The concept of the rectangularization of the human survival curve has received considerable attention in discussions of the past and future course of life expectancy and survival changesfor the United States population, especially at later ages. Surprisingly, few empirical studies of rectangularization have been made. In this article, we examine several aspects of this issue as they relate to changes in life expectancy, survival, and compression of ages at death duringthe twentieth century and specifically during the period 1962-1979. These studies provid evidence that rectangularization has had little impact on the population or mortality dynamicsof the elderly.