Overview

The 1870 United States Census was the nation's ninth decennial count and the first conducted after the Civil War. Enumerators worked in June 1870 to record the resident population of the United States. The census returned a total population of 38,555,983, an increase of 22.62 percent over 1860. It marked an important transitional moment in federal statistics because it collected more systematic detail on formerly enslaved people and other Black residents.

Scope and administration

The work of the census was organized by the federal census office and carried out by thousands of local enumerators. For background on its legal and administrative framework see the official summary known as the 1870 census overview. The federal agency responsible for producing and publishing the results is referred to in modern sources as the census bureau; contemporary reports were compiled and edited by the superintendent and clerical staff in Washington, D.C. The effort relied on handwritten schedules returned from towns, counties and territories.

Questions and data collected

The 1870 schedules captured basic demographic and economic information. Typical entries recorded age, sex, race or color, marital status, occupation, and place of birth. Property-related questions sought values of real estate and personal estate. The printed schedules enabled clerks to tabulate results for states, counties and cities.

Historical context and significance

Taken during Reconstruction, the 1870 count was the first to enumerate newly freed African Americans in a consistent federal framework and to provide data used in debates over civil rights, political representation and economic conditions. Because it followed a devastating conflict, census takers faced challenges in some regions where infrastructure and records had been disrupted.

Uses and notable facts

  • The census provided baseline population figures used for apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives and for federal planning.
  • It established comparative data that historians and demographers use to track population growth, migration and occupational change.
  • For further reading on methodology and the published reports consult the historical materials at census bureau resources and analytical summaries at modern reference guides.