 The U.S. Constitution mandates a count of everyone, both citizens
and noncitizens. Article 1, Section 2 of the Constitution states:
The actual Enumeration shall be made within three Years after the
first Meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every
subsequent Term of ten Years, in such Manner as they shall by Law
direct.
The federal government has followed this mandate since the first
census in 1790. The Constitution's framers intended all inhabitants
of the country to be counted in the census, and so it has.
Unfortunately, in the same article the Constitution also dictated
that slaves be counted as three-fifths of a person, which they were
until slavery was abolished in 1865.
The first United States census in 1790 estimated the country's
population at 3,929,214. The most recent census, in 2000, showed the
population to be 281,421,906. The population for 2010 is estimated
to have eclipsed the 3 million mark.
The Census Bureau has advertised that the 2010 census is one of
the shortest census forms in history, touting it as "10 Questions in
10 Minutes." The Census Bureau is no longer using the so-called
"long forms." Previously, one in six households received a more
detailed questionnaire asking for specific social and economic
information. This year, the census will consist of only a
10-question form asking basic questions, such as name, gender, age,
date of birth, race, ethnicity, relationship and housing tenure. The
form asks to account for everyone living at an address as of April
1, 2010.
While the long form is being discarded, the Census Bureau will
continue their "American Community Survey," sent to several thousand
representative households a month in each state, asking more
involved questions about the household, including the income amount,
who provides the health insurance, the mode of transportation for
work and the amount of living expenses for that household.
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The following questions will be asked on the 2010 Census Bureau
form:
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How many people
were living or staying in this house, apartment or mobile home
as of April 1, 2010?
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Were there any
other additional people staying here as of April 1, 2010, that
you did not include in Question 1?
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Is this house,
apartment, or mobile home owned by you or someone else, or is it
rented?
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What is your
telephone number?
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Please provide
information for each person living here. Start with a person
living here who owns or rents this house, apartment or mobile
home. If the owner or renter lives somewhere else, start with
any adult living here. This will be Person 1. What is Person 1's
name?
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What is Person 1's
sex?
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What is Person 1's
age and what is Person 1's date of birth?
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Is Person 1 of
Hispanic, Latino or Spanish origin?
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What is Person 1's
race?
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Does Person 1
sometimes live or stay somewhere else?
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If more people
were counted in Question 1, continue with Person 2.
Delivery of the 2010 census forms in Illinois is scheduled to
begin in the first week of March. Once households receive the form,
they are asked to complete it and mail it back in the postage-paid
envelope provided. The Census Bureau considers a person's residence
the place where a person lives or sleeps most of the time. The form
is available in six languages.
If an additional form or additional help is needed, many
communities have set up community centers for census information.
One such place in Logan County is at the Lincoln Heritage Museum at
Lincoln College.
The Census Bureau is under the direction of the U.S. Department
of Commerce. For more information about the 2010 census, visit
2010census.gov or call
866-872-6868.
[Text from file received from Ron
J. Keller]
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