Does anyone know if there is an interracial marriage identifier for any years back to 1800? I know you can link spouses/race, but surely there is an idenitfier for this…
Your question is in the IPUMS NHGIS topic, but I’m not aware of any data tables on IPUMS NHGIS that identify interracial marriages. My recommendation is to use the individual-level full count census microdata (offered from 1850-1950) on IPUMS USA. While there is no variable that identifies interracial marriages, it is relatively straightforward to construct such a variable using the available data.
The IPUMS USA microdata links spouses in the pointer variable SPLOC using the IPUMS family interrelationship linking algorithm (refer to the SPLOC variable documentation for more information). While the relationship between the household head and each individual is directly reported from 1880-onwards, the algorithm provides additional links between household members who are not the household head. Note that the 1850-1870 samples have all relationships imputed since these did not record relationship to head of household or marital status (refer to IMPREL for more information). Additionally, there have been many changes to reporting of race across time, particularly when it comes to multiracial groups. I strongly recommend reviewing the Comparability tab for RACE for an overview of these changes and issues to be aware of. The instructions to census enumerators can also be a helpful resource for understanding how this information was reported.
Once you’ve added samples and relevant variables to your data cart, you can use the Attach Characteristics tool to add a new variable called “RACE_SP” that will report the race of each person’s linked spouse. You can access this tool from the Extract Request window after clicking to view your cart and create your data extract. A simple tabulation of RACE by RACE_SP should then help you identify interracial marriages. We offer short video tutorials including on how to use the Attach Characteristics tool that may be helpful if you get stuck.