3.4. Height

Height was almost always recorded in the enlistment records of recruits. It is measured in feet and inches, and significant clumping occurs around whole numbers. Because of this, the height variable used below is measured in inches, and dummy variables for specific heights are also measured in inches. Because growth for males can continue into the early twenties, many of the recruits had not completed their growth when they enlisted (and an unknown number lied about their age to be eligible for service, which further understates their growth). Thus, a significant question faces the researcher: what should be the enlistment age cutoff for analysis? Each year the cutoff is increased raises the precision for estimating maximum adult height because more men who have not reached their maximum height are excluded, but each additional year also imposes drastic reductions in sample size, which will reduce precision.

Table 1 illustrates this tradeoff. It shows mean enlistment height at different ages for each of the four demographic groups and the number of observations for each height/age group. In these samples, men are about an inch taller at age 20 than they are at age 18, a big difference. But then the differences taper off quickly (and a portion of the measured increase in height by age occurs because the mid-century decline in heights has just begun).⁵ In this analysis, I include recruits who were aged 20 and older in age because the difference in mean height between 20 and 23 within each demographic group is quite small and the gain in sample size from retaining those aged 20–22 is large. I have also done sensitivity tests to see if raising the age cutoff (to 23 or 25) changes the basic results reported below. It does not. I also do not make an adjustment for what is referred to as “shortfall,” the problem caused by minimum height requirements imposed by the Army. This is because estimating the distribution of heights is not my primary objective here, though the possibility exists that not having complete data on the shortest volunteers will introduce some bias into the analysis.

Mean Height (in.) by Enlistment Age

Notes: “Rural” means an enlistment city of less than 10,000 in 1860; “Mid-size” cities have 1860 population between 10,000 and 100,000; “Large” cities are New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Boston, and Chicago. Height is measured at time of enlistment.

Given these restrictions, Table 2 shows differences in height across the four demographic groups defined above. For the purposes of this analysis, I also differentiate between those who were foreign and native born. Given the large sample sizes, sharp point estimates are achievable, and it is easy to see how mean height varies across demographic sub-groups. About 1.8 inches (4.5 cm) separate the highest group (white, rural, native-native born) from the smallest group (white, foreign born in the large cities). Blacks are significantly shorter than their rural white counterparts, but they have almost exactly the same height as white soldiers enlisting in the largest cities, and their height actually exceeds the estimate of the foreign-born whites in the big cities. In short, urbanization, nativity and race are all strongly correlated with height.

Height (in.) at Enlistment (Age 20–39)

Notes: “Rural” means an enlistment city of less than 10,000 in 1860; “Mid-size” cities have 1860 population between 10,000 and 100,000; “Large” cities are New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Boston, and Chicago. Height and nativity are measured at enlistment. “Short” means < 65 in.; “Tall” means ≥ 71 in.