1850 United States census

June 1, 1850 (1850-06-01)

Filled-out census-taker's form from 1850 U.S. census, including household of Abraham Lincoln
General information
CountryUnited States
AuthorityCensus Office
Results
Total population23,191,876 (Increase 35.9%)
Most populous stateNew York
3,097,394
Least populous stateFlorida
87,445

The 1850 United States census was the seventh decennial United States Census Conducted by the Census Office, it determined the resident population of the United States to be 23,191,876—an increase of 35.9 percent over the 17,069,453 persons enumerated during the 1840 census. The total population included 3,204,313 slaves.

Although the official date of the census date was June 1, 1850,[1] completed census forms indicate that the surveys continued to be made throughout the rest of the year.[2][3]

This was the first census where there was an attempt to collect information about every member of every household; women and children were named. Slaves were included by gender and estimated age on Slave Schedules, listed by the name of the owner. Prior to 1850, census records had recorded only the name of the head of the household and broad statistical accounting of other household members (three children under age five, one woman between the age of 35 and 40, etc.). This was also the first census to ask about place of birth of free residents.

Hinton Rowan Helper made extensive use of the 1850 census results in his influential anti-slavery book The Impending Crisis of the South (1857).

Census questions

The 1850 census, Schedule 1, Free Inhabitants, collected the following information:[4]

  • name
  • age
  • sex
  • color (white, black or mulatto) for each person
  • whether deaf and dumb, blind, psychologically ill or idiotic
  • value of real estate owned (required of all free persons)
  • profession, occupation or trade of each male over 15 years of age
  • place (state, territory or country) of birth
  • whether married within the year
  • whether attended school within the year
  • whether unable to read and write (for persons over 20)
  • whether a pauper or convict

Full documentation for the 1850 population census, including census forms and enumerator instructions, is available from the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series.

Economy

The 1850 United States census collected a great amount of data that gave insight into the state of the U.S. economy in 1850. Some of the data revealed the growth of the economy with regard to agricultural and manufactured production, international trade, federal debt, taxation, transportation, education, and land expansion.

Agricultural Production
This census calculated the total land by state (in square miles), the total production of major goods and livestock per state (in respective units), the total value of each good produced, the total number of plantations per state, and various other statistics. The total agricultural production between in 1850 was calculated at about 1.3 billion dollars.
Manufactured Production
This census included the total manufactured production (in dollars), the total amount of capital invested, the total value of wages paid, the percent of profit (by state and total), the profit by state of major industries (cotton, wool, various iron work, breweries, fishing, salt), and other less significant statistics. Total manufactured production was valued at just over one billion dollars. This is a great increase over the totals estimated in 1820 and 1840. Also, in total, the manufacturing industry recorded an overall profit of 43%.
International Trade
The 1850 census contains the total value of imports and exports by state, statistics and names of the major imports and exports, the total values of shipping by state, and the value of imports and exports with various individual countries. The United States traded most with the United Kingdom. The imports and exports with the United Kingdom were both valued around 145 million dollars.
Federal Debt
This census contains yearly federal debt totals, total federal revenues, and total expenditures from 1790 to 1853. The total debt of the United States on July 1, 1854, was roughly 47.2 million dollars.
Taxation
The census contains some calculation of total annual federal taxes, but it is incomplete. It does however, give state taxation totals.
Transportation and Communication
This census calculates the total cost, size, and quantity of railroads and canals. The funded debt for railroads and canals in 1853 was 130 million. Their gross earnings were more than 38 million dollars. This census also contains estimates for growth in mileage of telegraphic lines in the United States. In 1853 the country contains 89 telegraph lines that stretched 23,261 miles (37,435 km). When published in 1854, the country had an estimated 30,000 miles (48,000 km) of telegraphic lines, a drastic increase.
Education
This census displays the advances of the United States in education and literacy by documenting the number of libraries, the number of schools (public, private, and colleges), state literacy rates, the total newspaper production and consumption, the educational levels of differing races, the total value of tuition costs, the amount of federal land given for education, and other various statistics.
Land Expansion
The 1850 census shows the great amount of territorial expansion that took place in the United States, following the Admission of Texas, the Oregon Treaty, and the Treaty with Mexico following the war in 1848. These three pieces of territory totaled an addition of more than a million square miles to the nation. In 1850, the United States contained 31 states and 4 organized territories (Minnesota, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah).
Significance
The 1850 United States census can be seen as a historical document that gives insight into the state of the nation's economy in 1850. It is much more detailed and provides more information than the 1840 census.

This census was conducted during a very important period of growth and innovation in the United States, the Industrial Revolution. The statistics in this census provide data on the rate of growth that was taking place in 1850, which resulted in the emergence of the United States as an economic world power. Many of the statistics were compared to those of Great Britain and other world powers. This shows where the United States stood economically relative to the rest of the world.

Data availability

Microdata from the 1850 population census are freely available through the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series. Aggregate data for small areas, together with compatible cartographic boundary files, can be downloaded from the National Historical Geographic Information System.

State rankings

RankStatePopulation
01New York3,097,394
02Pennsylvania2,311,786
03Ohio1,980,329
04Virginia [5]1,421,661
05Tennessee1,002,717
06Massachusetts994,514
07Indiana988,416
08Kentucky982,405
09Georgia906,185
10North Carolina869,039
11Illinois851,470
12Alabama771,623
13Missouri682,044
14South Carolina668,507
15Mississippi606,526
16Maine583,169
17Maryland583,034
18Louisiana517,762
19New Jersey489,555
20Michigan397,654
21Connecticut370,792
22New Hampshire317,976
23Vermont314,120
24Wisconsin305,391
XWest Virginia [6]302,313
25Texas212,592
26Arkansas209,897
27Iowa192,214
28Rhode Island147,545
29California92,597
30Delaware91,532
31Florida87,445
XNew Mexico61,547
XDistrict of Columbia [7]51,687
XOregon12,093
XUtah11,380
XMinnesota6,077
XWashington1,201

City rankings

RankCityStatePopulation[8]Region (2016)[9]
01New YorkNew York515,547Northeast
02BaltimoreMaryland169,054South
03BostonMassachusetts136,881Northeast
04PhiladelphiaPennsylvania121,376Northeast
05New OrleansLouisiana116,375South
06CincinnatiOhio115,435Midwest
07BrooklynNew York96,838Northeast
08St. LouisMissouri77,860Midwest
09Spring GardenPennsylvania58,894Northeast
10AlbanyNew York50,763Northeast
11Northern LibertiesPennsylvania47,223Northeast
12KensingtonPennsylvania46,774Northeast
13PittsburghPennsylvania46,601Northeast
14LouisvilleKentucky43,194South
15CharlestonSouth Carolina42,985South
16BuffaloNew York42,261Northeast
17ProvidenceRhode Island41,513Northeast
18WashingtonDistrict of Columbia40,001South
19NewarkNew Jersey38,894Northeast
20SouthwarkPennsylvania38,799Northeast
21RochesterNew York36,403Northeast
22LowellMassachusetts33,383Northeast
23WilliamsburghNew York30,780Northeast
24ChicagoIllinois29,963Midwest
25TroyNew York28,785Northeast
26RichmondVirginia27,570South
27MoyamensingPennsylvania26,979Northeast
28SyracuseNew York22,271Northeast
29AlleghenyPennsylvania21,262Northeast
30DetroitMichigan21,019Midwest
31PortlandMaine20,815Northeast
32MobileAlabama20,515South
33New HavenConnecticut20,345Northeast
34SalemMassachusetts20,264Northeast
35MilwaukeeWisconsin20,061Midwest
36RoxburyMassachusetts18,364Northeast
37ColumbusOhio17,882Midwest
38UticaNew York17,565Northeast
39CharlestownMassachusetts17,216Northeast
40WorcesterMassachusetts17,049Northeast
41ClevelandOhio17,034Midwest
42New BedfordMassachusetts16,443Northeast
43ReadingPennsylvania15,743Northeast
44SavannahGeorgia15,312South
45CambridgeMassachusetts15,215Northeast
46BangorMaine14,432Northeast
47NorfolkVirginia14,326South
48LynnMassachusetts14,257Northeast
49LafayetteLouisiana14,190South
50PetersburgVirginia14,010South
51WilmingtonDelaware13,979South
52PoughkeepsieNew York13,944Northeast
53ManchesterNew Hampshire13,932Northeast
54HartfordConnecticut13,555Northeast
55LancasterPennsylvania12,369Northeast
56LockportNew York12,323Northeast
57OswegoNew York12,205Northeast
58SpringfieldMassachusetts11,766Northeast
59Fall RiverMassachusetts11,524Northeast
60SmithfieldRhode Island11,500Northeast
61WheelingVirginia[10]11,435South
62NewburghNew York11,415Northeast
63PatersonNew Jersey11,334Northeast
64DaytonOhio10,977Midwest
65TauntonMassachusetts10,441Northeast
66NorwichConnecticut10,265Northeast
67KingstonNew York10,232Northeast
68NashvilleTennessee10,165South
69New BrunswickNew Jersey10,019Northeast
70PortsmouthNew Hampshire9,738Northeast
71NewburyportMassachusetts9,572Northeast
72NewportRhode Island9,563Northeast
73AuburnNew York9,548Northeast
74CamdenNew Jersey9,479Northeast
75AugustaGeorgia9,448South
76CovingtonKentucky9,408South
77FishkillNew York9,240Northeast
78New LondonConnecticut8,991Northeast
79PennPennsylvania8,939Northeast
80SchenectadyNew York8,921Northeast
81MemphisTennessee8,841South
82HempsteadNew York8,811Northeast
83AlexandriaVirginia8,734South
83ChenangoNew York8,734Northeast
85MontgomeryAlabama8,728South
86PortsmouthVirginia8,626South
87BrookhavenNew York8,595Northeast
88ConcordNew Hampshire8,576Northeast
89SenecaNew York8,505Northeast
90NantucketMassachusetts8,452Northeast
91GeorgetownDistrict of Columbia8,366South
92ChicopeeMassachusetts8,291Northeast
93LawrenceMassachusetts8,282Northeast
94AugustaMaine8,225Northeast
95DoverNew Hampshire8,196Northeast
96New AlbanyIndiana8,181Midwest
97ElmiraNew York8,166Northeast
98LexingtonKentucky8,159South
99DanversMassachusetts8,109Northeast
100IndianapolisIndiana8,091Midwest

Controversy

The Utah Territorial census was taken in 1851. Secretary Broughton Harris refused to certify the census of Utah territory. Harris complained that Brigham Young had conducted the census without him, claimed several irregularities, and consequently withheld funds reserved for the census.[11] The controversy contributed to Harris' decision to join other Runaway Officials of 1851 and abandon his post in Utah Territory. Relationships with the federal government continued to sour and eventually resulted in the Utah War.

Local government officials feared having an enslaved population might impede the territory's quest for statehood, since certain members of Congress were concerned about expansion of slavery into the western territories.[12] The 1850 census slave schedule for Utah Territory reported only 26 slaves, with a note that all of them were heading to California, and did not include any enslaved people remaining in the territory.[13] John David Smith estimates that there were 100 blacks in Utah by 1850, with two-thirds of them enslaved.[14]

See also

References

  1. "What day was the census taken each decade?". U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved May 16, 2019.
  2. "United States Census 1850, Maryland, Washington county Film Viewer – Image 127 of 529". familysearch.org. Retrieved May 16, 2019.
  3. "United States Census, 1850, Tennessee, Bedford county Film Viewer – Image 250 of 389". familysearch.org. Retrieved May 16, 2019.
  4. "Library Bibliography Bulletin 88, New York State Census Records, 1790–1925". New York State Library. October 1981. pp. 44 (p. 50 of PDF).
  5. Includes population in future state of West Virginia.
  6. Until 1863, the state of West Virginia was part of Virginia; the data for each state reflect the present-day boundaries.
  7. The District of Columbia is not a state but was created with the passage of the Residence Act of 1790.
  8. Population of the 100 Largest Cities and Other Urban Places in the United States: 1790 to 1990, U.S. Census Bureau, 1998
  9. "Regions and Divisions". U.S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on December 3, 2016. Retrieved September 9, 2016.
  10. Is located in present day West Virginia
  11. W. Paul Reeve; Ardis E. Parshall (2010). Mormonism: A Historical Encyclopedia. p. 26. ISBN 978-1-59884-107-7.
  12. Nathaniel R. Ricks (2007). A Peculiar Place for the Peculiar Institution: Slavery and Sovereignty in Early Territorial Utah (MA thesis). Brigham Young University. hdl:1877/etd1909.
  13. Ronald G. Coleman (1976). "Blacks in Utah History: An Unknown Legacy". In Helen Z. Papanikolas (ed.). The Peoples of Utah. Salt Lake City: Utah State Historical Society. pp. 115–140. ISBN 978-0-913738-26-9.
  14. Randall M. Miller; John David Smith (1997). Dictionary of Afro-American Slavery. Greenwood Publishing. p. 506. ISBN 978-0-275-95799-5.
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