The Evolution of Race and Ethnicity in the US Census

For my group project we decided to show the evolution of race and ethnicity in the United States by asking the class to fill out a census from 1880 and a census from the year 2000. In doing so, students will be able to see how the United States takes into account race and ethnicity differently than it did in the past.
The first thing to take into account is the question that were asked.

In 1880 the census wanted to know
a. Your color: White, Black, Mulatto, chinese, or Indian
b. Nativity: place of birth of the person and parents

In 2000 the census wanted to know
a. Is this person Spanish/Hispanic/Latino?
(Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Other
b. What is this person's 1st race.
(White, Black, American Indian, Asian Indian, Japanese, Korean...)

The first interesting thing to note is the change from the emphasis on color to the emphasis on Race.

The second interesting thing to note is the change from the term nativity to specifying ethnicity.

The third interesting thing to note is that the US has not deterred itself away from race even though it is inappropriate. The US composition of people are not Black or White. They are part of a background, an ethnicity be it specific or just plain American.