"It's None of Their Damn Business": Privacy and Disclosure Control in the U.S. Census, 1790-2020

Abstract

The U.S. Census has grappled with public concerns about privacy since the first enumeration in 1790. Beginning in the mid-nineteenth century, census officials began responding to concerns about privacy with promises of confidentiality. In recent years, escalating concerns about confidentiality have threatened to reduce the usability of publicly accessible population data. This paper traces the history of privacy and disclosure control since 1790. We argue that controlling public access to census information has never been an effective response to public concerns about government intrusion. We conclude that the Census Bureau should weigh the costs of curtailing access to reliable data against realistic measures of the benefit of new approaches to disclosure control.

FIGURE 1

Census Marshal.-- “I jist want to know how many of yez is deaf, dumb, blind, insane, and idiotic—like-wise how many convicts there is in the family—what all your ages are, especially the old woman and the young ladies—and how many dollars the old gentleman is worth!” [Tremendous sensation all round the table.] SOURCE: Saturday Evening Post, August 18, 1860.

FIGURE 2

Newspaper articles discussing census privacy, by type of concern: LA Times, Minneapolis Star and Tribune, NY Times, Washington Post, 1870–2020

FIGURE 3

Text: 1940 U.S. Census. Are you living with your wife? How many wives have you had and if so why? How much money do you owe? How much have you got? How much did you make last year? What did you do with it? Reproduced by permission of the “Ding” Darling Wildlife Society, which owns the copyright to “Ding” Darling cartoons. SOURCE: Minneapolis Star-Ledger, February 25, 1940, p. 10.