ABSTRACT
This paper introduces four new intergenerational and multigenerational datasets which follow both sons and daughters and which can be used to study the persistence of longevity, socioeconomic status, family structure, and geographic mobility across generations. The data follow the children of Black and White Union Army (US Civil War, 1861-5) veterans from birth to death, linking them to the available censuses. The White samples include an over-sample of children of ex-POWs. A separate collection links grandchildren of White Union Army veterans to their death records. The data were created with high quality manual linkage procedures utilizing a wide variety of records to establish links.
ABSTRACT
We analyze a random sample of 15,049 white veterans and 5,329 black veterans of the US Civil War examined by physicians between 1890 and 1906. We calculate a period prevalence of STI of 1.2-1.7% among whites and 4.2-8.0% among blacks, even though blacks and whites had almost identical prevalence of STIs in their wartime medical records. Furthermore, we find evidence that Board physicians were on the lookout for STIs among black veterans that could be used to justify denial of pension support. With or without STIs, blacks were rejected at roughly twice the rate of whites during this time period. Currently, racial disparities are even higher today than in this historical period, with blacks currently having a 5-15 times higher incidence than whites. We invite a critical reflection upon practices of screening and measurement systems to assess properly the degree to which racial prejudice may be part of these systems.
