It bothers me to hear recent "right wing" hacks and politicians encourage a national refusal to respond to the Census forms we are receiving in the mail right about now.
According to ultra-"right wing" crack pot, House Rep. Michele Bachmann (R.-MN), this CONSTITUTIONALLY REQUIRED process (Article I, Section 2, Para. 3 if your interested) is tantamount to "big brother" (and to those of you generationally challenged, I mean Orwell and not the CBS show):
"Take this into consideration. If we look at American history, between 1942 and 1947, the data that was collected by the Census Bureau was handed over to the FBI and other organizations at the request of President Roosevelt, and that's how the Japanese were rounded up and put into the internment camps ... I'm not saying that that's what the Administration is planning to do, but I am saying that private personal information that was given to the Census Bureau in the 1940s was used against Americans to round them up, in a violation of their constitutional rights, and put the Japanese in internment camps."
She says she will not provide anymore than the number of people living in her home.
Then outspoken mouthpiece/entertainer/snake oil salesman, GLEN BECK, also equates the Census to slavery. What the hell? I bet neither one of these people would have even balked at the Japanese internment -- I feel confident that each would have the most outspoken of supporters!
Really, you want to go with that argument for refusing to follow and obey THE LAW?!?
First and foremost, the internment of American Citizens for nothing more than the nation of their ancestry is but one of SEVERAL blights on our history as a growing nation.
Yep, there were a few mistakes or minor "hick-ups" in our national development like the displacement of the ENTIRE indigenous population in favor of manifest destiny, the "War of Northern Aggression," the justification of segregation in Plessy v. Furgeson, and the Dred Scott decision which closed the books on the justified rights of African-Americans for the next 100 years by giving the important status of chattel to be owned, and not human to be free. That's just a few that jump to mind here at my desk.
Well, that is, if the Texas State School Board has not already voted to remove these issues from historical discourse in a classroom? But, I digress.
It is not my intent to bash the nation of my birth, the one place on this planet that my ancestors struggled, scrimped, and saved to relocate to for a better life. Instead, it is because of the Census that I can learn more about my personal history, and more importantly, where I came from to guide my path.
In 1929, a 19 year old Irish girl boarded the RMS Adriatic, owned by the White Star line, and came to this country to follow her dreams. That family history was always clear as my maternal grandmother was still around to tell her stories to my mother. These were later passed from mother to son in the most ancient of traditions.
But what of Georges Edouard Govignon, my great grandfather, who was born in France on February 24, 1888? After all, I carry this man's name, gave this name to my wife, and passed this name on to my two daughters.
I could learn no history from this man directly, as of course, he had long since passed away prior to my birth in 1970. I knew the legend about how a young man from Dijon traveled to this country and find his way to Lodi to work the vines. Problem was, he ended up in Lodi, New Jersey, and not California. Also, I had always been told that the present pronunciation of my last name, not the proper French, had come from his relocation into a largely "Italian" neighborhood.
But for the United States Census, I would have never discovered the truth to any of these claims.
In 1900, through these government records, I have discovered that Georges was living in a home owned by Albert Faesch, himself a Swiss immigrant in the City of Lodi, Bergen County, New Jersey. Well, seems the "Lodi" part of the legend was right.
Problem is this: the census record indicates that Georges came here with his mother, Marie, in 1889 -- making him only 1 or maybe 2 years of age at the time of his immigration." The mystery becomes only more complex by the new addition that my great grandfather is listed as "Step Son."
Huh?
Then, in 1910 something interesting happens. Albert Faesch is again listed, but now he is a widower and little Georges (actually 21) is no where to be found.
What happened to Georges? Thanks to the 1920 Census, he reappears right there in Lodi, Bergen County, NJ. Now he is 30 years of age and married to woman named Rose. He has a two year old named George Edward (my paternal grandfather). Thanks to his lawful participation, I can now, nearly 90 years later, discover that he became a naturalized citizen in 1919. Ironically, this is two years AFTER he registered for the draft in WWI on June 5, 1917.
I now know why my Grandfather was not called "junior." His spelling dropped the French "s" and adopted the English spelling for "Edward."
Thanks to this constitutional counting, I have discovered or confirmed where the "Italian" phonetic pronunciation of my name originated. Right there in Lodi where Georges lived with 50 of his neighbors, 30 of which listed Italian as their "mother tongue."
In 1930, Georges is 42 and now has a second son, Edward. He has transformed from a renter, and has purchased his own home for $6,000.00. Now it is revealed that he was 25 years old when he married Rose, sometime around 1913. I discover that he never attended college, and apparently worked in management as an accountant/timekeeper/paymaster for the local dye works for most of his adult life.
Alas, this is where the trail ends, for now. Thanks to the United States Census, I have a picture of the man who brought my family name to this Country shortly before the turn of the century. I have been able to put "flesh" upon those old bones. Evidence has been provided to explain how my name is pronounced.
Just think, none of this would have been possible had Georges, the immigrant turned United States Citizen, had never bothered to comply with a simple, legal request.
What would I have been able to discover had only the number of people in his home have been shared?
Go now, do your duty as an American and answer your Census.
Actually, ours came to the house yesterday. I know that I will tonight.
According to ultra-"right wing" crack pot, House Rep. Michele Bachmann (R.-MN), this CONSTITUTIONALLY REQUIRED process (Article I, Section 2, Para. 3 if your interested) is tantamount to "big brother" (and to those of you generationally challenged, I mean Orwell and not the CBS show):
"Take this into consideration. If we look at American history, between 1942 and 1947, the data that was collected by the Census Bureau was handed over to the FBI and other organizations at the request of President Roosevelt, and that's how the Japanese were rounded up and put into the internment camps ... I'm not saying that that's what the Administration is planning to do, but I am saying that private personal information that was given to the Census Bureau in the 1940s was used against Americans to round them up, in a violation of their constitutional rights, and put the Japanese in internment camps."
She says she will not provide anymore than the number of people living in her home.
Then outspoken mouthpiece/entertainer/snake oil salesman, GLEN BECK, also equates the Census to slavery. What the hell? I bet neither one of these people would have even balked at the Japanese internment -- I feel confident that each would have the most outspoken of supporters!
Really, you want to go with that argument for refusing to follow and obey THE LAW?!?
First and foremost, the internment of American Citizens for nothing more than the nation of their ancestry is but one of SEVERAL blights on our history as a growing nation.
Yep, there were a few mistakes or minor "hick-ups" in our national development like the displacement of the ENTIRE indigenous population in favor of manifest destiny, the "War of Northern Aggression," the justification of segregation in Plessy v. Furgeson, and the Dred Scott decision which closed the books on the justified rights of African-Americans for the next 100 years by giving the important status of chattel to be owned, and not human to be free. That's just a few that jump to mind here at my desk.
Well, that is, if the Texas State School Board has not already voted to remove these issues from historical discourse in a classroom? But, I digress.
It is not my intent to bash the nation of my birth, the one place on this planet that my ancestors struggled, scrimped, and saved to relocate to for a better life. Instead, it is because of the Census that I can learn more about my personal history, and more importantly, where I came from to guide my path.
In 1929, a 19 year old Irish girl boarded the RMS Adriatic, owned by the White Star line, and came to this country to follow her dreams. That family history was always clear as my maternal grandmother was still around to tell her stories to my mother. These were later passed from mother to son in the most ancient of traditions.
But what of Georges Edouard Govignon, my great grandfather, who was born in France on February 24, 1888? After all, I carry this man's name, gave this name to my wife, and passed this name on to my two daughters.
I could learn no history from this man directly, as of course, he had long since passed away prior to my birth in 1970. I knew the legend about how a young man from Dijon traveled to this country and find his way to Lodi to work the vines. Problem was, he ended up in Lodi, New Jersey, and not California. Also, I had always been told that the present pronunciation of my last name, not the proper French, had come from his relocation into a largely "Italian" neighborhood.
But for the United States Census, I would have never discovered the truth to any of these claims.
In 1900, through these government records, I have discovered that Georges was living in a home owned by Albert Faesch, himself a Swiss immigrant in the City of Lodi, Bergen County, New Jersey. Well, seems the "Lodi" part of the legend was right.
Problem is this: the census record indicates that Georges came here with his mother, Marie, in 1889 -- making him only 1 or maybe 2 years of age at the time of his immigration." The mystery becomes only more complex by the new addition that my great grandfather is listed as "Step Son."
Huh?
Then, in 1910 something interesting happens. Albert Faesch is again listed, but now he is a widower and little Georges (actually 21) is no where to be found.
What happened to Georges? Thanks to the 1920 Census, he reappears right there in Lodi, Bergen County, NJ. Now he is 30 years of age and married to woman named Rose. He has a two year old named George Edward (my paternal grandfather). Thanks to his lawful participation, I can now, nearly 90 years later, discover that he became a naturalized citizen in 1919. Ironically, this is two years AFTER he registered for the draft in WWI on June 5, 1917.
I now know why my Grandfather was not called "junior." His spelling dropped the French "s" and adopted the English spelling for "Edward."
Thanks to this constitutional counting, I have discovered or confirmed where the "Italian" phonetic pronunciation of my name originated. Right there in Lodi where Georges lived with 50 of his neighbors, 30 of which listed Italian as their "mother tongue."
In 1930, Georges is 42 and now has a second son, Edward. He has transformed from a renter, and has purchased his own home for $6,000.00. Now it is revealed that he was 25 years old when he married Rose, sometime around 1913. I discover that he never attended college, and apparently worked in management as an accountant/timekeeper/paymaster for the local dye works for most of his adult life.
Alas, this is where the trail ends, for now. Thanks to the United States Census, I have a picture of the man who brought my family name to this Country shortly before the turn of the century. I have been able to put "flesh" upon those old bones. Evidence has been provided to explain how my name is pronounced.
Just think, none of this would have been possible had Georges, the immigrant turned United States Citizen, had never bothered to comply with a simple, legal request.
What would I have been able to discover had only the number of people in his home have been shared?
Go now, do your duty as an American and answer your Census.
Actually, ours came to the house yesterday. I know that I will tonight.
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