered by France, the Soviet Union, the UK, and the U.S.. Mass displacement, shifting borders, and the relocation of peoples based on ethnicity also greatly affected the population during this time. 1945 to 2020 - Partition and Reunification In the late 1940s, cold war tensions led to two distinct states emerging in Germany; the Soviet-controlled east became the communist German Democratic Republic (DDR), and the three western zones merged to form the democratic Federal Republic of Germany. Additionally, Berlin was split in a similar fashion, although its location deep inside DDR territory created series of problems and opportunities for the those on either side. Life quickly changed depending on which side of the border one lived. Within a decade, rapid economic recovery saw West Germany become western Europe's strongest economy and a key international player. In the east, living standards were much lower, although unemployment was almost non-existent; internationally, East Germany was the strongest economy in the Eastern Bloc (after the USSR), though it eventually fell behind the West by the 1970s. The restriction of movement between the two states also led to labor shortages in t...