1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:01,960 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of I 2 00:00:02,040 --> 00:00:15,600 Speaker 1: Heart Radio, Hello and Welcome to This Day in History Class, 3 00:00:15,920 --> 00:00:19,200 Speaker 1: a show that tally's the score of history one day 4 00:00:19,239 --> 00:00:23,599 Speaker 1: at a time. I'm Gay Bluesier, and today we're looking 5 00:00:23,640 --> 00:00:27,240 Speaker 1: at the story of America's first census, including what the 6 00:00:27,320 --> 00:00:31,320 Speaker 1: numbers revealed about the young country, for better or for worse. 7 00:00:38,680 --> 00:00:44,560 Speaker 1: The day was August two, sevent Federal marshals set out 8 00:00:44,600 --> 00:00:47,640 Speaker 1: on horseback to begin the first official count of the 9 00:00:47,680 --> 00:00:52,560 Speaker 1: American people. The census took place during George Washington's first 10 00:00:52,680 --> 00:00:56,200 Speaker 1: term as president and was authorized by Congress and accordance 11 00:00:56,200 --> 00:00:59,720 Speaker 1: with Article one, Section two of the U. S. Constitution. 12 00:01:00,520 --> 00:01:03,960 Speaker 1: That law required the federal government to carry out a 13 00:01:04,040 --> 00:01:08,440 Speaker 1: census of the U. S population every ten years. Fulfilling 14 00:01:08,480 --> 00:01:11,840 Speaker 1: that mandate has never been a simple endeavor, even when 15 00:01:11,880 --> 00:01:16,479 Speaker 1: the nation was relatively small. In seventeen ninety, citizens were 16 00:01:16,520 --> 00:01:21,840 Speaker 1: scattered among thirteen rural states and a handful of outlying territories. 17 00:01:22,280 --> 00:01:25,039 Speaker 1: The only way to reach all of those people was 18 00:01:25,080 --> 00:01:28,279 Speaker 1: to travel door to door on horseback and then post 19 00:01:28,319 --> 00:01:30,840 Speaker 1: the results in each town to see if anyone had 20 00:01:30,880 --> 00:01:34,320 Speaker 1: been missed. It was a doozy of a first assignment 21 00:01:34,360 --> 00:01:37,000 Speaker 1: for the U S Marshals, but under the direction of 22 00:01:37,040 --> 00:01:40,520 Speaker 1: Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson, they got the job done, 23 00:01:41,040 --> 00:01:44,520 Speaker 1: just as sence its takers have every ten years. Since 24 00:01:45,360 --> 00:01:47,640 Speaker 1: it was nothing new for a country to take an 25 00:01:47,680 --> 00:01:51,160 Speaker 1: official tally of its citizens. In fact, many had already 26 00:01:51,160 --> 00:01:56,000 Speaker 1: done so since antiquity, including Babylonia, China, Egypt, and Rome. 27 00:01:56,680 --> 00:02:00,680 Speaker 1: In seventeen forty nine, Sweden became the first modern nation 28 00:02:00,840 --> 00:02:04,840 Speaker 1: to establish a recurring national census, and a few decades later, 29 00:02:05,120 --> 00:02:09,440 Speaker 1: the newly formed United States followed its lead. Both countries 30 00:02:09,639 --> 00:02:14,800 Speaker 1: used census results for traditional purposes like taxation and funding allocation, 31 00:02:15,200 --> 00:02:18,799 Speaker 1: but the US took things a step further. Its results 32 00:02:18,840 --> 00:02:22,040 Speaker 1: would also be used for the apportionment of political power. 33 00:02:22,520 --> 00:02:25,120 Speaker 1: The number of seats that each state holds in the 34 00:02:25,120 --> 00:02:28,400 Speaker 1: House of Representatives is based directly on the results of 35 00:02:28,480 --> 00:02:32,120 Speaker 1: the census. That important role is the reason why the 36 00:02:32,200 --> 00:02:36,079 Speaker 1: census was given a constitutional mandate in the US. As 37 00:02:36,080 --> 00:02:39,680 Speaker 1: the number of residents in each state changes, so too 38 00:02:39,760 --> 00:02:44,120 Speaker 1: does the size of its representation in Congress. These days, 39 00:02:44,280 --> 00:02:48,440 Speaker 1: the US Census Bureau sends out specially trained enumerators to 40 00:02:48,480 --> 00:02:51,800 Speaker 1: get an accurate count of the population but in seventeen 41 00:02:51,919 --> 00:02:55,600 Speaker 1: ninety and for nearly a century afterward, that job was 42 00:02:55,639 --> 00:02:59,720 Speaker 1: done by the US Marshal Service. That's the federal agency 43 00:02:59,840 --> 00:03:02,400 Speaker 1: that it's best known today for its role in witness 44 00:03:02,480 --> 00:03:07,000 Speaker 1: protection and fugitive recovery. The census law required each of 45 00:03:07,040 --> 00:03:10,720 Speaker 1: the nation's sixteen marshals to hire a series of assistants 46 00:03:10,880 --> 00:03:15,000 Speaker 1: to help canvass the residents and their respective districts. Roughly 47 00:03:15,120 --> 00:03:19,000 Speaker 1: six hundred and fifty assistant marshals set out on August two, 48 00:03:19,200 --> 00:03:22,640 Speaker 1: seventeen ninety, and over the course of the next nine months, 49 00:03:22,880 --> 00:03:26,280 Speaker 1: they rode door to door across the original thirteen states, 50 00:03:26,480 --> 00:03:29,800 Speaker 1: as well as the districts of Kentucky, Maine, and Vermont, 51 00:03:30,080 --> 00:03:34,639 Speaker 1: and the Southwest Territory now known as Tennessee. Once their 52 00:03:34,680 --> 00:03:38,440 Speaker 1: initial counts had been completed, each assistant had to post 53 00:03:38,440 --> 00:03:41,480 Speaker 1: the results in two public places so that the local 54 00:03:41,520 --> 00:03:45,600 Speaker 1: residents could report any errors or omissions. When this was done, 55 00:03:46,000 --> 00:03:49,240 Speaker 1: the assistants delivered their findings to the marshals, who then 56 00:03:49,280 --> 00:03:52,760 Speaker 1: had four months to verify the results before submitting them 57 00:03:52,760 --> 00:03:57,000 Speaker 1: as final. Each marshal was paid between one hundred and 58 00:03:57,160 --> 00:04:00,480 Speaker 1: five hundred dollars for this service. The equivalent of three 59 00:04:00,520 --> 00:04:05,760 Speaker 1: thousand to sixteen thousand dollars in two Meanwhile, the assistant 60 00:04:05,760 --> 00:04:08,920 Speaker 1: marshals were given just one dollar for every fifty to 61 00:04:09,000 --> 00:04:13,440 Speaker 1: three people they counted. That's about thirty two dollars today. 62 00:04:14,000 --> 00:04:16,599 Speaker 1: As complex a task as it was to reach the 63 00:04:16,720 --> 00:04:21,960 Speaker 1: widely scattered residents, the census itself consisted of only six questions. 64 00:04:22,400 --> 00:04:25,680 Speaker 1: It asked the name of the white male householder, and 65 00:04:25,720 --> 00:04:28,159 Speaker 1: then the names of each member of the household who 66 00:04:28,160 --> 00:04:32,400 Speaker 1: fell into one of five groups. The categories listed were 67 00:04:32,760 --> 00:04:35,919 Speaker 1: free white males who were at least sixteen years old, 68 00:04:36,440 --> 00:04:40,360 Speaker 1: free white males who were under sixteen years old, free 69 00:04:40,360 --> 00:04:46,640 Speaker 1: white females, all other free persons, and lastly slaves. In 70 00:04:46,760 --> 00:04:50,120 Speaker 1: keeping with the values of the time or the lack thereof, 71 00:04:50,640 --> 00:04:54,120 Speaker 1: enslaved persons were counted as three fifths of a person 72 00:04:54,279 --> 00:04:59,599 Speaker 1: for taxation and representation purposes. The category other free persons 73 00:05:00,000 --> 00:05:03,080 Speaker 1: referred to free African Americans, as well as to those 74 00:05:03,120 --> 00:05:06,360 Speaker 1: of mixed race and to Native Americans who lived among 75 00:05:06,400 --> 00:05:10,160 Speaker 1: the white population. And yes, that means the vast majority 76 00:05:10,200 --> 00:05:14,120 Speaker 1: of Native Americans weren't counted at all. You may also 77 00:05:14,160 --> 00:05:18,159 Speaker 1: be wondering why the original census distinguished between white males 78 00:05:18,279 --> 00:05:22,000 Speaker 1: over and under sixteen years old, yet made no such 79 00:05:22,040 --> 00:05:25,919 Speaker 1: mention of age for white females. According to the U. S. 80 00:05:25,960 --> 00:05:29,599 Speaker 1: Census Bureau, that was done to assess the country's industrial 81 00:05:29,760 --> 00:05:33,719 Speaker 1: and military potential. The government wanted to know, if the 82 00:05:33,760 --> 00:05:36,880 Speaker 1: fledgling nation were to be attacked by Europe or from 83 00:05:37,000 --> 00:05:39,919 Speaker 1: within by those that held in bondage, did it have 84 00:05:40,120 --> 00:05:43,400 Speaker 1: enough able bodied, free white men to hold the line. 85 00:05:44,360 --> 00:05:48,080 Speaker 1: The first U. S Census officially ended on May second, 86 00:05:48,200 --> 00:05:52,279 Speaker 1: sev the day when the Assistant Marshals were supposed to 87 00:05:52,320 --> 00:05:56,120 Speaker 1: hand in their final counts. That said, several states and 88 00:05:56,200 --> 00:05:59,960 Speaker 1: the Southwest Territory were given extensions, and as a result, 89 00:06:00,120 --> 00:06:04,599 Speaker 1: the final report wasn't issued until seventeen ninety three. In 90 00:06:04,640 --> 00:06:07,840 Speaker 1: the end, the total population of the United States and 91 00:06:07,960 --> 00:06:11,000 Speaker 1: seventeen ninety was said to be a little over three 92 00:06:11,040 --> 00:06:16,279 Speaker 1: point nine million people. Neither George Washington nor Thomas Jefferson 93 00:06:16,320 --> 00:06:20,080 Speaker 1: were fully satisfied with that final count. Both had expected 94 00:06:20,120 --> 00:06:22,560 Speaker 1: a higher number and were said to have worried that 95 00:06:22,680 --> 00:06:25,920 Speaker 1: a smaller population might make them appear weak to their 96 00:06:25,920 --> 00:06:30,479 Speaker 1: European rivals. Looking back, the most damning figure to come 97 00:06:30,520 --> 00:06:34,520 Speaker 1: from the first US census wasn't the nation's total population. 98 00:06:35,000 --> 00:06:37,760 Speaker 1: It was the number of those people who were enslaved 99 00:06:37,800 --> 00:06:42,280 Speaker 1: by the others, almost seven hundred thousand. That was the 100 00:06:42,360 --> 00:06:45,960 Speaker 1: same number as the total population of Virginia, the most 101 00:06:46,000 --> 00:06:49,239 Speaker 1: populous state in the Union at the time. That means 102 00:06:49,440 --> 00:06:54,520 Speaker 1: enslaved Africans accounted for approximately eighteen percent of the country's 103 00:06:54,560 --> 00:06:59,120 Speaker 1: total population in seventeen ninety. That's roughly one in every 104 00:06:59,240 --> 00:07:04,200 Speaker 1: six people. Despite the difficulties of conducting it, the inaugural 105 00:07:04,279 --> 00:07:08,200 Speaker 1: census only cost the country about forty four thousand dollars. 106 00:07:08,480 --> 00:07:11,240 Speaker 1: That's beyond a bargain when compared to the more than 107 00:07:11,320 --> 00:07:16,680 Speaker 1: fourteen billion dollars spent on the census in seventeen ninety. 108 00:07:17,000 --> 00:07:19,480 Speaker 1: The hope was that the results of the census would 109 00:07:19,480 --> 00:07:22,400 Speaker 1: help instill a sense of pride in the public, the 110 00:07:22,440 --> 00:07:26,200 Speaker 1: feeling that the nation was growing and moving forward. The 111 00:07:26,480 --> 00:07:29,800 Speaker 1: moral cost of that progress was staring the country right 112 00:07:29,800 --> 00:07:34,240 Speaker 1: in the face seven hundred thousand enslaved and counting, but 113 00:07:34,360 --> 00:07:37,880 Speaker 1: most Americans chose not to see that ugly truth, or 114 00:07:37,920 --> 00:07:41,720 Speaker 1: at least to do nothing about it. Instead, the results 115 00:07:41,760 --> 00:07:46,240 Speaker 1: were celebrated. Some people even commissioned commemorative jugs with the 116 00:07:46,240 --> 00:07:49,480 Speaker 1: census results printed on the side. It was a product 117 00:07:49,520 --> 00:07:52,960 Speaker 1: requiring such a fine degree of craftsmanship that it had 118 00:07:53,000 --> 00:07:56,720 Speaker 1: to be imported from England. In that way, the Census 119 00:07:56,800 --> 00:07:59,720 Speaker 1: jug was a fitting souvenir for America at the time, 120 00:08:00,240 --> 00:08:03,520 Speaker 1: a country that meant to boast about its strength, but 121 00:08:03,640 --> 00:08:09,239 Speaker 1: in doing so, revealed how weak it really was. I'm 122 00:08:09,280 --> 00:08:13,000 Speaker 1: Gabe Lousier and hopefully you now know a little more 123 00:08:13,040 --> 00:08:17,240 Speaker 1: about history today than you did yesterday. If you want 124 00:08:17,240 --> 00:08:19,440 Speaker 1: to keep up with the show, you can follow us 125 00:08:19,480 --> 00:08:23,880 Speaker 1: on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at t d i HC Show, 126 00:08:24,600 --> 00:08:27,000 Speaker 1: and if you have any comments or suggestions, you can 127 00:08:27,040 --> 00:08:29,960 Speaker 1: always send them my way at this Day at I 128 00:08:30,080 --> 00:08:33,920 Speaker 1: heart media dot com. Thanks as always the Chandler Mays 129 00:08:34,000 --> 00:08:36,520 Speaker 1: for producing the show, and thanks to you for listening. 130 00:08:36,920 --> 00:08:39,920 Speaker 1: I'll see you back here again tomorrow for another Day 131 00:08:40,200 --> 00:08:41,200 Speaker 1: in History Class