The US Census is an important and integral part of our society. The Census provides the government with the funding necessary for our cities to grow. The Census provides the basis of the appropriation of public funding for the convenience of the population. The Census also tallies the amount of people, so the correct numbers of representatives are sent to Congress. Besides using the Census for the welfare of the community, Census records could be used in genealogical records used to trace your ancestors throughout history. These records date back to 1790, the year of the first American Census.

            As the redundant commercials and advertisements say, the Census is needed for American towns to move forward. It is also needed so towns can adapt to population change and customize to their needs. The Census tells the state government how much money goes to each district and what that money should go to. If the population increases where it was once much lower you may need more roads or wider roads. Since more children were born since 2000, more schools should be chartered by the government. If the Census return wasn’t appropriate and only 60% of the people responded, the town would only get 60% of their appropriate funding and the district would struggle. The hospitals, schools, and emergency services would be understaffed and underfunded. This town would most likely struggle for the next 10 years until the 2020 Census.

            The Government is affected by the results of the US Census. If more people are added to the population of Staten Island, we would be represented by more representatives in Congress. Since Staten Island would grow, more Congressional Districts will be added. This increases our amount of delegates in The House and our voices would be heard easier and louder. If about half of the district is Republican and the other Democrat, and the district grew divided, there would be another republican added to Congress if there is currently a democratic representative and vice-versa.

            The Census is very useful for genealogical purposes. If a person is interested in genealogy research they know that the Census is a crucial tool. You use the Census by typing in someone’s information and it searches the census rolls like Google and finds the closest match to what you have searched. The Census tells you the birth month, birthplace, birth year, parents, relatives, address, occupation, and immigration information depending on what year the census is. The Census allows you to keep track of your ancestors through the generations and watch their history unfold. The Census traces American roots via the Census since 1790. The flaw however is that there is a 72 year restriction on census data. For example the 1940 Census is getting released in 2012. This slows down the process if looking for more modern family but is done for security purposes.

We at the Pirateer staff hope you returned your Census!