The Washington herald., 1907-09-15
THE, FIRST AMERICAN CENSUS

/ Secretary Of State Little or no tabula-
ton was required. and the report Of the
/ nTst census as also the reports Of the
! second third. and fourth. was produced
/ without the employment of any clerical
| force, the summaries being transmitted
directly 10 the printer. The total popu-
/ laCOn as returned in 1890 was I. .g2q. pa. and
! the entire cost Of the census was 1851.
a summary Of the results Of the first
/ census, not including the returns for
/ South Carolina, was transmitted 70 Con
/ gress by President Washington on Oc-
/ tober q. 1871. The legal period for emu
| meratiOn. nine months. had been extend
/ ed the longest time consumed being
/ eighteen months. In South Carolina The
/ report Of October = was printed in fuI
and published in what is now very
/ rare little volume; afterward the report
I for South Carolina was tipped in. To
contain the results of the twelfth census
/ ten large quaTtO volumes. comprising IN
I al 1850 pages, were required. No Hlus-
/ tration Of the expansion Of census inquiry
can be more striking.
The original schedules Of the first cen
/ sus are now contained in twenty-six
bound volumes, preserved In the Census
Office. For the most part the headings
/ Of the schedules were written in by hand.
Indeed. up 10 and including 1870. the as
sistant marshals generally used for the
schedules such paper as they happened
70 have. ruling 1t. writing In the headings.
and binding the sheets together them
selves In some cases merchants account
paper was used, and now and then the
schedules were bound in wall paper.
As a consequence Of requiring marshals
20 supply their own blanks. the volumes
containing the schedules vary in size
from about I inches long. 3 inches wide.
and - inch thick TO p inches long. IA
inches wide, and 6 inches thick Some
Of the sheets in these volumes are only
inShes long, but a few are feet 81
length. necessitating several folds In
some cases leaves burned at the edges
have been covered with transparent silk
q preserve them.
In March. 1880. the Union consisted OF
twelve States-Rhode Island, the last Of
the original thirteen 10 enter the Union,
being admitted May %. Vermont the
first addition. was admitted in the fol-
lowing year, before the results OF the
first census were announced. Maine was
q part Of Massachusetts Kentucky was
"a part Of Virginia and the present States
of Alabama and Mississippi were parts of
Georgia. The present States Of Ohio
Indiana. Illinois. Michigan. and Wisconsin.
with part Of Minnesota, We're known as
the Northwest Territory. and the present
State Of Tennessee, then part Of North
Carolina. was soon TO be organized as
the Southwest Territory.
The United States was bounded on the
west by the Mississippi River, beyond
which stretched that vast and uneKplored
wilderness belonging 10 the Spanish King.
which was afterward ceded TO the United
states by France as The Louisiana Pur-
chase and now comprises the great and
p0pulous States Of Louisiana. Arkansas
Indian Territory. Oklahoma. Missouri
Kansas. Iowa. Nebraska. South Dakota.
North Dakota. and Montana. and most OF
Colorado. Wyoming, and Minnesota. The
Louisiana Purchase was not completed
foT more than a decade after the frs,
census was taken. On the south was
another Spanish colony known as the
FloTidas. Texas. then a part of the
colony of Mexico, belonged 10 Spain; and
California. Jtah, Arizona, and New Mex
leo, also the property OF Spain, although
t.AtN tt f-SN slNA anu t-ttst N NEnTNTNSHTna
explorers and missionaries. were. for tbe
most part, an undiscovered wilderness.
The gross area OF the United States
was Sel.A4 square miles. but the settled
area was only 2299y5 square miles. or
about - per cent OF tAe total Though Tho
area covered by the enumeration iC ITni
seems very small when compared with
the present area of the United States.
the difficulties which confronted the cen
SIS takeT were vastly greater than N
1890 in many localities there were no
roads and where these did exist tbev
were poor and frequently impossible. |
bridges were almost unknown. Trans. /
portation was entirely by horseback. /
stage, or private coach. 4 journey as I
ong as that from New York to Washing I
Ton was a serious undertaking. requlr- I
ing eight days under the most favorable /