496
Opinion of Thomas, J.
guage." Carrying the majority's "argument to its logical conclusion would constrain us to say that the second to last draft would govern in every instance where the Committee of Style added an arguably substantive word. Such a result is at odds with the fact that the Convention passed the Committee's version, and with the well-established rule that the plain language of the enacted text is the best indicator of intent." Id., at 231-232. Rather than rely on the draft, I focus on the words of the adopted Constitution.
III
The original understanding can be discerned not only by examining the text but also by considering the "meaning and intention of the convention which framed and proposed it for adoption and ratification to the conventions of the people of and in the several states." Rhode Island v. Massachusetts, 12 Pet. 657, 721 (1838). The history of census taking in the Colonies and elsewhere, discussions surrounding the ratification of the Census Clause, and the early statutes implementing the Clause provide insight into its meaning.
A
Census taking is an age-old practice. With only a few exceptions, however, before the 19th century most countries conducted partial enumerations that were supplemented by estimates of the unenumerated portion of the population. Wolfe, Population Censuses Before 1790, 27 J. Am. Statistical Assn. 357 (1932) (hereinafter Wolfe). The contentious history of censuses, partial or otherwise, has long influenced decisions about whether to undertake them. See id., at 358 ("The Biblical account of the Lord's wrath at the taking of [the 'census' taken by David] remained an argument against census taking even as late as the eighteenth century").8 It
8 This traditional religious objection to census taking was based on the "sin of David, who brought a plague upon Israel by 'numbering' the people (2 Sam. 24:1-25, 1 Chron. 21:1-30)." P. Cohen, A Calculating People 256,
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