1790 United States census

The United States Census of 1790 was the first United States Census. It recorded the population of the United States as of August 2, 1790. In the First Census, the population of the United States was 3,929,214.[1]

1790 United States Census
August 2, 1790 (1790-08-02)
Seal of the United States Census Bureau
Title page of 1790 United States Census
General information
CountryUnited States
Results
Total population3,893,635
Most populous ​stateVirginia
747,610
Least populous ​stateDelaware
59,094

Data was collected from all thirteen states (Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Virginia), and districts and territories that would become Vermont, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Maine.[2]

Reaction

Both Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson and President George Washington didn't fully believe in the results.[3] They believed that there were more people in the United States than what the census said. A reason why there may be more people would be because of the people living farther apart, bad roads that would go to where people may live, limited technology, and people simply not giving any information.

Loss of information

The records for many states were lost sometime between 1790 and 1830.[4] Almost one third of the original census data have been lost or destroyed since the original census. These include some 1790 data from: Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Vermont. The data can still be proven in many secondary sources about the first census.[5]

Data

Census data included the name of the head of the family. They put people into these categories: free white males at least 16 years old (to figure out the country's industrial and military potential), free white males under 16 years old, free white females, all other free persons (reported by sex and color), and slaves.[6] The Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson told marshals to get data from all thirteen states (Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Virginia), and from the Southwest Territory.[2]

17.8% of the people were slaves. This is the highest percentage of slaves in any American census.

State Free white males of 16 years and upward, including heads of families Free white males under 16 years Free white females, including heads of families All other free persons Slaves Enslaved % of state population Total  % of US population
Vermont 22,435 22,328 40,505 255 16[lower-alpha 1][7] 0.02% 85,539[lower-alpha 2] 2.2%
New Hampshire 36,086 34,851 70,160 630 158 0.1% 141,885 3.6%
Maine 24,384 24,748 46,870 538 0 0.0% 96,540 2.5%
Massachusetts 95,453 87,289 190,582 5,463 0 0.0% 378,787[lower-alpha 3][8] 9.7%
Rhode Island 16,019 15,799 32,652 3,407 948 1.4% 68,825 1.5%
Connecticut 60,523 54,403 117,448 2,808 2,764 1.2% 237,946 6.1%
New York 83,700 78,122 152,320 4,654 21,324 6.3% 340,120 8.7%
New Jersey 45,251 41,416 83,287 2,762 11,423 6.2% 184,139 4.7%
Pennsylvania 110,788 106,948 206,363 6,537 3,737 0.9% 434,373 11.2%
Delaware 11,783 12,143 22,384 3,899 8,887 15.0% 59,094[lower-alpha 4] 1.5%
Maryland 55,915 51,339 101,395 8,043 103,036 32.2% 319,728 8.2%
Virginia 110,936 116,135 215,046 12,866 292,627 39.1% 747,610[lower-alpha 5][8] 19.2%
Kentucky 15,154 17,057 28,922 114 12,430 16.9% 73,677 1.9%
North Carolina 69,988 77,506 140,710 4,975 100,572 25.5% 393,751 10.1%
South Carolina 35,576 37,722 66,880 1,801 107,094 43.0% 249,073 6.4%
Georgia 13,103 14,044 25,739 398 29,264 35.5% 82,548 2.1%
Total 807,094 791,850 1,541,263 59,150 694,280 17.8% 3,893,635 99.9%
  1. The census of 1790, published in 1791, reports 16 slaves in Vermont. Subsequently, and up to 1860, the number is given as 17. An examination of the original manuscript allegedly shows that there never were any slaves in Vermont. The original error occurred in preparing the results for publication, when 16 persons, returned as "Free colored", were classified as "Slave". But this claim is disputed by at least one historian.
  2. Corrected figures are 85,425, or 114 less than the figures published in 1790, due to an error of addition in the returns for each of the towns of Fairfield, Milton, Shelburne, and Williston, in the county of Chittenden; Brookfield, Newbury, Randolph, and Strafford, in the county of Orange; Castleton, Clarendon, Hubbardton, Poultney, Rutland, Shrewsburg, and Wallingford, in the county of Rutland; Dummerston, Guilford, Halifax, and Westminster, in the county of Windham; and Woodstock, in the county of Windsor.
  3. The figures for Massachusetts do not include the population of Maine. Though Maine was then a part of Massachusetts, the Maine figures were compiled separately, and are shown on the line for Maine.
  4. Corrected figures are 59,096, or 2 more than figures published in 1790, due to error in addition.
  5. The figures for Virginia do not include the population of Kentucky. Though Kentucky was then a part of Virginia, the Kentucky figures were compiled separately, and are shown on the line for Kentucky. The Virginia figures do include the portion of Virginia that later became the state of West Virginia.

City rankings
Commemorative pitcher with census results
RankCityStatePopulation[9]Region (2016)[10]Population (2010)
01New YorkNew York33,131Northeast1,585,873 [Manhattan only]
02PhiladelphiaPennsylvania28,522Northeast1,526,006
03BostonMassachusetts18,320Northeast617,594
04CharlestonSouth Carolina16,359South120,083
05BaltimoreMaryland13,503South620,961
06Northern LibertiesPennsylvania9,913NortheastN/A
07SalemMassachusetts7,921Northeast41,340
08NewportRhode Island6,716Northeast24,672
09ProvidenceRhode Island6,380Northeast178,042
10MarbleheadMassachusetts5,661Northeast19,808
11SouthwarkPennsylvania5,661NortheastN/A
12GloucesterMassachusetts5,317Northeast28,789
13NewburyportMassachusetts4,837Northeast17,416
14PortsmouthNew Hampshire4,720Northeast21,233
15SherburneMassachusetts4,555Northeast10,172
16MiddleboroughMassachusetts4,526Northeast23,116
17New HavenConnecticut4,487Northeast129,779
18TauntonMassachusetts3,804Northeast55,874
19RichmondVirginia3,761South204,214
20AlbanyNew York3,498Northeast97,856
21New BedfordMassachusetts3,313Northeast95,072
22BeverlyMassachusetts3,290Northeast39,502
23PlymouthMassachusetts2,995Northeast56,468
24NorfolkVirginia2,959South242,803
25RochesterNew Hampshire2,857Northeast29,752
26PetersburgVirginia2,828South32,420
27AlexandriaVirginia2,748South139,966
28HartfordConnecticut2,683Northeast124,775
29LondonderryNew Hampshire2,622Northeast24,129
30GilmantonNew Hampshire2,613Northeast3,777
31HudsonNew York2,584Northeast6,713

References
  1. "History: 1790 Fast Facts". U.S. Census Bureau.
  2. "History: 1790 Overview". U.S. Census Bureau.
  3. "1790 Overview". U.S. Census Bureau.
  4. Dollarhide, William (2001). The Census Book: A Genealogists Guide to Federal Census Facts, Schedules and Indexes. North Salt Lake, Utah: HeritageQuest. p. 7.
  5. "1790 Census". 1930 Census Resources for Genealogists.
  6. "1790 Census of Population and Housing". U.S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on April 26, 2015.
  7. "Slavery in Vermont".
  8. Census Office, United States (1909). "A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900". p. 47.
  9. Population of the 100 Largest Cities and Other Urban Places in the United States: 1790 to 1990, U.S. Census Bureau, 1998
  10. "Regions and Divisions". U.S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on December 3, 2016. Retrieved September 9, 2016.
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