History of the Census
From Ancient Romans to GPS Technology
May 28, 2009 Elizabeth Linehan
The first recorded census took place in the 5th century b.c. in Rome. Under the rule of Servius Tullius, the sixth king of Rome, the population was counted and divided into classes according to wealth. This “timocratic” system (defined as “an Aristotelian state in which civic honor or political power increases with the amount of property one owns.” Houghton Mifflin Co, 2000) used the information gathered to voting rights and military supplies amongst the population according to their status. According to roman-empire.net, the penalty for not disclosing information such as family size and make up, slaves, servants, land, and livestock owned, etc, was forfeiture of all properties, as well as enslavement.
Plague Killed 70,000 in Punishment
The Bible tells of an unauthorized census demanded by King David of the people of Israel and Judah. Apparently, this angered God so much he sent a pestilence through Israel that killed 70,000 men. (2 Samuel 24)
During the reign of Caesar Augustus, the census was taken every 5 years. Families were to travel to the city of the husband’s heritage for the purposes of taxation. This was the census that called Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem.
William the Conqueror’s 1086 Census Becomes Doomsday Book
The census was discontinued at the collapse of the Roman Empire. William the Conqueror took a single census in 1086 to determine what taxes he could collect for the sake of defending England against Danish invaders. There were two stages to this census. In the first, the king’s men counted not only the heads of families, but their servants, bond and free, and all land and livestock. Anything that could be taxed. The second phase was described by Robert, Bishop of Hereford: “After these investigators came others who were sent to unfamiliar counties to check the first description and to denounce wrong-doers to the king. And the land was troubled with many calamities arising from the gathering of royal taxes.” (Doomsdaybook, 2008) This one-time census was never truly completed, the work ceasing with the death of Augustus in 1087.
Because of the biblical account of the plague that killed 70,000, much of western civilization shied away from the census for fear of offending God. Not until Quebec and Nova Scotia initiated a census in 1665 did people begin to overcome that fear. Iceland, Germany and Sweden each hosted their own census in the early to mid-18th century. Still, religious groups in the US delayed a census in this country until 1790 when President George Washington commissioned a census that made history with both the size of the territory covered and the scope of the information gathered.
US Census Every 10 Years Since 1790
Since 1790, the United States has conducted a “decennial” census (every ten years) without exception. The process has evolved as has the information gathered. For the majority of years, questionnaires were filled out in person with the enumerator completing forms on paper, then clerks tabulating it all in offices across the country. Today, the preparation for the 2010 census is being conducted for the first time using GPS technology. The surveys will still be done on paper but it has been pared down to a mere ten questions. Surveys will be sent by mail rather than in person.
Title 13 Protects PII for 72 Years
Today’s census information is for purely statistical and demographic data uses. Title 13, the law that protects Personally Identifiable Information, or PII, from non-census use was tested in 1951 when President Harry Truman had to be temporarily moved from the Whitehouse. The Secret Service fought to gain access to census information for the security of the President. They were unsuccessful. Title 13 held and the information remained secure, even from the President. Personally Identifiable Information only becomes accessible to the public (or other agencies) after 72 years.
From Roman armies to today’s statistics and government distributions, the purposes of the census have been as varied and changeable as the civilizations which they tallied. They still perform one common task – to show us a fascinating picture of our country’s ever-evolving population.
Today's census has come a long way.
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