Political Implications of the 1950 Census of Population
| Date | 01 December 1950 |
| Author | Roy V. Peel |
| Published date | 01 December 1950 |
| DOI | 10.1177/106591295000300410 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
615
POLITICAL
IMPLICATIONS
OF
THE
1950
CENSUS
OF
POPULATION
Roy
V.
PEEL
Director,
Bureau
of
the
Census
HE
TREMENDOUS
shifts
of
population
within
the
United
States
~
revealed
by
the
Seventeenth
Decennial
Census
are
significant
in
their
political
implications.
Western
gain
at
the
expense
of
the
North-
east,
the
Midwest,
and
the
South,
in
representation
in
the
House
of
Representatives
of
the
Congress
of
the
United
States,
is
one
significant
implication.
Increased
urban
representation
at
the
expense
of
the
fading
strength
of
the
rural
areas
of
the
country
is
another.
Within
states,
the
great
concentration
of
population
inside
the
boundaries
of
a
relatively
few
counties
will
have
a
major
bearing
on
the
membership
pattern
of
future
state
legislatures.
For
urban
centers
of
the
country,
there
is
great
signi-
ficance
in
the
rapid
growth
rate
of
their
suburbs.
The
decentralization
within
urban
areas
will
have
its
effect
with
respect
to
annexations,
city-
county
consolidations,
taxation
bases,
and
other
political
changes
which
are
certain
to
follow.
CONGRESSIONAL
REAPPORTIONMENT
Article
I,
Section
2,
of
the
Constitution
expresses
the
primary
pur-
pose
of
the
Decennial
Census
of
the
United
States,
which
remains
today,
as
in
the
beginning,
that
&dquo;Representatives
...
shall
be
apportioned
among
the
several
States
which
may
be
included
in
this
Union
according
to
their
respective
numbers.&dquo;
To
determine
&dquo;their
respective
numbers,&dquo;
the
Con-
stitution
provides
that
an
enumeration
of
the
population
of
the
states
shall
be
made
within
a
period
of
every
ten
years
following
the
first
Census
which
was
conducted
in
1790.
This
is
the
charter
under
which
the
Bureau
of
the
Census
operates.
Under
the
Act
of
November
15,
1941,
the
apportionment
of
the
present
number
of
representatives
(435)
is
determined
by
a
fixed
mathe-
matical
formula,
the
method
of
equal
proportions.
A
tabulation
of
the
number
of
representatives
to
which
each
state
is
entitled
under
this
method
has
been
made
and
transmitted
to
the
President
of
the
United
States.
The
Act
requires
the
President
to
transmit
this
information
to
the
82nd
Congress
during
the
first
week
of
its
first
regular
session
in
January
1951,
and
to
specify
the
number
of
representatives
to
which
each
state
will
be
entitled
in
the
83rd
Congress
on
the
basis
of
an
apportionment
of
the
present
435
seats
in
the
House.
The
Act
specifies
that
within
fifteen
days
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