Politics
Rob Schwarzwalder of the Family Research Council reminds us that the census was politically necessary to count slaves, so the South could build up an electoral advantage in the House. (See our Richard's earlier post.) In taking a shot at Karl Rove, Rob points out the difference between today's census and the original ones. And John Judis notes how wrong Barack Obama was to record himself as black on the census form: "he ... confirmed an enduring legacy of American racism."
Dear Mr. Thomas,
The point of my op-ed in USA Today was not that the original census was needed to count slaves (although, given the odious three-fifths clause, it was used in part for this purpose). Rather, it was to emphasize two essential problems with the Census, historically and currently: its intrinsic racism and profound intrusiveness.
Sincerely,
Rob Schwarzwalder