The Christmas story in Luke 2:1 describes a census ordered by Caesar Augustus. A census is an official count of a population, and the first US census was conducted in 1790. The US census is conducted every ten years and provides important information for government spending and determining congressional seats. Census records are released after 70 years and are useful for genealogy research. Accurate census information is crucial for understanding a country’s demographics and making informed decisions.
“And it came to pass in those days that there went out a decree of Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed” (Luke 2:1). This first verse of what is known to Christians as the story of Christmas also describes another important historical event: the census. While Cesare was undoubtedly interested in the names and numbers of people under Roman rule for tax purposes, the count was a census.
A census can unofficially refer to anything that is counted for a specific purpose. It can be the number of animals in a shelter, for example, or the number of residents in a nursing home. However, this count, in its strictest form, is an official enumeration of the population.
The first population count of the United States was conducted in 1790, according to the US Census Bureau. In those days, and for many decades afterward, the census was conducted entirely by people who went from house to house, collecting information from every household they spoke to. They took information about the number of people in the house, gender, age, occupation, information about the structure of the house, and so on. Subsequently, the agency began mailing forms and followed up on visits by census takers if the forms were not mailed.
The US census is a huge undertaking, which probably explains why it’s only done once every ten years. The Bureau hires over 800,000 temporary workers for the job. Censuses always reveal vital information about a country, including ethnic diversity and dispersion, income, poverty, babooms, and other demographic trends.
In the United States, this information is crucial when considering how government dollars will be spent. It can also determine how many seats in Congress a state can have, since seats in Congress are determined by population. Votes in the electoral college are determined by seats in Congress, so it’s not fantasy to say that the census could help determine the next president.
United States Census records are released in their entirety when they are 70 years old. This helps protect the privacy of participants and their families. However, these records are also a valuable resource for those researching their family histories or the history of a country or city. Detailed lists of parents and children, their addresses and occupations, descriptions of their homes and the like can help locate missing ancestors or missing properties.
Accurate information is critical to determining everything from a nation’s population to its median income, birth rate to death rate. The census is a necessary part of making sure a government is doing what it’s supposed to be doing.
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