IV 
112TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. RES. 637 
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the release of 
information with respect to the 1940 decennial census is a cause for 
celebration, that the National Archives and Records Administration and 
the Bureau of the Census should be commended for maintaining custody 
of such information, and that the citizens of the United States should 
use such information to learn about their family history. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 27, 2012 
Mr. DAVIS of Illinois (for himself and Mr. GOWDY) submitted the following 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Gov-
ernment Reform 
RESOLUTION 
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that 
the release of information with respect to the 1940 de-
cennial census is a cause for celebration, that the Na-
tional Archives and Records Administration and the Bu-
reau of the Census should be commended for maintaining 
custody of such information, and that the citizens of 
the United States should use such information to learn 
about their family history. 
Whereas Article I, Section 2, of the Constitution of the 
United States calls for an enumeration of the United 
States population every 10 years; 
Whereas the first decennial census was conducted in 1790; 
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•HRES 637 IH 
Whereas the law prohibits the release of information about an 
individual to any other individual or agency until 72 
years after such information is collected for the decennial 
census; 
Whereas the National Archives and Records Administration 
will release records from the 1940 Census; 
Whereas the 1940 decennial census included the first ques-
tion about income and was the first census of housing, 
with enumerators collecting information for a housing 
census at the same time they gathered information for 
the population census; 
Whereas the 1940 decennial census was the last census con-
ducted prior to the United States entering World War II 
in 1941; 
Whereas the 1940 decennial census followed the Great De-
pression and documented the hardships Americans lived 
through in the Great Depression, including— 
(1) that more than 15 percent of the labor force was 
unemployed (for the week of March 24th, 1940); 
(2) that the birth rate dropped to 18 infants for 
each 1,000 citizens in 1940 from 25 infants for each 
1,000 citizens in 1915; 
(3) that there was a drop in immigration into the 
United States, a decline influenced by the economic con-
ditions of the 1930s; the foreign-born population of the 
United States stood at 14,204,149 in 1930 but had fallen 
to 11,594,896 in 1940; 
(4) that home ownership declined from 48 percent in 
1930 to a little less than 44 percent in 1940; and 
(5) that, in terms of housing, 9,000,000 homes 
lacked running water, 13,000,000 homes had outside toi-
lets or none at all, and 14,000,000 homes had no bath 
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•HRES 637 IH 
facilities; in total, 15,800,000 homes in the United States 
lacked some portion of complete plumbing; 
Whereas the release of 1940 decennial census records shows 
us how our society has changed over the past 72 years, 
including— 
(1) that the 1940 decennial census counted 
132,200,000 people and by 2010 the population had 
grown to 308,700,000 people; 
(2) 
that 
in 
2010, 
housing 
units 
numbered 
131,700,000, compared with 37,200,000 in 1940; 
(3) that in 1940, the most populous state was New 
York, with a population of 13,500,000, and that Pennsyl-
vania, Illinois, Ohio, and California rounded out the top 
five most populous States; in 2010, the most populous 
state was California, with a population of 37,300,000, 
and Texas, New York, Florida, and Illinois followed; 
(4) that while only 5 percent of adults had a bach-
elor’s degree in 1940, 28 percent had such a degree in 
2010; 
(5) that in 1940, 89.8 percent of the country re-
ported their race as White and 9.8 percent as Black, but, 
in 2010, 72.4 percent reported as single-race White and 
12.6 percent as single-race Black; and 
(6) that in 1940, the median annual earnings for 
men and women were $956 and $592, respectively, but, 
in 2010, they were $47,715 and $36,931, respectively; 
and 
Whereas since the first decennial census in 1790, statistics 
and information about our Nation and its people have 
been available to everyone and are an enduring part of 
our democracy and way of life: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
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•HRES 637 IH 
(1) acknowledges the historical significance of 
April 2, 2012, for the release of the 1940 decennial 
census records; 
(2) commends the National Archives and 
Records Administration and the Bureau of the Cen-
sus for the collection and maintenance of these vital 
historical records; and 
(3) encourages the people of the United States 
to research their family history in the 1940 decen-
nial census records. 
Æ 
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