Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1904-06-04
1900 AND 1909.
The Growth of the United States Since
the First Census

the tfSt census
The first census of the United States
was taken in 1890 under law signed
by President Washington on the LIST ot
March of that year. \ description of it
ANA of the methods since adopted is now
/ published ny the census bureau.
In March, 1890, the Union consisted Of
only twelve states. for Rhode Island was
hot admitted till the following Nav. The
next year, before the results o, the
census were announced, Vermont was
added. Maine was then part of NasSl,
chuSettS, Kentucky part of Virginia
and Alabama and Mississippi were parts
Of Georgia. Ohio, Indiana. Illinois
Michigan. Wisconsin and a part OF Min
ncSota made mp the Northwest Tcrrii oly
as il was then known. and Tennessee, linen
a part of South Carolina, was soon To
/ be organized as the Southwest Territory
I OF the whole area of the United States
/ than S2I.Si4 square miles. only 23.i 80
i square miles were settled Western New
ork was Il wilderness. West Of the
Allegheny mountains. the country was
unsettled and scarcely penetrated, with
the exception Of small part of Ken
tueky. Detroit was hamlet 80 small
( that ii was moi included III the first
/ census, Philadelphia was the capital of
! the Union. Washington was only Il city
( on paper. not even named.
The Mississippi river bounded the
1 | nited States on the west. The LOUIS
ana Purchase. celebrated by the St
/ Louis exposition, was not completed till
more than Il decade afterward. and in
/ Il 40 that territory belonged to the kim
/ ot Spain. st. Louis. now city of more
/ than 100000 inhabitants. was not even
/ = traders outpost. AT the south the ter
/ ritory known as the FloridaS was an
( a - niSh r., LII. }
/ also Texas, which was a part of Mexico,
and the territory now divided into Cali
/ iornIa. tab, Arizona and New Mexico.
ne population OF the United States in
/ l $50 was 3,929.326, ur about the present
] population of the city of New York
/ alone. Generally there We're either no
I roads at all or they We're poor The
journey from New York To WASHINGTON
/ took eight days. Transportation was by
stage or private coach or on horseback.
! II Is curious to note that besides these
( obstacles the marshaiS i'm taking thu
census had to encounter much opposition
! ON religious grounds. based on Scriptural
warnings against enumemting the chii-
dren of Israel.
In 1890 Virginia, with 7l7,G10 in
habitaniS. was The most populouS state
OF the Union Then came iii this order
the other moro popuIouS states;
PENNSYLVANIA I&437a S. Carolina. o4o073
\. Carolina. :i9@.I51 tonnCctlcut 237.aIt
. Ma 's'chusettS 31S.7N7 New Jersey 1SI.t:HI
/ New York. 340 10 ~ Ua'pshire HISS
( Maryland. &l9. IDS
Since 100 the area of the United
States has increased from 81. S44 Ia
3,622 1913 square miles. The population
of the Union in 1908. rs estimated by the
census bureau. was T9,9O0.3S9. these be
ing the twelve largest states:
New York. 760g.S1I Ma'chusetts 2QT4Oat
Penn lNania 6,GO6,1 4I Indiana. 2.Gi4 -:
/ Illinois .... 511T.03G Michigan. 2aIO6lI
ohio....... 4.302. 500 Iowa $50. BIG IS
( Texas. ..... 3.2S5.4Ii Georgia.. $50 10
Missouri. 3,22I2li Kentucky y 23OGI.
Only four Of these existed as states IN
! 1890. Together they contained in 1908
according to this estimate. 45.20i IS3 in.
/ habitants. Even in 1870 the whole pop
ulation Of the Union was only }S55S. 81
| In 1860, the year before the Civil war
/ il was only 3l.133.744 At present the
population outside Of the twelve states
4 is 35.69S. 90t. The cities with an eSti.
mated population in 1903 exceeding halt
million were:
/ New York. 3.716.139 St Louis G12..7a
/ Chicago. 1.s13.SSn Boston aal ,GlS
Phila 'elphia l.3G7.T16 Baltimore. 53l .51s
Those six cities had a combined popu-
lation of S,695,945. The population OF
/ the eleven states of the old Southern
! Confederacy was only S,99G.2iS in 1860
New York Sun.