1840 United States census

March 2019 Sixth US census November 2013 1840 United States census Seal of the United States Marshals Service.svg Seal of the United States Marshals Service, which administered the census United States 1840 06 01 17,069,453 32.7% state New York2,428,921 Delaware78,085 Office of the United States Marshal 1830 United States census 1830 1850 United States census 1850 The 1840 United States census was the sixth census of the United States. Conducted by U.S. marshals on June 1, 1840, it determined the resident population of the United States to be 17,069,453 – an increase of 32.7 percent over the 12,866,020 persons enumerated during the 1830 census. The total population included 2,487,355 slaves. In 1840, the center of population was about 260 miles (418 km) west of Washington, D.C., near Weston, Virginia (now in West Virginia). This was the first census in which: A state recorded a population of over two million (New York) A city recorded a population of over 300,000 (New York) Multiple cities recorded populations of over 100,000 (New York, Baltimore, and New Orleans) This was the last census conducted by U.S. marshals, as starting in 1850 a temporary office would be set up for each census under the purview of the Department of the Interior. This was due to the Northern members of the Whig Party opposing the controversial claim in the 1840 census that free Black Americans in the Northern United States suffered from a higher degree of "insane" or "idiotic" behavior compared to enslaved Black Americans.Hephzibah V. Strmic-Paul, Brandon A. Jackson, and Steve Garner, "Race Counts: Racial and Ethnic Data on the U.S. Census and the Implications for Tracking Inequality," Sociology of Race and Ethnicity 4, no. 1 (2018): 1–13. Controversy over statistics for mental illness among Northern blacks The 1840 census was the first that attempted to count Americans who were "insane" or "idiotic". Published results of the census indicated that alarming numbers of black persons living in non-slaveholding States were mentally ill, in striking contrast to the corresponding figures for slaveholding States. Pro-slavery advocates trumpeted the results as evidence of the beneficial effects of slavery, and the probable consequences of emancipation. The Federal Government and the Free Negro, 1790–1860 2716144 1958 Leon F. Litwack Journal of Negro History 261–78, 263–68 43 4 10.2307/2716144 150261737 , and sources there cited. Anti-slavery advocates contended, on the contrary, that the published returns were riddled with errors, as detailed in an 1844 report by Edward Jarvis of Massachusetts in the American Journal of the Medical Sciences, later published separately as a pamphlet, Edward Jarvis Insanity Among the Coloured Population of the Free States T.K. & P.G. Collins, Printers 1844 Philadelphia http://resource.nlm.nih.gov/101475758 https://archive.today/20130626172723/http://resource.nlm.nih.gov/101475758 dead June 26, 2013 May 31, 2013 and in a memorial from the American Statistical Association to Congress, praying that measures be taken to correct the errors.Edward Jarvis William Brigham J. Wingate Thornton Memorial of the American Statistical Association Praying the Adoption of Measures for the Correction of Errors in the Returns of the Sixth Census https://books.google.com/books?id=PYEFAAAAQAAJ May 31, 2013 Public Documents Printed by Order of the Senate of the United States, Second Session of the Twenty-Eighth Congress I 5 1844 The memorial was submitted to the House of Representatives by John Quincy Adams, who contended that it demonstrated "a multitude of gross and important errors" in the published returns.John Quincy Adams Charles Francis Adams Memoirs of John Quincy Adams: comprising portions of his diary from 1795 to 1848 https://archive.org/details/memoirsjohnquin00adamgoog May 31, 2013 1877 J. B. Lippincott & Co. Philadelphia 27–28, 61, 119–20 In response to the House's request for an inquiry, Secretary of State John C. Calhoun reported that a careful examination of the statistics by the supervisor of the census had fully sustained their correctness.Litwack (1958), 267John Caldwell Calhoun South Carolina General Assembly Richard K. Crallé The Works of John C. Calhoun: Reports and Public Letters https://books.google.com/books?id=RzUTAQAAMAAJ May 31, 2013 V 1859 D. Appleton and Company New York 458 Calhoun engaged William A. Weaver, the superintendent of the 1840 census, to review the figures and check them against related data from the 1830 census. Ibid. Weaver reported that he had examined "each specification of error" and concluded that the memorialists had themselves erred in their claims. While there doubtless had been minor errors, he said, there had been no glaring methodological mistakes as charged. See William Edwin Hemphill, ed., The Papers of John C. Calhoun: 1845, Columbia: Univ. of South Carolina Press, 1993, vol. 21, p. 156. The returns were not revised.Litwack (1958), 268 Census questions The 1840 census asked these questions:http://purl.org/net/nysl/nysdocs/9643270 Library Bibliography Bulletin 88, New York State Census Records, 1790-1925 1981 New York State Library Several pages on U.S. federal web sites incorrectly assert that the 1840 census questionnaire closely followed that from the 1830 census, which did not include questions concerning mental illness. Name of head of family Address Number of free white males and females in five-year age groups to age 20 in 10-year age groups from 20 to 100 100 years and older number of slaves and free colored persons in six age groups number of deaf and dumb, by race number of blind, by race number of insane and idiotic in public or private charge, by race number of persons in each family employed in seven classes of occupation number of schools and number of scholars number of white persons over 20 who could not read and write number of pensioners for Revolutionary or military service Data availability No microdata from the 1840 population census are available, but aggregate data for small areas, together with compatible cartographic boundary files, can be downloaded from the National Historical Geographic Information System. A compendium of data from the sixth census, organized by States, counties, and principal towns is available on the web site of the Census Bureau. State rankings Rank State Population 1 New York 2,428,921 2 Pennsylvania 1,724,033 3 Ohio 1,519,467 4 Virginia Includes population in the future state of West Virginia 1,239,792 5 Tennessee 829,210 6 Kentucky 779,828 7 North Carolina 753,419 8 Massachusetts 737,699 9 Georgia 691,392 10 Indiana 685,866 11 South Carolina 594,398 12 Alabama 590,756 13 Maine 501,793 14 Illinois 476,183 15 Maryland 470,019 16 Missouri 383,702 17 Mississippi 375,651 18 New Jersey 373,306 19 Louisiana 352,411 20 Connecticut 309,978 21 Vermont 291,948 22 New Hampshire 284,574 X West Virginia Between 1790 and 1863, the state of West Virginia was part of Virginia; the data for this state reflects the present-day boundary. 224,537 23 Michigan 212,267 24 Rhode Island 108,830 25 Arkansas 97,574 26 Delaware 78,085 X Florida 54,477 X Iowa Includes portion of what is now Minnesota lying west of the Mississippi River, as well as portions of what is now North Dakota and South Dakota lying east of the Missouri River 43,112 X District of Columbia The District of Columbia is not a state but was created with the passage of the Residence Act of 1790. The territory that formed that federal capital was originally donated by both Maryland and Virginia; however, the Virginia portion was returned by Congress in 1846. 33,745 X Wisconsin Includes portion of what is now Minnesota lying east of the Mississippi River 30,945 City rankings Rank City State PopulationPopulation of the 100 Largest Cities and Other Urban Places in the United States: 1790 to 1990 1998 https://www.census.gov/library/working-papers/1998/demo/POP-twps0027.html U.S. Census Bureau Region (2016)https://www.census.gov/econ/census/help/geography/regions_and_divisions.html Regions and Divisions U.S. Census Bureau September 9, 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20161203020637/http://www.census.gov/econ/census/help/geography/regions_and_divisions.html December 3, 2016 dead mdy-all 01 New York New York 312,710 Northeast 02 Baltimore Maryland 102,313 South 03 New Orleans Louisiana 102,193 South 04 Philadelphia Pennsylvania 93,665 Northeast 05 Boston Massachusetts 93,383 Northeast 06 Cincinnati Ohio 46,338 Midwest 07 Brooklyn New York 36,233 Northeast 08 Northern Liberties Pennsylvania 34,474 Northeast 09 Albany New York 33,721 Northeast 10 Charleston South Carolina 29,261 South 11 Spring Garden Pennsylvania 27,849 Northeast 12 Southwark Pennsylvania 27,548 Northeast 13 Washington District of Columbia 23,364 South 14 Providence Rhode Island 23,171 Northeast 15 Kensington Pennsylvania 22,314 Northeast 16 Louisville Kentucky 21,210 South 17 Pittsburgh Pennsylvania 21,115 Northeast 18 Lowell Massachusetts 20,796 Northeast 19 Rochester New York 20,191 Northeast 20 Richmond Virginia 20,153 South 21 Troy New York 19,334 Northeast 22 Buffalo New York 18,213 Northeast 23 Newark New Jersey 17,290 Northeast 24 St. Louis Missouri 16,469 Midwest 25 Portland Maine 15,218 Northeast 26 Salem Massachusetts 15,082 Northeast 27 Moyamensing Pennsylvania 14,573 Northeast 28 New Haven Connecticut 12,960 Northeast 29 Utica New York 12,782 Northeast 30 Mobile Alabama 12,672 South 31 New Bedford Massachusetts 12,087 Northeast 32 Charlestown Massachusetts 11,484 Northeast 33 Savannah Georgia 11,214 South 34 Petersburg Virginia 11,136 South 35 Springfield Massachusetts 10,985 Northeast 36 Norfolk Virginia 10,920 South 37 Allegheny Pennsylvania 10,089 Northeast 38 Smithfield Rhode Island 9,534 Northeast 39 Hartford Connecticut 9,468 Northeast 40 Lynn Massachusetts 9,367 Northeast 41 Detroit Michigan 9,102 Midwest 42 Roxbury Massachusetts 9,089 Northeast 43 Nantucket Massachusetts 9,012 Northeast 44 Bangor Maine 8,627 Northeast 45 Alexandria District of Columbia 8,459 South 46 Lancaster Pennsylvania 8,417 Northeast 47 Reading Pennsylvania 8,410 Northeast 48 Cambridge Massachusetts 8,409 Northeast 49 Wilmington Delaware 8,367 South 50 Newport Rhode Island 8,333 Northeast 51 Portsmouth New Hampshire 7,887 Northeast 52 Wheeling VirginiaIs in present day West Virginia 7,885 South 53 Taunton Massachusetts 7,645 Northeast 54 Paterson New Jersey 7,596 Northeast 55 Worcester Massachusetts 7,497 Northeast 56 Georgetown District of Columbia 7,312 South 57 Newburyport Massachusetts 7,161 Northeast 58 Lexington Kentucky 6,997 South 59 Nashville Tennessee 6,929 South 60 Schenectady New York 6,784 Northeast 61 Fall River Massachusetts 6,738 Northeast 62 Warwick Rhode Island 6,726 Northeast 63 Portsmouth Virginia 6,477 South 64 Dover New Hampshire 6,458 Northeast 65 Augusta Georgia 6,403 South 66 Lynchburg Virginia 6,395 South 67 Gloucester Massachusetts 6,350 Northeast 68 Cleveland Ohio 6,071 Midwest 69 Dayton Ohio 6,067 Midwest 70 Middletown New Jersey 6,063 Northeast 71 Nashua New Hampshire 6,054 Northeast 72 Columbus Ohio 6,048 Midwest 73 Harrisburg Pennsylvania 5,980 Northeast 74 Hudson New York 5,672 Northeast 75 Auburn New York 5,626 Northeast 76 Marblehead Massachusetts 5,575 Northeast 77 New London Connecticut 5,519 Northeast 78 Wilmington North Carolina 5,335 South 79 Augusta Maine 5,314 Northeast 80 Plymouth Massachusetts 5,281 Northeast 81 Cumberland Rhode Island 5,225 Northeast 82 Andover Massachusetts 5,207 Northeast 83 Frederick Maryland 5,182 South 84 Bath Maine 5,141 Northeast 85 Middleborough Massachusetts 5,085 Northeast 86 Evesham New Jersey 5,060 Northeast 87 Gardiner Maine 5,042 Northeast 88 Danvers Massachusetts 5,020 Northeast 89 Concord New Hampshire 4,897 Northeast 90 Dorchester Massachusetts 4,875 Northeast 91 Easton Pennsylvania 4,865 Northeast 92 Woodbridge New Jersey 4,821 Northeast 93 York Pennsylvania 4,779 Northeast 94 Zanesville Ohio 4,766 Midwest 95 Beverly Massachusetts 4,689 Northeast 96 Danbury Connecticut 4,504 Northeast 97 Chicago Illinois 4,470 Midwest 98 Carlisle Pennsylvania 4,351 Northeast 99 Pottsville Pennsylvania 4,345 Northeast 100 Columbia South Carolina 4,340 South Images References External links "1840 census: False count on insanity showed slavery was good for Blacks" by Peter Whoriskey, The Washington Post, October 17 2020 Compendium of the Enumeration of the Inhabitants and Statistics of the United States . . . from the Returns of the Sixth Census .... (Washington, D.C., 1841) Overview of the 1840 Census on www.census.gov. 1840 U.S. Federal Census Online Records and Indexes on www.cyndislist.com (21 Links) Includes links to sites with any or all of the following: digitized images, indexes, transcriptions, extractions, abstracts, and partial or whole copies of census materials. Library of Congress research guide for 1840 census - links to primary documents United States Census, 1840 Category:United States census United States