U.S. Census Overview

In 1787, the Constitution of the United States was adopted by a convention of the states and later ratified on 21 June 1788. Among other items, the document called for an enumeration to be made within three years after the first meeting of Congress and then every ten years thereafter.

While many avid genealogists would like to think the U.S. Census was created to fuel our hobby, the reality is much more basic. In the U.S. Constitution, Article I, Section 2 states "Representatives and direct taxes shall be apportioned among th several states which may be included within this Union according to their respective numbers...".  Note the wisdom and simplicity of this document that allowed for future growth without a need for modification to the basic principles being set forth. Luckily, the first such census conducted in 1790 not only counted each states' population, but also recorded the names of heads of household, along with information about the age and gender of other persons in the household, and the number of slaves owned.

No.		Census Year		Census Date		Total U.S. Population		No. of States		U.S. President
1		1790		Aug 2nd		3,929,214		14		George Washington
2		1800		Aug 4th		5,308,483		16		John Adams
3		1810		Aug 6th		7,239,881		17		James Madison
4		1820		Aug 7th		9,638,453		23		James Monroe
5		1830		June 1st		12,866,020		24		Andrew Jackson
6		1840		June 1st		17,069,453		26		Martin Van Buren
7		1850		June 1st		23,191,876		30		Millard Fillmore
8		1860		June 1st		31,443,321		33		James Buchanan
9		1870		June 1st		39,818,449		37		Ulysses S. Grant
10		1880		June 1st		50,189,209		38		Rutherford B. Hayes
11		1890		June 1st		62,979,766		44		Benjamin Harrison
12		1900		June 1st		76,212,168		45		William McKinley
13		1910		April 15th		92,228,496		46		William Howard Taft
14		1920		Jan 1st		106,021,537		48		Woodrow Wilson
15		1930		April 1st		123,202,624		48		Herbert Hoover
16		1940		April 1st		132,164,569		48		Franklin D. Roosevelt

List of 50 U.S. States by Date of Statehood                           Source Details: U.S. Census Bureau

If you know of other 1940 census or other helpful genealogy sites, please contact us.