I'm going through more family history & digging up census records. It's fascinating to see how the questions asked in each census changed over the decades.
I worked for the 2000 US Census & learned that, among other things, most people in the US have zero idea why the census is done or how it works, or why the forms ask the questions they ask, or who's responsible for making the forms.
A lot of people seemed to think the census was this arbitrary thing, a department completely separate from all the others, & the census was designed to 'spy on' US citizens.
Actually, the Census Bureau is part of the US Dept. of Commerce, it's done to allocate how many seats a state gets in the US House of Representatives, & no, it isn't to spy on anyone.
The census is mandated by US law, in fact it's in Article 1 of the US Constitution, so we *have to* do it. And the questions are chosen by Congress. So if you get a form that seems really long & invasive, take it up with your representatives, the Census didn't do it.
A little secret: at the end of the day, all the Census Bureau wants to know is how many people were living in a given household as of April 15th of that particular year. If you really, really don't want to answer the census questions, nobody's going to drag you off to jail if you don't. Seriously.
But I recommend answering, because every response is one more body that gets counted when they figure out how much representation a state gets in Congress. Which is hellaciously important, in a representative democratic republic.
@Impious_Jade Wasn't it the 1930 US Census that asked if people had a radio in their house?
The old censuses were incredible sources of information. Newer ones won't be, because valid privacy concerns limit the questions. But it's still fun to read the old ones.
@Myana Yes! And apparently my ancestors did!
I worked as a crew leader trainer & fill-in enumerator for the 2010 census.
Yep, don't answer what you don't want to. We like names & ages, too, but the form gets turned in regardless. But knowing there are x kids & x elderly helps funnel that money. Don't fill it in at all, and your district gets less money.
Get that money kids. Don't tell em what you feel isn't their business if you're so inclined. Up to you.
@Agatha Yep, totally. We didn't even care if people there were documented or not; wasn't our business.
We had a couple problematic enumerators we had to let go, but it wasn't a big problem. I worry that now there will be more emboldened MAGA enumerators who will bully people and get away with it.
@Agatha Ugh, MAGA thinking is like a nasty infection...
Oh! And unlike in the old days, neighbors and landlords can't answer the questions for the residents in question.
I have a page open from the 1930 US census. It asks some stuff we're used to answering: name, age, occupation, things like that. Other questions are outdated now: does the household have a radio? Can they read? Did they go to school?