Historical U.S. census and vital records

A history of the U.S. Census

If you are seeking more detailed information, see:
Encyclopedia of the U.S. Census from the Constitution to the American Community Survey

Measuring America: The Decennial Censuses From 1790 to 2000.(includes questionnaries from every census)

For a history of the census as both a political and a bureaucratic process:
The American census: a social history.

Dubester’s U.S. census bibliography with SuDocs class numbers and indexes.

State censuses; an annotated bibliography of censuses of population taken after the year 1790 by States and Territories of the United States.

State census records

Bureau of the Census catalog of publications, 1790-1972

Historical Statistics on the Foreign Born Population of the United States: 1850-2000 Bureau of the Census
Tables include country of birth, mother tongue, race, age and sex at the national level. Also provides nativity data (foreign or native born) for metropolitan areas, counties, and 50 large urban areas.

Encyclopedia of American Immigration. Salem Press, 2010.
Very brief entries for every state, with a few references.
Trustee Reading Room Reference (DR): JV6465 .E53 2010.

A Companion to American Immigration. Edited by Reed Ueda. Malden, MA ; Oxford : Blackwell Pub., 2006.
Donald E. Stokes Library (SPR): JV6465 .C74 2006.

Family Search, a service of the Church of Latter-Day Saints, offers digitized collections of birth, marriage, and death records, records of military service, and probate records (wills and estates).