【摘要】 美国自1790年就开始人口普查，是西方国家中开展普查时间较早的国家。种族信息是美国人口普查收集的重要资料之一。其中，种族类别的设定在美国230多年普查历史中始终处于变化和调整的状态。为此，利用现有资料重点研究美国人口普查中如何以及为什么会增减种族类别，则对种族类别多的国家在种族人口管理方面的做法具有重要的借鉴意义。通过对美国人口普查收集种族信息的目的、种族概念的界定、种族类别的变化以及导致其变化的可能社会因素的研究，我们发现，美国现今所用的种族类别是1977开始、1997年最终由政府确立的框架。在此之前，种族种类增增减减，经历了类别由简到繁的变化过程。普查区域的扩展、法律法规的执行、社会思潮的左右以及社会矛盾的激化造成了这种变化。更多还原

【Abstract】 The United States of America (U.S.) has been conducting population censuses since 1790,making it the one of the earliest Western countries to do so.One of the important pieces of information collected by the U.S.Census is data on race and ethnicity.Categories of race,however,have been in a constant state of change and revision throughout the more than 230 years of U.S.Census history.Understanding how and why racial categories have been added to or removed from the U.S.Census has important implications for the practice of population management in countries comprising many racial and ethnic groups.As such,this study explores the U.S.Census’s purpose for collecting racial information,its definition of the concept of race,the changes in its racial categories over the years,and the possible social factors that have led to such changes.The research finds that the framework for racial classification used today began developing in 1977 and was finalized by the government in 1997.Prior to this time,different racial categories had been added or removed in different censuses as racial categories changed from simple to more complex forms.This process occurred as a result of the expansion of census regions,the implementation of laws and regulations,the influence of changing societal attitudes,and the intensification of social conflicts.更多还原