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The continuation of the antebellum puzzle: stature in the US, 1847–1894

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 March 2011

MATTHIAS ZEHETMAYER
MATTHIAS ZEHETMAYER*
Affiliation:
University of Munich, Matthias.Zehetmayer@gmail.com
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Abstract

This article explores whether the antebellum decline in heights continued in the second half of the nineteenth century by using a data set of more than 58,000 US Army recruits born between 1847 and 1894. The main finding is that heights continued to decline during the Civil War by about 0.4 in. (1.0 cm) and stagnated for an extended period of time before they began to increase among the birth cohorts of the late 1880s. Recruits from the South remained the tallest despite the Civil War, while those from the Northeast were the shortest. Height was positively correlated with proximity to protein-rich nutrients during childhood and with geographic mobility, and was negatively correlated with urbanization and infant mortality rates.

Type
Research Article
Information
European Review of Economic History , Volume 15 , Issue 2 , August 2011 , pp. 313 - 327
Copyright
Copyright © European Historical Economics Society 2011

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References

Data sources

Minnesota Population Center. 2004. National Historical Geographic Information System (NHGIS): Pre-release Version 0.1. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota. www.nhgis.orgGoogle Scholar
National Archives and Records Administration. 7th and Pennsylvania Ave., NW Washington DC 20408–0001. Microfilm ID M233. Record Group 094. Register of Enlistments in the US Army, 1798–1914, vol. 94 (96%), vol. 96 (100%), vol. 97 (10%), vol. 98 (93%), vol. 100 (88%), vol. 102 (100%), vol. 103 (80%), vol. 104 (100%), vol. 105 (100%) (% represents percentage of volumes sampled).Google Scholar

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