Statistical Reforms Accelerated by Sixth Census Errors.

American census-taking procedures had evolved slowly from the inception of the decennial census in 1790 until 1840, when a new high seemed evident in the many additional categories included in the survey. On publication, however, numerous errors were discovered in the figures, precluding the usefulness of the census data. Paradoxically, the discovery of these errors in the sixth census was to become the catalyst for reforms that would spearhead the government's use of modern statistical procedures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]