Facts by Decade

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Facts by Decade

Censuses are not conducted in a vacuum. They occur amidst internal and external crisis, shifts in cultural interests, and events that become "defining moments" for each generation. Census data reflect the growth of the population as well as the changing values and interests of the American people.

Fast Facts provides a portrait of the United States both statistically and culturally. In addition to census-related statistics, the innovations, events, and icons of each decade are highlighted. Each page illustrates the thought and culture of the population counted during each decade's census.

1920

ICONS: Radio Broadcasting, Charlie Chaplin, Charles Lindbergh

Population

106,021,537	U.S. Resident Population
29.9	Population per square mile of land area
15.0	Percent increase of population from 1910 to 1920
48	Number of States

10 Largest Urban Places

Rank	Place	Population
1	New York City, NY	5,620,048
2	Chicago, IL	2,701,705
3	Philadelphia, PA	1,823,779
4	Detroit, MI	993,078
5	Cleveland, OH	796,841
6	St. Louis, MO	772,897
7	Boston, MA	748,060
8	Baltimore, MD	733,826
9	Pittsburgh, PA	588,343
10	Los Angeles, CA	576,673

The 1920 Census

Cost	$25,117,000
Cost per Capita (cents)	23.7
Total Pages in Published Reports	14,550
Number of Enumerators	87,234
Census Bureau Director	Samuel Lyle Rogers
Number of Questions on the Questionnaire	34
Number of Questions on the Long Form	N/A

Pop Culture

On August 18, 1920, the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is ratified prohibiting any U.S. citizen from being denied the right to vote based on sex.
KDKA in Pittsburgh, PA, becomes the first radio station to offer regular broadcasts on November 2, 1920.
On March 4, 1921, Congress approved the burial of an unidentified American soldier from World War I in the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery.
Lila Bell and DeWitt Wallace begin publishing Reader's Digest in 1922.
F. Scott Fitzgerald publishes The Great Gatsby in 1925.
Tennessee school teacher John T. Scopes' trial for teaching Darwin's "Theory of Evolution" begins July 1925.
A. A. Milne publishes his first collection of stories about the character Winnie-the-Pooh in 1926.
Charles Lindbergh lands "Spirit of St. Louis" in Paris on May 21, 1927, successfully completing the first trans-Atlantic flight.
Audiences see the first motion picture with sound The Jazz Singer in 1927.
Ford Motor Company celebrates as the 15 millionth Model T rolls off its Highland Park, MI, assembly line on May 26, 1927.
William Faulkner publishes The Sound and the Fury in 1929.