US Census and Identity Politics

The US Constitution requires the the Federal Government determine how many and where its citizens live:

“Representation and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers … . 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.”

Article I, Section 2 of the Constitution of the United States

Initially, that’s all the government did; count its citizens. However,it did require a differentiation of “white male” and “white female” and “slave” in each household. One of the reasons for this is that slaves were accorded 3/5ths of a person when counted for purposes of apportionment, based upon a compromise during the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787. Additional census questions were added over time throughout the history of the US Census. However, the question of race has been a relatively consistent feature during every census.

Regardless, the reasoning behind asking for the racial identity of our citizens has changed. Obviously the issue of slavery is no longer in need of tracking. Since the 1960′s, the reasons have been more associated with “affirmative action” and white guilt. Nonetheless, accurately defining ones “race” is becoming much more difficult in today’s United States.

Mark Krikorian, the Executive Director of the Center for Immigration Studies and a contributor at National Review Online, made an outstanding suggestion the other day;  when you fill out your census questionnaire this month, on question number 9, check the box “Some other Race – Print race:” and then enter “American” on the space provided.

Michelle Malkin concurs.

UPDATE: James Taranto writes a well stated piece on racial politics in last Monday’s Best of the Web (opening article).

UPDATE 2: Hans A. von Spakoski wrote a post last night on this issue and made a couple of great points:

I have been deluged lately with requests asking me whether one has to answer all of the questions on the 2010 Census, particularly those about race and ethnic background. Like Mark Krikorian, I don’t like those questions and don’t think the U.S. government should be collecting that information — its only use is to continue to separate us on racial grounds, for reapportionment purposes and for certain government programs.

The point of why the government collects such information is precisely the point I was trying to make with commenter brad. Further, those who claim the Constitution doesn’t require anything more than our name and the names of everyone in our household may not fully understand the Article cited above, granting Congress the authority to conduct the Census, and I liken to those who claim the government has no “right” to collect income taxes. Hans goes on:

Mark has said that he is going to answer “American” on the race question. I have always been tempted to answer “Native American,” since I was born and raised here. However, people need to understand that they may incur a legal liability if they use such answers or don’t answer questions at all.

In Article I, Section 2, the Constitution says that an “Enumeration” must be conducted every ten years “in such Manner as [Congress] shall by Law direct.” Congress has directed through a federal law that anyone who “refuses or willfully neglects…to answer, to the best of his knowledge, any of the questions” on the Census form can be fined $100 (13 U.S.C. § 221).  If you deliberately give a false answer, you can be fined up to $500.

Follow the link to Hans’ post and read the whole thing.

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