Table 3. Data Collection Forms Used to Enumerate Americans Overseas: 1900-30, 1950-70, and 1990—Continued

[Source of 1940 overseas count is unclear. Forms were not used to enumerate the overseas population in 1980. Forms are Census Bureau forms
except 1990 DOD survey form]

Census Form number Use in overseas data collection Distribution
1990 D-47, 1990 Census | Reporting form used by shipmasters of U.S. mer- Mailed to shipowners of private lines, with the cooper-

Location Report for
American Flag Ves-
sels

D-55, Overseas.
Personnel and
Dependents—
Counts by State
of Residence

(00D form) 1990
survey of
Overseas Civilian
Personnel and
Dependents

chant marine vessels to determine location of ves-
sels.

Reporting form used by Federal agencies to provide
home State for their overseas personnel and depen-
lents.

DOD household survey form to enumerate DOD civil-
ian employees stationed abroad on March 31, 1990
and their dependents living with them.

ation of the Maritime Administration. Shipowners
mailed forms to all vessels.

Mailed to Federal agencies having overseas person-
nel.

Distributed and collected by DOD.

“Used primarily to enumerate the stateside population.

AMERICANS OVERSEAS IN U.S. CENSUSES

OVERVIEW 9


CONTENTS

Page
Introduction ......----.-------------2--222-----e ono nnn enn enn ce ene nena nen eee eee nen 1
Overview ....----------------2-2eennn nn nn cence ence enc ee cence ncn cee nne enc en nena nnc ence neem nnenen seenee an eneeneeneeneneeeeee 3
TREATMENT OF AMERICANS OVERSEAS IN—
Censuses Before 1900. 10
1900 Census -.. an
1910 Census 18
1920 Census 22
1930 Census -. 26
1940 Census -. 31
1950 Census 32
1960 Census 36
1970 Census -.. 43
1980 Census -. 57
1990 Census -- 60
TABLES
1. Residence Rules Pertaining to Americans Overseas: 1870-1990 2
2. Americans Overseas, by Type: 1830, 1840, and 1900-90 7
3. Data Collection Forms Used to Enumerate Americans Overseas: 1900- 8
4. Americans Overseas at Military and Naval Stations: 1900 Wi
5. Apportionment Population Based on the 1970 Census -. - 44
6. Apportionment Population Based on the 1990 Census -. ~ 61
7. Summary of Federal Agency Participation in the 1990 Census Overseas 62
8. Overseas U.S. Armed Forces, Federal Civilian Employees, and Dependents, by Federal Agency: 1990 62
9. Department of Defense Overseas Armed Forces, Civilian Employees, and Dependents,
by Home State: 1990 -. 65
References -....-.--~--------------------- 2-2 ene enn ee enn n nee nn en nee e nen n enn ene e nen ne nn ence enn nnnnemnnenennnnnannnnenenen 72

AMERICANS OVERSEAS IN U.S. CENSUSES


e Data were readily available from administrative records
for Americans overseas affiliated with the Federal Gov-
ernment. Data on overseas Armed Forces personnel,
Federal civilian employees, and their dependents living
with them could be obtained from the Departments of
Defense and State and the Office of Personnel Manage-
ment (OPM).

© Complete or even adequate counts of private Americans
overseas not affiliated with the Federal Government
could not be obtained in 1960 and 1970, when special
efforts were made to enumerate these persons, and
there was some question as to whether this universe
could be properly defined. Major problems associated
with obtaining an accurate count of this component
included the voluntary basis on which this group had to
be enumerated (respondents had to go to a U.S. embassy
or consulate to obtain a form), the lack of up-to-date
embassy and consulate mailing lists for Americans living
in their jurisdictions, and the definitional problem of who
should be included in such an enumeration.

With regard to the definitional issue, many alterna-
tives could be considered. For example, should an
enumeration of private Americans overseas include all
persons with a claim to U.S. citizenship? Only U.S.
citizens who intended to return to the United States? All
persons born in the United States (some of whom would
have gone on to become citizens of the country in which
they currently resided)? Only those citizens eligible to
vote? Only those tied financially to the United States,
such as Social Security beneficiaries or employees of
U.S. or multinational corporations? People having dual
(U.S. and second-nation) citizenship?

It was believed that even if a clear operational
definition of this universe could have been developed, it
still would have been necessary to contact a much
broader range of potential respondents in order to
identify those who actually met the conceptual criteria
for inclusion.

The 1990 census, for only the second time in census
history, included certain components of Americans over-
seas in the apportionment population. The overseas com-
ponents included were members of the Armed Forces,
Federal civilian employees, and their dependents living
with them. Counts of these persons were obtained from 30
Federal departments and agencies and were based pri-
marily on administrative records.

A significant factor in the Census Bureau's decision to
allocate segments of the overseas population to their home
State for apportionment purposes was the substantial
amount of bipartisan congressional support given to this
matter late in the 1980 decade. Several bills requiring
inclusion of overseas military personnel in the apportion-
ment counts were introduced in both houses of the 100th
and 101st Congresses.

The Department of Commerce, in an August 1989 press
release, announced plans to include overseas military and
civilian DOD employees in the 1990 census apportionment

AMERICANS OVERSEAS IN U.S. CENSUSES

population. In addition, the Deputy Director of the Census
Bureau testified before the House Subcommittee on Cen-
sus and Population in September 1989 that the Bureau
would include overseas military and civilian DOD employ-
ees and their associated dependents in the 1990 appor-
tionment counts. He cited several reasons for the decision:

@ The 1969 Justice Department opinion recognizing that
the Director of the Census Bureau had discretionary
authority to decide whether to include overseas Ameri-
cans in the apportionment population.

© Bipartisan congressional support for including overseas
military personnel.

@ The DOD's decision that it could provide the necessary
data to the Bureau in time to meet the December 31,
1990 deadline for reporting apportionment counts to the
President.

About the time of the hearing, the DOD, with technical
assistance from the Census Bureau, planned to enumerate
its overseas personnel and dependents concurrent with
the 1990 stateside census enumeration. These data would
be used by the Bureau for inclusion in the apportionment
counts and by DOD for a variety of programs.

The Deputy Director further testified that these over-
seas personnel and their dependents would have main-
tained a usual residence in the United States had they not
been assigned abroad in fulfillment of their military and
professional obligations.

Because of a lack of funding and other constraints, in
December 1989, the DOD cancelled its plans to conduct
an overseas enumeration but agreed to provide overseas
counts from its existing automated administrative records.
The DOD identified three alternative methods from its
administrative files for determining home State affiliation of
its overseas military personnel:

®@ Home of record—State declared by the member of the
Armed Forces to be the permanent home at time of
entry or reenlistment into the service. Home of record is
used to determine the travel stipend granted upon
discharge (derived from personnel files).

® Legal residence—State of residence a member declares
for State income tax withholding purposes (derived from
payroll files).

e Last duty station—State location of the facility to which
the member was assigned before going overseas (derived
from personnel files).

After reviewing the three data sources available in NOD
records for providing counts, the Census Bureau con-
cluded in July 1990 that DOD’s “home of record” was the
most consistent with the concept of “usual residence,”
used since 1790 as the basis for determining residency in
the decennial census. Also, home of record was the
concept used in allocating most overseas military person-
nel in the 1970 census.

OVERVIEW 5


Table 1. Residence Rules Pertaining to Americans Overseas: 1870-1990

[Beginning in 1820, census takers were supplied with printed instructions to clarify who should be enumerated in their district. Cen-
‘sus years not listed below did not include residence rules for the overseas component]

U.S. Military Personnel Stationed Abroad or at
Sea

1870, 1880, 1900 ......... eee eee eee eee eect eter eens

1V910-GO eect eee teeter ee

Federal Civilian Employees Stationed Abroad

Crews of U.S. Merchant Marine Vessels at Sea
1870, 1880, 1910, 1920.

1930, 1940 oo... cece cee cece cee ee eee ee teeta eee ee tenes

1950-90

Private U.S. Citizens Abroad for an Extended
Period

1910-40

1960-90...

Enumerate at stateside home (also may have been included in
overseas population in 1900)

Do not enumerate at stateside home (included in overseas popu-
lation)

. Enumerate at stateside home (also may have been included in

overseas population)

Do not enumerate at stateside home (included in overseas popu-
lation)

Enumerate at stateside home (not included in overseas popula-
tion)

Enumerate officers at stateside home. Do not enumerate crews
at stateside home. All merchant vessels were homeported,
regardless of location, so crews were not included in overseas
population

Do not enumerate at stateside home

1950, 1960—included in overseas population if vessel was at sea
or in a foreign port

1970—included in overseas population if vessel was at sea with
a foreign port as its designation or in a foreign port

1980—not included in overseas population

1990—included in overseas population if vessel was sailing from
one foreign port to another or in a foreign port

Enumerate at stateside home (not included in overseas popula-
tion)

. Do not enumerate at stateside home (included in overseas popu-

lation only in 1960 and 1970)

2 INTRODUCTION

AMERICANS OVERSEAS IN U.S. CENSUSES


INTRODUCTION

The decision to enumerate Americans living abroad in
U.S. decennial censuses has varied over the years, as well
as the decisions of how this population group is defined
and where these persons should be counted. This report
documents the treatment of Americans living overseas in
the decennial censuses, particularly those conducted in
the 20th century. Excluded from this discussion are U.S.
citizens temporarily abroad on private business, travel, and
so forth. Such persons were enumerated in each census at
their usual place of residence in the United States as
absent members of their own households.

The first Census Act in 1790 stated that each person
enumerated in the census of the United States was to be
counted as an inhabitant of his or her ‘‘usual place of
abode.” The concept of usual residence as the overriding
criterion for where to count a person thus was established
for the first census and has been the guiding principle in alt
subsequent censuses. Usual residence generally has been
construed to mean the place where the person lives and
sleeps most of the time. Instructions that included resi-
dence rules specifying where to count various classes of
persons have been furnished to census takers since 1820
(to marshals and their assistants from 1820-70 and to
enumerators beginning in 1880).

The implementation of the concept of usual residence
in decennial censuses also has resulted in the establish-
ment of residence rules for certain categories of persons
whose usual place of residence is not immediately appar-
ent. The population segment of Americans living overseas
traditionally has been one of these categories.2

Table 1 lists the residence rules given to census takers
for Americans living abroad for an extended period and for
crews of U.S. merchant vessels at sea. As this table
illustrates, the residence rules for these groups changed
considerably from census to census.

Various types of materials were used in preparing this
report. Census reports and other published documents
such as procedural histories were reviewed for each
census from 1790 to 1970 to determine whether Ameri-
cans overseas were reported in the census. However,
given that published historical census documentation on
the treatment of Americans overseas was often meager,

‘The synonym “usual place of residence” was introduced in the 1940
instructions to enumerators.

Other categories of persons for which specific residence rules are
determined at each census include persons away from their usual
residence on Census Day; college students; boarding schoo! students;
members of the Armed Forces, including Navy afloat; persons in institu-
tions; crews of U.S. merchant marine vessels not at sea; persons with
multiple residence; migrant workers; and persons with no permanent
residence.

AMERICANS OVERSEAS IN U.S. CENSUSES

fragmentary, and sketchy—particularly before 1950—other
sources were consulted as well. For the 1900 to 1920
censuses, microfilm of the census schedules used for
enumerating Americans abroad or at sea were examined
at the National Archives and Records Administration in
Washington, DC. For the 1930 and 1940 censuses, the
microfilmed census schedules were reviewed at the Cen-
sus Bureau's Data Preparation Division in Jeffersonville,
IN. Finally, to gather information on the overseas census
planning and reporting since 1950, unpublished reports
and position papers, internal memorandums, and copies of
correspondence also were studied.

A major observation that emerged from reviewing these
historic materials was the lack of a single conceptual thread
running through the censuses concerning how Americans
abroad fit into the overall decennial enumeration. it was
partly this absence that led to the inconsistencies—evident
in this report—in census treatment of Americans overseas.
Different definitions of the population components that
were included and in the areas that were considered
overseas, varying instructions to census takers regarding
where to enumerate this population, and differences in
procedures and methods of data collection (administrative
records, direct enumeration, or a combination of the two)
all contributed to a lack of uniformity in treatment over the
years. Legal and political considerations also played an
important role in formulating the Census Bureau’s concept
and policy of who to count overseas and where to count
them. Cross-cutting all of these issues has been the fact
that decisions relating to overseas enumeration for a
specific census have reflected the overall census proce-
dures and prevailing societal conditions (for example, the
presence of military conflicts or economic downturns).

For the censuses since 1900, counts of the American
overseas population and its components generally have
been published in table 1 of Number of inhabitants, United
States Summary. in the censuses of 1950-70, Americans
overseas also were shown by selected demographic char-
acteristics (for example, age, race, sex, and nativity) in a
table in General Demographic Characteristics, United States
Summary. Special subject reports were issued in the 1960
and 1970 censuses on U.S. civilians abroad for an extended
period. (See “References” for exact citations.)

In this report, the terms “abroad” and “overseas” are
used interchangeably. The countries considered as “living
abroad” have varied and were specified in census reports
only in 1950-70 and 1990.

INTRODUCTION 1


who would have been enumerated in their home States on
April 1, 1970, except for their assignment to duty stations
overseas as military or civilian employees of the U.S.
Government. In particular, the scale of U.S. activities in
Southeast Asia meant unusually large numbers of military
personnel were stationed overseas on Census Day.

In prior decennial censuses, the number of Federal
Government personnel on duty overseas was relatively
small and had never been included in the apportionment
population. Attorney General J. Howard McGrath, when
consulted in 1949, stated that exclusion of the overseas
population from the apportionment count, as was done in
1940 and prior censuses and as was being proposed for
1950, was not contrary to the requirements of the Consti-
tution or applicable law. The opinion stated, in part, “The
Congress has vested in the Director of the Census, subject
to the approval of the Secretary of Commerce, discretion
to determine the manner in which inhabitants of the United
States who are abroad...shall be enumerated...”

In 1969, this matter was brought to the attention of the
House Subcommittee on Census and Statistics of the
Committee on Post Office and Civil Service (which had
immediate congressional oversight of the Census Bureau)
during its hearings on the “1970 Census and Legislation
Related Thereto.” The subcommittee, recognizing the
larger numbers of U.S. military and Federal civilian person-
nel expected to be overseas at the time of the 1970
census, recommended that these Americans be counted
in the apportionment population. Congressional questions
also were raised in 1969 at hearings before the Senate
Subcommittee on Constitutional Rights of the Committee
on the Judiciary.

Also in 1969, the Department of Commerce sought a
ruling from the Department of Justice on the legality of the
proposed procedure to include certain components of the
overseas population in the 1970 State apportionment
totals. The opinion letter was written by then-Assistant
Attorney General William Rehnquist, who perceived no
objection to their inclusion and stated that ‘the Director of
the Census may, in his discretion, validly adopt that
procedure.’’S

Allocations of the 1970 overseas population for appor-
tionment purposes were made at the State level only.
Allocations were not made to subdivisions within a State,
as this would have required U.S. street addresses. U.S.
street address was not asked on the Overseas Census
Report or the Report for Military and Maritime Personnel.

5In 1967, the Census Bureau had evaluated the possible effects on
apportionment that would have resulted if Federal Government overseas
personnel and their dependents—estimated to be somewhat fewer than
2 million persons—were included in the apportionment count. It was
determined that their inclusion at that time would not have resulted in any
State having its congressional representation changed since the esti-
mated 2 million persons overseas, although a large number by itself, was
less than 1 percent of the total U.S. population and had approximately the
same State-by-State distribution as the resident population. The actual
1970 overseas population (1,574,537) added to the apportionment base
(resident population of each State minus the District of Columbia) caused
@ congressional seat to be shifted from Connecticut to Oklahoma by
fewer than 300 persons.

4 OVERVIEW

This detailed information also was not included in DOD's
administrative counts, by home State of record, for Army,
Air Force, or Marine Corps personnel stationed abroad.
Thus, the within-State redistricting process used different
numbers as its base than the between-State reapportion-
ment.

In Bethel Park v. Stans, an appellate court held in 1971
that neither the U.S. Constitution nor the Census Act
demanded allocation of persons to a particular subdivision
of a State for apportionment purposes. Moreover, the court
held that the Census Bureau, in determining the number of
representatives to which each State was entitled, could
properly allocate overseas military and Federal civilian
personnel and their dependents to the State of their
“home of record’ and not to any political subdivision within
the State.

The overseas enumerations associated with the 1950-70
censuses were necessarily conducted under operational
conditions very different from those used in the stateside
censuses. The decentralized and globally far-flung nature
of these overseas operations prevented the utilization of
most of the standard review and quality contro! procedures
used stateside.

For the 1980 census, the Census Bureau decided not
to enumerate Americans overseas directly, as had been
done in censuses since 1950, but to use administrative
records instead. The reasons for this departure in practice
from recent past censuses were the following:

The number of Americans overseas was much smaller
than in 1970.

@ There were no plans to include Americans overseas in
the apportionment population, as was done in 1970. in
testimony in 1976 before the House Subcommittee on
Census and Population (formerly the Subcommittee on
Census and Statistics) of the Committee on Post Office
and Civil Service, the Deputy Director of the Census
Bureau outlined the proposed rules of residence for the
1980 census. He indicated that the Bureau did not plan
to include any component of Americans overseas in the
apportionment population for 1980. The subcommittee
raised no objections to that proposal.

@ There were no constitutional or other legal mandates
requiring the direct enumeration of Americans living
overseas. Title 13 of the U.S. Code stated that the
census enumeration should include each State, the
District of Columbia, and its territories and possessions;
it did not require the enumeration of Americans living in
foreign countries.

@ There were no Federal program requirements for data
on Americans overseas, and very little use was made of
the information on Americans overseas that had been
collected in past censuses. The Departments of Defense
and State and, to a lesser extent, other government
agencies having employees abroad, maintained their
own records for these personnel.

AMERICANS OVERSEAS IN U.S. CENSUSES


Technical Paper 62

Karen M. Mills

U.S. Department of Commerce
Economics and Statistics Administration
BUREAU OF THE CENSUS


Table 2. Americans Overseas, by Type: 1830, 1840, and 1900-90

[In 1850-90 censuses, no figures were published for Americans overseas]

Dependents of
Federal employees Federal employ-
Year ees (Armed Crews of U.S.

Total, U.S. popu- Forces and merchant Private U.S.
lation abroad* Total Armed Forces Civilians civilian) vessels citizens
1990. 2925 845 (NA) 3529 269 (NA) 4(NA) 53 026 (NA)
1980. 995 546 562 962 °515 408 °47 554 °432 584 (NA) (NA)
1970. 1 737 836 1 114 224 74 057 776 °56 448 °371 366 915 910 1236 336
1960. 1 374 421 647 730 *1609 720 ®38 010 °506 393 292 464 90187 B34
1950. 13481 545 328 505 74301 595 °26 910 *107 350 1545 690 (NA)
1940. 16148 933 (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA)
1930. 1789 453 (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA)
1920. 19447 238 (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA)
4910. ‘755 608 (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA)
1900. 1991 219 (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA)
1840. . 206 100 (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA)
1830.......... 25 318 (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA)

(NA) Not available.

‘Excludes U.S. citizens temporarily abroad on private business, travel, etc. Such persons were enumerated at their usual place of residence in the
United States as absent members of their own households. Also excludes private, non-tederally affiliated U.S. citizens living abroad for an extended
period, except for 1970 and 1960, which include portions of this subpopulation.

Excludes 9,460 persons overseas whose home State was not designated and 16,999 persons overseas whose designated home “State” was a U.S.
commonwealth or territory.

°Based on administrative records provided by Department of Defense.

“Not shown separately. Total number reported of overseas Federal civilian employees and dependents (of both military and civilian personnel) was
393,550. Based on administrative records provided by 30 Federal agencies (including Department of Defense) and survey results provided by Department
of Defense.

*Vessels sailing from one foreign port to another or in a foreign port. Overseas status based on Census Location Report.

Based on administrative records provided by Office of Personnel Management and Departments of Defense and State.

7For members of the Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps abroad, based on administrative records provided by Department of Defense. Crews of
deployed U.S. military vessels were enumerated on Report for Military and Maritime Personnel. Land-based Navy and Coast Guard personnel abroad were
enumerated on Overseas Census Report.

Enumerated on Overseas Census Report.

*Vessels at sea with a foreign port as their destination or in a foreign port. Enumerated on Report for Military and Maritime Personnel.

1°U,S. citizens living abroad for an extended period not affiliated with the Federal Government and their overseas dependents. Enumerated on
Overseas Census Report.

‘Enumerated on Overseas Census Report and Report for Military and Maritime Personnel.

*2Vessels at sea or in a foreign port. Enumerated on Report for Military and Maritime Personnel.

‘Based on 20-percent sample of reports received.

‘“4Enumerated on Overseas Census Report and Crews of Vessels Report.

*SVessels at sea or in a foreign port. Enumerated on Crews of Vessels Repart.

"®Source of overseas count is unclear, see section on 1940 census.

‘7Enumerated on general population schedule.

‘®Enumerated on report for Military and Naval Population, Etc., Abroad.

‘SEnumerated on report for Military and Naval Population and report for Civilians, Residents of U.S. at Military or Naval Stations.

?°Persons on naval vessels in the service of the United States.

AMERICANS OVERSEAS IN U.S. CENSUSES OVERVIEW 7


In many cases, legal residence might reflect a State
chosen because it had no or low taxes or one where
military personnel were exempt from paying income taxes.
A 1987 General Accounting Office report had indicated
that a significant proportion of military personnel declared
their legal residence in one of the States that did not tax
personal wages or exempted all military pay from their
income.

The use of last duty station, reflecting the location of the
last facility to which a person was assigned, would result in
counting some military personnel and their dependents in
States other than their actual previous U.S. residence. For
example, those assigned to the Pentagon would be counted
as District of Columbia residents even though they might
have actually lived in Maryland or Virginia (although phys-
ically located in Virginia, the Pentagon has a duty station of
the District of Columbia).

Furthermore, one bill requiring the inclusion of overseas
military personnel and dependents in the apportionment
population (H.R. 4903) mandated the use of “home of
record.” That bill passed the House of Representatives in
June 1980, and a similar proposal (S. 2675) had been
teferred to the appropriate Senate committee for consid-
eration.€

In response to the strong congressional support for the
use of home of record data, the Commerce Department
decided to use those data, supplemented and improved
with DOD's automated records for missing information, as
the basis for including overseas military and dependents in
the 1990 apportionment counts.

A June 1990 Congressional Research Service report for
Congress found that allocating military personnel by State
using home of record most closely resembled the State-
by-State distribution of the resident population. An alloca-
tion based on last duty station varied from the resident
population distribution by 10 times as much as home of
record, and legal residence, by nearly 3 times as much.

In addition to the arrangement made with DOD for
obtaining counts of its overseas military personnel, the
Census Bureau obtained counts of overseas personnel by
home State from 29 other Federal agencies. These counts
were based principally on administrative records from the
employing agency. The DOD also conducted a survey of

®Once the Census Bureau decided to include overseas military
personnel and their dependents in the apportionment population, no
further action was taken in the 101st Congress on this matter.

6 OVERVIEW

its overseas civilian employees and dependents using a
short, self-administered questionnaire.

As in the 1970 census, allocations of the 1990 overseas
population for apportionment purposes were made at the
State level only. This population was not included, there-
fore, in the substate counts used for redistricting because
the administrative records did not contain detailed (street/
place) addresses.

In May 1991, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
filed a legal challenge against the Secretary of Commerce
and others. One of the issues in the case was the
constitutionality and/or legality of including overseas U.S.
military and Federal civilian employees and their depen-
dents living with them in the 1990 census counts used to
apportion the U.S. House of Representatives. Massachu-
setts lost its 11th House seat by a narrow margin as a
result of the apportionment after the 1990 census. This
seat, the 435th House seat allocated under the apportion-
ment formula, was shifted to Washington State.

The 1990 census apportionment, calculated by the
“method of equal proportions” that had been used since
the 1940 census, assigned a priority value to each con-
gressional seat. Constitutionally, every State starts with
one seat. Under the method of equal proportions, addi-
tional seats are added to each State's delegation based on
the priority value for that State’s next seat relative to the
other 49 States’ priority values for their next seats. Using
the 1990 apportionment population, Washington's 9th seat
was the 435th and last seat assigned; Massachusetts’
11th seat would have been the 436th.

In February 1992, a three-judge panel of the U.S.
District Court for the District of Massachusetts held that
the decision of the Secretary of Commerce to include
overseas military and Federal civilian employees and their
dependents living with them in the apportionment counts
was “‘arbitrary and capricious” under the standards of the
Federal Administrative Procedure Act.

In an appeal by the Commerce Department, the U.S.
Supreme Court in June 1992 unanimously reversed the
three-judge panel's decision. Thus, the Secretary of Com-
merce’s decision to allocate Federal military and civilian
personnel serving abroad and their dependents living with
them to the State population totals for purposes of appor-
tioning the U.S. House of Representatives was allowed to
stand and, as a result, Massachusetts lost a seat in the
House of Representatives.

AMERICANS OVERSEAS IN U.S. CENSUSES


OVERVIEW

Only twice in the first 100 years since census-taking
began in the United States in 1790 were separate counts
of the American overseas population reported in the
decennial censuses. The 1830 census was the first to
include counts for any segment of the overseas popula-
tion. The total U.S. population reported for this census and
for the 1840 census included persons on U.S. naval
vessels at sea. It was not until 60 years later, in the 1900
census, that counts of the overseas population again were
reported. Since then, overseas counts have been reported
in every decennial census.

Table 2 provides historical counts of the U.S. population
abroad or at sea reported in the decennial censuses, and
table 3 lists the data collection forms used to enumerate
components of the American overseas population.

The 1900 and 1910 censuses enumerated the U.S.
population abroad on the same forms as those used
stateside. The 1920 census was the first to use special
forms to enumerate the population abroad. The 1930
census again enumerated Americans overseas on the
general stateside population schedule.

Although microfilm of 1940 census records shows
Americans abroad enumerated on census schedules, a
1950 census report stated that in the 1940 census, the
War and Navy Departments provided the Census Bureau
with the number of their personnel stationed abroad, and
the State Department furnished counts of Americans in the
diplomatic service abroad and their dependents living with
them.

The 1950 census was the first to make provision for the
actual enumeration of Americans abroad or at sea on
special individual or household census forms. (The special
1920 form was a listing form.) The overseas groups
enumerated were U.S. military personnel and Federal
civilian employees, their dependents living with them, and
crews of U.S. merchant vessels at sea or docked in a
foreign port. The 1950 overseas enumeration was con-
ducted through cooperative arrangements with the Depart-
ments of Defense and State and the Maritime Administra-
tion.

In the 1960 census, special census report forms were
used to enumerate the same overseas groups as in 1950,
again with the cooperation of the Departments of Defense
and State and the Maritime Administration. In addition, for
the first time (the only other being 1970), a special effort
was made to obtain voluntary reports from private U.S.
citizens not affiliated with the Federal Government who
were abroad for an extended period. The reporting of
these private U.S. citizens was not complete, however, and
understated the true number of these persons abroad.

AMERICANS OVERSEAS IN U.S. CENSUSES

The same components of Americans overseas were
included again in the 1970 census. However, counts of
Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps personnel stationed
abroad were based on administrative records provided by
the Department of Defense (DOD), rather than by direct
enumeration on census forms. Census forms were used to
enumerate the following:

@ Dependents living with the Army, Air Force, and Marine
Corps personnel abroad

e Land-based Navy and Coast Guard personnel stationed
abroad and their dependents living with them

© Crews of U.S. military vessels deployed to the 6th or 7th
Fleets

e Federal civilian employees stationed abroad and their
dependents living with them

Crews of U.S. merchant vessels at sea with a foreign
port as their destination or docked in a foreign port

Private U.S. citizens living abroad for an extended period
and their dependents living with them?

The 1970 census was the first in which certain catego-
ties of Americans overseas officially were included in the
congressional apportionment population.* In this census,
the apportionment population was expanded to include
certain segments of the relatively large number of U.S.
citizens who were overseas at that time. These included
Federal employees (both military and civilian) and their
dependents living with them who resided in a U.S. com-
monwealith or territory or a foreign country and reported a
home State.

The change in the definition of the apportionment
population was made in response to bipartisan congres-
sional concern for the substantial numbers of Americans

As in 1960, the reporting of this group was not complete and
understated the true number of these persons abroad.

4In most censuses, the apportionment population base is the resident
population for each of the 50 States and is used to determine the number
of seats allotted to each State in the U.S. House of Representatives. The
apportionment population excludes the District of Columbia. By law, the
Secretary of Commerce must deliver the apportionment counts to the
President within 9 months of Census Day. Thus, for censuses conducted
‘on April 1, this date would be December 31.

Enumerator instructions for the 1900-40 censuses (and perhaps some
pre-1900 censuses such as 1850, 1870, and 1880) may have resulted in
some Americans overseas being included in the apportionment popula-
tion for these years. Enumerators were instructed in these censuses to
report certain Americans abroad as residents of their stateside home.
Thus, these persons would have been included in the resident population,
which is used to calculate the apportionment.

OVERVIEW 3


eS) =

Wy

i ae

Economics and Statistics
Administration
Paul A. London, Acting Under Secretary
for Economic Affairs

BUREAU OF THE CENSUS
Harry A. Scarr, Acting Director

Charies D. Jones, Associate Director for
Decennial Census

William P. Butz, Associate Director for
Demographic Programs

Bryant Benton, Associate Director for
Field Operations

Clifford J. Parker, Acting Associate Director
for Administration

Peter A. Bounpane, Assistant Director for
Decennial Census

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office,

Washington, DC 20402.


Aemeesieate

Overseas itt
w.S. Caicuses

by
Karen M. Mills

Issued November 1993

U.S. Department of Commerce
Ronald H. Brown, Secretary

Economics and Statistics Administration
Paul A. London, Acting Under Secretary
for Economic Affairs

BUREAU OF THE CENSUS
Harry A. Scarr, Acting Director


ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This report was prepared by Karen M. Mills, Statistician,
under the direction of Adolfo L. Paez, Chief, Data Requirements
Branch. Overall direction was provided by Patricia A. Berman,
Assistant Division Chief for Content and Data Products, Decen-
nial Management Division (DMD).

For the 1990 census, Adolfo L. Paez and Barry G. Hill, both
of DMD, coordinated the collection of data on overseas Ameri-
cans and prepared the documentation of methods and results.

Important contributions to this report were made by Frederick
G. Bohme and JoAnn Shepherd, Data User Services Division;

Barry G. Hill and Paulette Lichtman-Panzer, both formerly of
DMD; Thomas A. Jones, Program and Policy Development
Office; Mark S. Littman, then Housing and Household Economic
Statistics Division; and Robert C. Speaker, Population Division.

The staff of Administrative and Publications Services Division,
Walter C. Odom, Chief, provided publication planning, design,
composition, editorial review. and printing planning and procure-
ment. Christine O. Langley and Helen M. Curtis provided
publication coordination and editing.


Table 3. Data Collection Forms Used to Enumerate Americans Overseas: 1900-30, 1950-70, and 1990

[Source of 1940 overseas count is unclear. Forms were not used to enumerate the overseas population in 1980. Forms are Census Bureau forms.
‘except 1990 DOD survey form]

Census Form number Use in overseas data collection Distribution
1900 7-413, Schedule Listing sheet to enumerate U.S. military and naval Unknown
No. 1, Population— | personnel stationed abroad or at sea on June 1,
Military and Naval 1900 (4-page booklet, 50 person lines on each
Population’ page).
7-224, Schedule Listing sheet to enumerate overseas military depen- Unknown
No. 1, Population— | dents, Federal civilian employees at military and
Civilians, Residents ] naval stations abroad, and their dependents living
of the United with them on June 1, 1900 (2 sides, 50 person lines
States at Military or | on each side).
Naval Stations’
1910 General Population Listing sheet to enumerate U.S. military and naval Unknown
Schedule" personnel stationed abroad or at sea, Federal civil-
lan employees at military and naval stations abroad,
and their dependents living with them on April 15,
1910 (2 sides, 50 person lines on each side).
1920 D7-686, Military Listing sheet to enumerate U.S. military personnel Unknown
and Naval Popula- stationed abroad, persons abroad in the service of
tion, Ete., Abroad the American Red Cross or U.S. consular service,
their dependents living with them, and crews of U.S.
naval vessels abroad or in American waters, but not
on fixed station, on January 1, 1920 (2 sides, 50 per-
son lines on each side).
1930 15-6, General Pop- Listing sheet to enumerate U.S. military personnel Unknown
ulation Schedule’ stationed abroad, persons abroad in the service of
the American Red Cross or U.S. consular service,
their dependents living with them, and crews of U.S.
naval vessels abroad or in American waters, but not
on fixed station, on April 1, 1930 (2 sides, 50 person
lines on each side).
1950 P4, Crews of Ves- Individual form to enumerate crews of U.S. military Shipped to U.S. Navy and Coast Guard vessels and
sels Report’ and merchant marine vessels in foreign ports or at shipowners of private lines. Shipowners mailed forms
sea on April 1, 1950. to all vessels.
P5, Overseas Cen- Household form to enumerate U.S. military personnel | Distributed and collected by DOD for its personnel and
sus Report and Federal civilian employees stationed abroad, dependents abroad and by Department of State for
their dependents living with them, and private U.S. other Americans living abroad.
citizens and their dependents living abroad on
April 1, 1950.
1960 60PH-13, Report Individual form to enumerate crews of U.S. military Shipped to U.S. Navy, Coast Guard, and U.S. mer-
for Mi and and merchant marine vessels in foreign ports or at chant marine vessels, with the cooperation of DOD,
Maritime Person- sea on April 1, 1960. Coast Guard, Maritime Administration, and shipowners.
nel
60PH-15, Overseas | Household form to enumerate U.S. military personne! | Distributed and collected by DOD for its personnel and
Census Report and Federal civilian employees stationed abroad, dependents abroad and by Department of State for
their dependents living with them, and private U.S. other Americans living abroad.
citizens and their dependents living abroad on
April 1, 1960.
1970 D-21, Report for Individual form to enumerate crews of deployed U.S. | Shipped to U.S. Navy, Coast Guard, and U.S. mer-

Military and Mari-
time Personnel’

D-23, Overseas
Census Report

military vessels and merchant marine vessels in for-
eign ports or at sea with a foreign port as their desti-
nation on April 1, 1970.

Household form to enumerate overseas land-based
Navy and Coast Guard personnel, all overseas mili-
tary dependents, Federal civilian employees sta-
tioned abroad, their dependents living with them, and
private U.S. citizens and their dependents living
abroad on April 1, 1970. (DOD provided counts of
Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps personnel abroad
‘on April 1, 1970.)

chant marine vessels, with the cooperation of DOD,
Coast Guard, Maritime Administration, and shipowners.

Distributed and collected by DOD for its personnel and
dependents abroad and by Department of State for
other Americans living abroad.

See footnote at end of table.

8 OVERVIEW

AMERICANS OVERSEAS IN U.S, CENSUSES