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In more modern times  the need for a
population census has moved away from a requirement to identify and
even control particular individuals to become a complete enumeration of all people and
their important characteristics for information regarding the
structure and trends in society.
The mechanisms used in modern Census
taking have also developed slowly and are still constantly evolving.
Three parallel developments are accredited with the current census
procedures that are commonly used by the majority of the worlds
countries:
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the gradual spread of country
wide counts for governmental and business purposes; |
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the improvement of the techniques
used in enumeration and the introduction of legal
safeguards to ensure the confidentiality of an individual
responses; and |
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an increase in the depth and
accuracy of the information obtained. |
The first Census embodying some of
these modern principles occurred in
Quebec and Nova Scotia in 1665, with a further 16 taking place
between then and 1754. Iceland followed in 1703, Germany in 1742 and
Sweden in 1749. While several British North American colonies had
made full enumerations, the first United States census was
delayed until 1790 because of religious opposition. People feared
that a census might incur the wrath of God because a census of the
Israelites ordered by King David was followed by a plague which
killed 70,000 people. This census made history in both the size of
the area enumerated and the effort to obtain data on characteristics
of the population but also because of the political purpose for
which it was undertaken - namely, representation in Congress on the
basis of population.
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