United States Census: What You Need to Know

History of the Census Article 1, Section 2 of the Constitutions

states the census will begin in 1890 and be given every 10 years following that date

The purpose of the census is to allocate Representatives based on population• Each state has a different number of

Representatives based on the population of that state

Current Number of Representatives Per State

Background The process of allocating seats in the

House based on state population is called apportionment

Dividing up Representatives by population instead of wealth or land holders is a uniquely democratic idea

Background The census has evolved over time The first census only collected data

on the number of men, women, free African-Americans, and enslaved people

Over time the census has grown in scope (what data is recorded), size (who they gather data on), and complexity (based on changes in government, economy, and society)

Changes The census has recorded many

changes in American history In 1920 information gathered in the

census indicated the country was now more urban than rural

1920 Census

Why is it Important? Today, census data is used to allocate

congressional seats It is also used to make decisions about

providing community services and how to distribute $300-400 billion in federal funding to local, state, and tribal governments each year

This money is used to improve schools, hospitals, roads, senior services and other community services

Task-Census Historian Today you will be gathering

information on how the census has changed throughout American history

You will use the websites on the next slide to find important events that changed the census

You timeline should be unique to what you find interesting

Helpful Websites-You may also Google “census history”

www.census.gov/history http://www.census.gov/history/www/throu

gh_the_decades/fast_facts/

http://mapserver.lib.virginia.edu/ http://

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Census

http://www.infoplease.com/spot/census2.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/includes/census_timeline.htm