The first U.S. census is conducted - August 2nd, 1790

On this day in 1790, federal marshals set out on horseback to begin the first official count of the American people.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
This Day in History Class is a production of I
Heart Radio, Hello and Welcome to This Day in History Class,
a show that tally's the score of history one day
at a time. I'm Gay Bluesier, and today we're looking

(00:23):
at the story of America's first census, including what the
numbers revealed about the young country, for better or for worse.
The day was August two, sevent Federal marshals set out

(00:44):
on horseback to begin the first official count of the
American people. The census took place during George Washington's first
term as president and was authorized by Congress and accordance
with Article one, Section two of the U. S. Constitution.
That law required the federal government to carry out a
census of the U. S population every ten years. Fulfilling

(01:08):
that mandate has never been a simple endeavor, even when
the nation was relatively small. In seventeen ninety, citizens were
scattered among thirteen rural states and a handful of outlying territories.
The only way to reach all of those people was
to travel door to door on horseback and then post
the results in each town to see if anyone had

(01:30):
been missed. It was a doozy of a first assignment
for the U S Marshals, but under the direction of
Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson, they got the job done,
just as sence its takers have every ten years. Since
it was nothing new for a country to take an
official tally of its citizens. In fact, many had already

(01:51):
done so since antiquity, including Babylonia, China, Egypt, and Rome.
In seventeen forty nine, Sweden became the first modern nation
to establish a recurring national census, and a few decades later,
the newly formed United States followed its lead. Both countries
used census results for traditional purposes like taxation and funding allocation,

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but the US took things a step further. Its results
would also be used for the apportionment of political power.
The number of seats that each state holds in the
House of Representatives is based directly on the results of
the census. That important role is the reason why the
census was given a constitutional mandate in the US. As

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the number of residents in each state changes, so too
does the size of its representation in Congress. These days,
the US Census Bureau sends out specially trained enumerators to
get an accurate count of the population but in seventeen
ninety and for nearly a century afterward, that job was
done by the US Marshal Service. That's the federal agency

(02:59):
that it's best known today for its role in witness
protection and fugitive recovery. The census law required each of
the nation's sixteen marshals to hire a series of assistants
to help canvass the residents and their respective districts. Roughly
six hundred and fifty assistant marshals set out on August two,
seventeen ninety, and over the course of the next nine months,

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they rode door to door across the original thirteen states,
as well as the districts of Kentucky, Maine, and Vermont,
and the Southwest Territory now known as Tennessee. Once their
initial counts had been completed, each assistant had to post
the results in two public places so that the local
residents could report any errors or omissions. When this was done,

(03:46):
the assistants delivered their findings to the marshals, who then
had four months to verify the results before submitting them
as final. Each marshal was paid between one hundred and
five hundred dollars for this service. The equivalent of three
thousand to sixteen thousand dollars in two Meanwhile, the assistant
marshals were given just one dollar for every fifty to

(04:09):
three people they counted. That's about thirty two dollars today.
As complex a task as it was to reach the
widely scattered residents, the census itself consisted of only six questions.
It asked the name of the white male householder, and
then the names of each member of the household who
fell into one of five groups. The categories listed were

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free white males who were at least sixteen years old,
free white males who were under sixteen years old, free
white females, all other free persons, and lastly slaves. In
keeping with the values of the time or the lack thereof,
enslaved persons were counted as three fifths of a person

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for taxation and representation purposes. The category other free persons
referred to free African Americans, as well as to those
of mixed race and to Native Americans who lived among
the white population. And yes, that means the vast majority
of Native Americans weren't counted at all. You may also
be wondering why the original census distinguished between white males

(05:18):
over and under sixteen years old, yet made no such
mention of age for white females. According to the U. S.
Census Bureau, that was done to assess the country's industrial
and military potential. The government wanted to know, if the
fledgling nation were to be attacked by Europe or from
within by those that held in bondage, did it have

(05:40):
enough able bodied, free white men to hold the line.
The first U. S Census officially ended on May second,
sev the day when the Assistant Marshals were supposed to
hand in their final counts. That said, several states and
the Southwest Territory were given extensions, and as a result,
the final report wasn't issued until seventeen ninety three. In

(06:04):
the end, the total population of the United States and
seventeen ninety was said to be a little over three
point nine million people. Neither George Washington nor Thomas Jefferson
were fully satisfied with that final count. Both had expected
a higher number and were said to have worried that
a smaller population might make them appear weak to their

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European rivals. Looking back, the most damning figure to come
from the first US census wasn't the nation's total population.
It was the number of those people who were enslaved
by the others, almost seven hundred thousand. That was the
same number as the total population of Virginia, the most

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populous state in the Union at the time. That means
enslaved Africans accounted for approximately eighteen percent of the country's
total population in seventeen ninety. That's roughly one in every
six people. Despite the difficulties of conducting it, the inaugural
census only cost the country about forty four thousand dollars.

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That's beyond a bargain when compared to the more than
fourteen billion dollars spent on the census in seventeen ninety.
The hope was that the results of the census would
help instill a sense of pride in the public, the
feeling that the nation was growing and moving forward. The
moral cost of that progress was staring the country right

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in the face seven hundred thousand enslaved and counting, but
most Americans chose not to see that ugly truth, or
at least to do nothing about it. Instead, the results
were celebrated. Some people even commissioned commemorative jugs with the
census results printed on the side. It was a product
requiring such a fine degree of craftsmanship that it had

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to be imported from England. In that way, the Census
jug was a fitting souvenir for America at the time,
a country that meant to boast about its strength, but
in doing so, revealed how weak it really was. I'm
Gabe Lousier and hopefully you now know a little more

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about history today than you did yesterday. If you want
to keep up with the show, you can follow us
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and if you have any comments or suggestions, you can
always send them my way at this Day at I
heart media dot com. Thanks as always the Chandler Mays

(08:34):
for producing the show, and thanks to you for listening.
I'll see you back here again tomorrow for another Day
in History Class