PrefaceThe demand for computing devices arises from the need to perform calculations and process data efficiently. Many different factors have impacted the history of computing, but none have been as important as the U.S. Census. The U.S. Census required efficient data processing because of the large number and diversity of data types it processed. The U.S. Census was the catalyst for the rise of computer technology. Its effects are still felt to this day.History of the United States CensusThe United States Census was initially established as a mandate by the Constitution to determine the representation of each state in the House of Representatives of Congress. The first U.S. census took place in 1790. A counting system was used to enumerate the population until 1890. This form of manual data processing was far too slow and cumbersome to account for the population explosion in the United States. United. After 1880, the U.S. Census handled significantly more data than previous censuses due to the influx of immigration and the expansion of the United States' borders. From 1790 to 1880, the census count increased from 3.9 to 50.2 million people, respectively. The 1880 census lasted 9 years. The scoring system was inefficient and took far too long; there was concern that the next census would not be completed in less than 10 years (Shelburne). In 1888, the United States Census Bureau held a competition to find a more efficient and faster way to process census data. Three competitors submitted their designs (Census History Staff). A young engineer named Herman Hollerith swept away the competition. His machine, called the Hollerith Electric Tabulator System, won the competition by a landslide in terms of the time it took to tab the entire middle of the paper......acquard. " Encyclopedia of World Biography. Encyclopedia .com, 2004. Web. October 31, 2011. .O'Connor, JJ and EF Robertson. “Hollerith Biography." JOC/EFR, July 1999. Web. , Mark. "Herman Hollerith: the world's first statistical engineer." Rochester History Web, October 31, 2011. .Shelburne, Brian J. "The 1890 Census, Hermann Hollerith, and the Origins of IBM." United States Constitution at IBM, 2007. Web , October 31, 2011. "Thomas J. Watson, October 31".. 2011. .