History of Alcohol, US Census & A Determined Minority

lessons for the abortion fight now

Controversies over the 2020 U.S. census continue in 2022. For example, Trump-related documents about the 2020 census were recently acquired by Congress (see NYT). And there are reports that the 2020 census undercounted Blacks and Hispanics (see WSJ). And there are many other related recent reports regarding the 2020 census.

The New York Times has declared the 2020 census as the most “contentious count in memory.”

This statement is certainly correct — at least for two reasons. First, no one with a living memory of the 1920 census is alive (perhaps a handful still are). Second, most scholars of American history don’t seem to remember the shocking story of the 1920 census.

To better understand the 1920 census, we dug back a few years to the 1910s, which was a BIG decade in U.S. history. Here are some highlights from that decade, judge for yourself: (1) WWI, (2) the Spanish flu pandemic, (3) the income tax Constitutional amendment, (4) U.S. senators’ popular election Constitutional amendment, (5) women’s right to vote Constitutional amendment, and (6) the alcohol ban Constitutional amendment. Also, in 1920 Congress and the White House turned red — meaning Republicans won. Then came the 1920s!