Scope and Content Note
The records of the United States President's Research Committee on Social Trends span the years 1924-1936 and consist of statistics compiled in preparing the report, drafts of chapters of the report, commentary on chapters by the authors of the chapters, scrapbooks of newspaper and magazine clippings about the research committee, and data collected by Edmund de Schweinitz Brunner in a survey of rural communities and used in part in preparing the report.
The statistics compiled in preparing the report relate to three chapters of the final report: “The Population of the Nation,” “Crime and Punishment,” and “Changes in Religious Organizations.” The statistics relating to “The Population of the Nation” are the most complete, and include instructions on how the averages and means were computed. In depth statistics for eighteen cities were compiled from the census returns for 1910, 1920, and 1930, and are filed alphabetically by the name of the city. Oversize tabulation sheets contain miscellaneous compilations of statistics relating to population growth and change.
The statistics relating to “Crime and Punishment” are photographic reproductions of microfilm copies of various printed statistical reports. These are indexed, and the index refers to the reel number of the original microfilm for each entry. The statistics relating to “Changes in Religious Organizations” are largely unorganized and incomplete. Many of the papers contain mathematical computations without indications as to what the figures represent.
The Drafts and Reports contain some drafts of chapters in the final report as well as specially prepared commentary on the methodology and findings in particular chapters, prepared by the author of that chapter. These are arranged in the order of the chapters in the final report.
The Scrapbooks were prepared by a clipping service for Raymond C. Mayer, one of the members of the committee. Arranged by type of clipping, the scrapbooks provide an overview of reaction to the final report as submitted by the committee. Volumes 9 and 10 contain copies of a serialized condensation of the final report prepared by committee member William F. Ogburn.
Data from a survey of rural communities were used by Brunner in preparing his chapter, “Rural Life.” The survey was already in progress when the research committee began work in 1929, and it was continued until 1936 under the auspices of the Institute of Social and Religious Research. Therefore, the data contains material collected in 1935 and 1936 and not used in the research committee's report as well as material collected in 1924 and 1930 and used in the report. The data is arranged alphabetically by state and thereunder alphabetically by town or city.