In the 2010 U.S. Census, why are some people asked to list their country of origin? Why are others not asked to list their country of origin?

chessart

I just filled out the census form. People are asked to list their ethnicity, but nobody is asked to list their "country of origin". Mar 17 10, 1:39 PM

Arpeggionist

Some are. Immigrants of Hispanic extract are supposed to list their ethnicity by country of origin (whether they are Mexican, Puerto Rican, Dominican, etc.). At least that's in Massachusetts. I don't know exactly why that is, I assume it's so the immigration rates here can be more easily recorded (and it is assumed that most of the immigrant population in Massachusetts is from Latin America). (source: http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/SAFFPopulation?_event=Search&_name=&_state=04000US25&_county=&_cityTown=&_zip=&_sse=on&_lang=en&pctxt=fph) Mar 17 10, 1:45 PM

queproblema

Hover over #'s 8 and 9 on the site I link to below to see what the census asks people who live in the USA about our race, ethnicity, and country of origin. An informative little blurb appears that explains why they ask and when they first started asking each specific question. The census asks only Hispanics to list their country of origin. They say this is "to monitor compliance with anti-discrimination provisions." Sorry, but it doesn't let me copy and paste. They've been asking about race since 1790 (the first one) and Hispanics since 1970. http://2010.census.gov/2010census/how/interactive-form.php Mar 18 10, 7:51 AM

parrotman2006

The reason race was on the 1790 census was Congressional representation. Back then, white people counted as whole persons and "other persons" (primarily slaves) counted as 3/5 of a person. If you had 100 slaves, they would count as sixty people. This was a compromise worked out by Southern slaveholders with the northern states during the Constitutional Convention of 1787. Mar 18 10, 5:49 PM

queproblema

True, up to a point. But what about the freemen of color? It seems they took pains to count free WHITE persons and didn't note the race of slaves. Didn't count Indians at all. Copy and paste: The 1790 census instructed the marshals to identify, by age brackets, free white males sixteen years of age or older and those under sixteen. It was designed to determine the country’s industrial and military capabilities. Additionally, the first census was to count the number of free white females; all other free persons regardless of race or gender; and slaves. A twenty-dollar fine, to be split between the marshals’ assistants and the government, would be levied against anyone who refused to answer the enumerator’s questions. The Constitution called for a census of all "Persons . . . excluding Indians not taxed" for the purpose of apportioning seats in the House of Representatives and assessing direct federal taxes. The "Indians not taxed" were those not living in the settled areas. In later years, Native Americans everywhere were considered part of the total population, but not all were included in the apportionment figures until 1940. Free men “of color” are listed as heads of household by name. Slaves appear in age groupings by name of owner. http://landing.ancestry.com/censuS_recordS/1790_census.aspx?html=pnp&offerid=0:679:0 For a long essay: http://www.hsp.org/default.aspx?id=1326 Mar 19 10, 12:23 AM