An official website of the United States government                

----

end of header

# History

###### You are here: Census.gov ›  History ›  Reference › Apportionment › Apportionment Legislation 1840 - 1880

Skip top of page navigation

                - History Main
                - Agency History                    - Director Biographies
                  - Census Facilities
                  - Suitland, MD
                  - Notable Alumni
                - Innovations                    - Data Collection
                  - Technology
                - Programs                    - Agriculture
                  - Demographic
                  - Housing
                  - Economic
                  - Geography
                  - Governments
                - Through the Decades                    - Fast Facts
                  - Overview
                  - Index of Questions
                  - Questionnaires
                  - Census Instructions
                - Genealogy                    - Decennial Census Records
                  - Other Resources
                - Reference                    - Data@Museums
                  - Artifacts
                  - Lesson Plans
                  - Legislation
                  - Maps
                  - Oral Histories
                  - Privacy & Confidentiality
                  - Apportionment
                  - Publications 
                - Home Page Archive                    - 2024
                  - 2023
                  - 2022
                  - 2021
                  - 2020
                  - 2019
                  - 2018
                  - 2017
                  - 2016
                  - 2015
                  - 2014 
                - FAQs                    - Genealogy
                  - Agency History
                  - Demographic
                  - Economic
                  - Governments
                  - Agriculture
                  - Geography
                  - Innovations
                  - Miscellaneous

### Apportionment

### Also in this Section:

                          - Methods of Apportionment
                          - Apportionment Legislation 1890 - Present
                          - Apportionment Legislation 1840 - 1880
                          - Apportionment Legislation 1790 - 1830

## Apportionment Legislation 1840 - 1880

                        - An Act Providing for Apportionment following the 1840 Census (June 25, 1842)  Download PDF   [82KB PDF]                           - Set the ratio to one member of Congress for every 70,680 residents.  Decreased the size of the House of Representatives to 223 seats.  The  Webster method  of apportionment was used.  The act also required, for the first time, that states be split into congressional districts according to their apportionment, and that a single representative be elected from each district.
                          - 1840 Apportionment Results and Notes .
                        - Census Act of 1850 (May 23, 1850)  Download PDF  [908KB PDF]                           - Set the size of the House of Representatives at 233 seats.  Directed the secretary of the interior to use the  Hamilton/Vinton method  to apportion those 233 seats among the states.
                          - 1850 Apportionment Results and Notes .
                        - An Act Amending the Census Act of 1850 (June 30, 1852)  Download PDF   [83KB PDF]                           - Ordained that California's House delegation should be two seats (the state could not be effectively included in the regular apportionment, because some of its census returns had been destroyed in a fire).  Increased the size of the House of Representatives to 234 seats in order to accommodate this amendment.  Additionally, 234 seats is the House size at which the  Webster  and  Hamilton/Vinton  methods agree on apportionment.
                          - 1850 Apportionment Results and Notes .
                        - An Act Providing for Apportionment following the 1860 Census (March 4, 1862)  Download PDF   [73KB PDF]                           - Increased the size of the House of Representatives to 241 seats.  Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Vermont, and Rhode Island were each awarded an additional seat.
                          - 1860 Apportionment Results and Notes .
                        - An Act Providing for Apportionment following the 1870 Census (February 2, 1872)  Download PDF   [172KB PDF]                           - Increased the size of the House of Representatives to 283 seats that were apportioned using the  Webster  and the  Hamilton/Vinton   methods, which agree at this chamber size.
                          - 1870 Apportionment Results and Notes .
                        - An Act Amending 1870 Apportionment (May 30, 1872)  Download PDF   [78KB PDF]                           - Awarded one additional House seat each New Hampshire, Vermont, New York, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Tennessee, Louisiana, Alabama, and Florida.
                          - 1870 Apportionment Results and Notes .
                        - An Act Providing for Apportionment following the 1880 Census (February 25, 1882)  Download PDF   [325KB PDF]                           - Increased the size of the House of Representatives to 325 seats, which is again the chamber size at which the  Webster  and  Hamilton/Vinton  methods agree.
                          - 1880 Apportionment Results and Notes .

  This symbol  indicates a link to a non-government web site.  Our linking to these sites does not constitute an endorsement of any products, services or the information found on them. Once you link to another site you are subject to the policies of the new site.

CONNECT WITH US**********

                            - Information Quality
                            - Data Linkage Infrastructure
                            - Data Protection and Privacy Policy
                            - Accessibility
                            - FOIA
                            - Inspector General
                            - No FEAR Act
                            - U.S. Department of Commerce
                            - USA.gov

----

Measuring America's People, Places, and Economy

Is this page helpful?
YesNo

NO THANKS

255 characters maximum255 characters maximum reached

Thank you for your feedback.Comments or suggestions?