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A census tells us not only about our past,
but it can help us prepare for our future.
So, how do we know about our nation?
To better understand where we came from,
let's take a look back at what America was like
during the first census.
It's 1790 and New York is the capital.
George Washington has given the first
State of the Union Address.
The Supreme Court of the United States
convenes for the very first time.
The men and women are wearing stylish fashions.
And James Madison and Thomas Jefferson,
who helped to craft the Constitution
and mandate that a census of the population
be conducted every 10 years,
are drafting the questions to be asked in the first census.
Madison felt it imperative to understand the interests
and make-up of each community
in order to determine the proper provisions
and best meet the needs of the people.
And because of this Madison believed
that occupational skills should be documented
as part of the first census.
By knowing the number of people living throughout the country,
the government made sure each state had proper representation,
giving voice to the people.
Because of the importance of the data,
Congress mandated a $20 fine for those refusing
to participate in the Census.
In a country that stretched nearly 900,000 square miles,
it was difficult to count every man, woman and child.
There were physical obstacles and the people were resistant,
fearing a census meant new taxes.
But our Founding Fathers saw the importance
of getting an accurate count and had the foresight
to see what it meant then
and what it would mean in the future.
There were only about 4 million people living in the
United States then, with half of them under 16 years old.
The majority of the population was clustered along the Atlantic coast.
These pioneers laid the foundation for the culturally rich
and ethnically diverse country we have today.
In 1790 the economy was just a shadow of the industries,
companies, and organizations we now have.
Back then there were fewer than 100 newspapers
in the entire country and only three banks.
But, we were on the verge of tremendous growth and expansion -
a growth that would need to sustain a society with changing needs,
and industrial and technological advancements.
As our country expanded,
so did the way the census was conducted,
with new questions being added to mirror the changing times.
In 1810, questions on manufacturing were included.
1820 introduced questions about occupation.
In 1830 we see the first questions
about people with disabilities.
These types of questions are now seen
in the American Community Survey,
which has been an integral tool
in supplementing the once-a-decade census
by providing yearly statistics on a wealth of topics.
The answer to these questions are just as important now
as they were then, providing us with data that impacts
and supports our changing needs.
And the best way to identify these needs is
through a detailed description of our population:
Understanding how many of us there are.
Who we are.
How we get around.
Where we work.
How much we earn.
Where we live.
The answers to these questions inform the decisions we make
in order to address and meet the demands
of our growing communities and country.
Over the past century,
the Census Bureau surveys have evolved
to meet the changing needs of the country.
Our Founding Fathers knew that with a country as new, diverse,
and advanced as ours, putting the proper methods in place
to ensure political representation
and capture these ever changing needs, would surely be one
of the greatest tools they could bestow upon us.
By continuing to measure the country through its censuses
and surveys, the Census Bureau fosters the goals set in place
by our Founding Fathers,
and this is how we know about our nation.
The Census Bureau: measuring America's people,
places and economy.
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