History 454/654 Nov. 5, 1999

[Note: following up on our discussion of agriculture before and after the Civil War, and of farm tenancy, here is an extensive database of southern farms drawn from the 1880 census of agriculture and population. The compilers-Sutch and Ransom-are particularly interested in the way that different farms emphasized different production strategies. Can you see any difference in the mix of output based on tenure (i.e., ownership or tenant)? On race?

************************************************************************** SOUTHERN AGRICULTURAL HOUSEHOLDS IN THE UNITED STATES, 1880 compiled by Richard Sutch and Roger Ransom, ICPSR Study No. 9430 (updated 1992)

SUMMARY = This data collection describes the organization of agriculture and the operation of the Southern economy following the Civil War, with emphasis on the relationship between race and tenure status of farm operators. Economic and agricultural data were compiled from the 1880 Census of Agriculture. Information provided includes the location of the farm (region, state, county, and enumeration district), tenure of the farm operator, number of acres in tillage, meadows, woodland, and other uses, type of crops being farmed and production figures, and the number of various livestock (horses, mules, oxen, cows, sheep, and swine). Additionally, data are presented on the value of the farm, farm implements, livestock, and farm products, and costs associated with fences, fertilizer, and wages. Demographic information drawn from the 1880 Census of Population includes the race, literacy, age, and birthplace of the farm operator, number of people living in the house, and number of people working on the farm.;

SAMPLING = The South was divided into economic regions that were relatively homogeneous, and one or more representative counties were selected from each region. This group of farms was then sampled at a minimum rate of 10 percent, blocks of five farms each being selected with a skip interval of 45 farms.; CASE.COUNT = 11,202

UNIVERSE = All farms reported by the 1880 Agriculture Census in the 11 Confederate states of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas. The western area of Texas and southern area of Florida were excluded due to lack of settlement in 1880.;

\par V1 Farm ID number 1 \par \par V2 Card Number 2 \par \par V3 Sample Number 3 \par \par \par V4 State Code 4 \par \par Value Label \par \par 1 Alabama \par 2 Arkansas \par 8 Delaware \par 9 District of Columbia \par 10 Florida \par 11 Georgia \par 17 Kentucky \par 18 Louisiana \par 20 Maryland \par 24 Mississippi \par 25 Missouri \par 33 North Carolina \par 38 South Carolina \par 39 Tennessee \par 40 Texas \par 43 Virginia \par 45 West Virginia \par \par V5 County Code (FIPS) 5 \par \par V6 Region Code 6 \par \par V7 Enumeration District 7 \par \par V8 Ag. Census Page Number 8 \par \par V9 Ag. Census Line Number 9 \par \par V10 Population Census Page Number 10 \par \par V11 Population Census Line Number 11 \par \par V12 Footnote Code 12 \par \par V13 Race of farm operator 13 \par \par Value Label \par \par 1 white \par 2 black \par 3 all others \par \par V14 literacy of farm operator 14 \par \par Value Label \par \par 0 yes, reads and writes \par 1 no, neither reads nor writes \par \par V15 age of farm operator 15 \par \par V16 number of people in farm household 16 \par \par V17 number of people who work on farm 17 \par \par V18 birthplace of farm operator 18 \par \par Value Label \par \par 1 Alabama \par 2 Arizona \par 3 Arkansas \par 4 California \par 5 Colorado \par 6 Connecticut \par 7 Dakota Terr. \par 8 Delaware \par 9 District of Columbia \par 10 Florida \par 11 Georgia \par 12 Idaho \par 13 Illinois \par 14 Indiana \par 15 Iowa \par 16 Kansas \par 17 Kentucky \par 18 Louisiana \par 19 Maine \par 20 Maryland \par 21 Massachusetts \par 22 Michigan \par 23 Minnesota \par 24 Mississippi \par 25 Missouri \par 26 Montana \par 27 Nebraska \par 28 Nevada \par 29 New Hampshire \par 30 New Jersey \par 31 New Mexico \par 32 New York \par 33 North Carolina \par 34 Ohio \par 35 Oregon \par 36 Pennsylvania \par 37 Rhode Island \par 38 South Carolina \par 39 Tennessee \par 40 Texas \par 41 Utah \par 42 Vermont \par 43 Virginia \par 44 Washington State \par 45 West Virginia \par 46 Wisconsin \par 47 Wyoming \par 48 Indian Territory (Oklahoma) \par 50 Europe (country not specified) \par 51 Great Britain \par 52 Ireland \par 53 France \par 54 Germany & Austria \par 55 Belgium \par 56 Sweden \par 57 Norway \par 58 Denmark \par 59 Finland \par 60 Italy \par 61 Spain & Portugal \par 62 Ottoman Empire \par 63 Russia \par 64 Canada \par 70 Asia \par 75 Africa \par 80 South America \par 85 Caribbean \par 90 other (not specified) \par 95 birthplace not known \par \par V19 tenure code 19 \par \par Value Label \par \par 1 no tenure given \par 2 owns farm \par 3 rents for cash \par 4 rents for share \par 5 owns and rents for cash \par 6 owns and rents for shares \par 7 rents for shares and cash \par 8 owns, rents for shares & cash \par \par V20 number of tilled acres 20 \par \par V21 acres of meadows 21 \par \par V22 acres of woodland 22 \par \par V23 other acres 23 \par \par V24 value of the farm 24 \par \par V25 value of farm implements 25 \par \par V26 value of livestock 26 \par \par V27 cost of fences 27 \par \par V28 cost of fertilizer 28 \par \par V29 value of farm products 29 \par \par V30 number of horses 30 \par \par V31 number of mules 31 \par \par V32 total wage-bill on farm 32 \par \par V33 man-weeks of white labor 33 \par \par V34 man-weeks of black labor 34 \par \par V35 wage-quality code 35 \par \par Value Label \par \par 1 wage data correct \par 2 wage data not reliable \par 3 wage data reliable, but not by race \par 4 unreliable wage data, race unknown \par \par V36 number of oxen 36 \par \par V37 number of milk cows 37 \par \par V38 number of other cattle 38 \par \par V39 number of sheep 39 \par \par V40 number of swine 40 \par \par V41 acres of corn 41 \par \par V42 bushels of corn 42 \par \par V43 acres of cotton 43 \par \par V44 bales of cotton 44 \par \par V45 bushels of Irish potatoes 45 \par \par V46 bushels of sweet potatoes 46 \par \par V47 number of acres in other crops 47 \par \par V48 number of other crops 48