Ethics

When was the first US census conducted and why
The first U.S. census after the American Revolution was conducted in 1790. This original census was undertaken to solve a myriad of issues including the problem of finding proper political grounding for executive authority, how to distribute government power among the unevenly sized states and redistribute that power in the event of additional states and population growth, and finding a proper basis for levying taxes.

How many races were there in the first census
In the first census the only four (4) races were counted these were the free white males, free white females, slaves, and other persons (free blacks and Indians living in or around white settlements).

How has US census classification changed and why
As mentioned, while the original census began with four racial classifications, these changed through time, almost in every census conducted since. In the 19th century before slavery was abolished the race of the slaves needed to be specified as either Black or Mulatto, and a multitude of changes have been applied to this issue from specifying the amount of African ancestry to the one-drop rule. At the time the article was written, which was before the 2000 census, the racial and ethnic standards in the census forms were American Indian or Alaskan Native, Asian or Pacific Islander, Black, or White while ethnicity was broken down into Hispanic Origin and Not Hispanic Origin. The reasons for these changes were also as numerous as the number of changes themselves from civil rights issues to debates centered around miscegenation, to alleged financial and political power struggles.

What is the historical reason for changes in census racial classification
As mentioned, there were various reasons for the changes in the classifications. With increasing rates of immigration came races in significant enough numbers to warrant classification. At another end of the issue are the changes related to African-American ancestry, which can be mostly traced back to the existence of slavery as a norm in the country. When slavery was still being practiced, it was specified whether a person was a free black or a slave, as well as free and slave white men and women, then later whether a slave was black or mulatto. After the Emancipation the amount of African ancestry was still specified until it degenerated into the one drop of blood rule. Also as different racialethnic groups settled themselves into the country there were the fights for cultural identity, recognition, the distribution of political power and other advantages of being recognized minority groups. As there were those who fought to do away with the race question altogether, civil rights issues reinstated them as The categories became political entities, with their own constituencies, lobbies, and vested interests. There were also accusations of fights for recognition spurred by the benefits the government gave to make up for discrimination in the past.

What is the one drop of blood rule
The one drop of blood rule is the classification of an individual as Black even if that person only has a single drop of African blood in hisher heritage. In the past the amount of this ancestry was specified until it was abolished altogether in favor of simply categorizing them as black. The one drop rule specifically came from the belief that different races had different blood types this was apparently before the advent of advances in understanding genetics.

When were ethnic Europeans classified as white
It was between 1973 and 1977 when ethnic Europeans were classified as white. In 1973 the Federal Inter-agency Committee on Education (FICE) defined Whites as a person having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, or the Indian subcontinent. In 1977 the O.M.B. Statistical Directive 15 adopted this and other definitionssuggestions put for by the 1973 FICE.

What were the arguments for mixed race classification
Including a multiracial or mixed race option in the race classification according to those in Mixed Race groups advocating the change because it gives a category for those who neither fully belong to one race nor another children of multiracial marriages or more commonly, those with already colorful mixed heritages. It was mentioned that this change would lift the lid of racial oppression and allow people to actually identify their full heritage. It would be inaccurate to classify a person under a particular race when they have the same, or more, amount of blood from a different race. It would be a kind of denial of all their other ancestries if they only identified with one. When multiracial people identify with one particular race it can be accused that it is for not entirely noble reasons, such as to receive the benefits allotted to that racial minority. The very act of being made to identify oneself with a race is said to encourage racism and multiracialism would undermine this very basis of racism, categorizing people.

What were the arguments against multi race classification
As mentioned in the article, including a multi race classification into the census would undo many civil rights movements with regards to race. Organizations based on specific racial groups would lose the power in numbers as dictated by the census as large percentages of people who would normally choose one particular race would choose multiracial instead. These numbers dictate demography and allotment for government benefits for minorities, and even dictate the distribution of power to represent each group. Many established civil-rights laws that concern race would be undone to make room for this new category.