History

Legislation

Senate Committees on the Census (1878-1921)

The U.S. Senate's Select Committee on the Tenth Census was established by Senate resolution on April 4, 1878, and terminated on March 3, 1887, with the end of the 49th Congress. It was succeeded on December 3, 1887, at the beginning of the 50th Congress, by the standing Committee on the Census, which was itself abolished in 1921, along with many other inactive committees.

Chairmen of the Select Committee on the Tenth Census: 1878-1887

Justin S. Morrill, first Chairman of the Select
Committee on the Tenth Census, 1878-1879
Photo courtesy of Harvard University Library

• Justin S. Morrill (1878-1879)
• George H. Pendleton (1879-1881)
• Eugene Hale (1881-1887)

Chairmen of the Committee on the Census: 1887-1921

• Eugene Hale (1887-1893)
• David Turpie (1893-1895)
• William Chandler (1895-1897)
• Thomas H. Carter (1897-1901)
• Joseph V. Quarles (1901-1905)
• Chester Long (1905-1909)
• Robert M. La Follette (1909-1913)
• William E. Chilton
• Morris Sheppard (1916-1919)
• Howard Sutherland (1919-1921)

For more information:

The National Archives maintains a limited number of records pertaining to the U.S. Senate's committees on the census in Record Group 46 (U.S. Senate). Records include presidential messages, correspondence, and legislative case files. For more on the Archive's holdings, click here.