1840 US Census, Part 1: Population, Demographics | States, Cities, Slavery | Territories

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This video discusses the 1840 US Census, the demographics and population figures for states and cities in the United States as well as the slavery statistics.

The 1840 Census shows the United States as it nears the middle of the 19th century. There are 26 states and three territories in 1840.

The newest states are Arkansas and Michigan. The Senate is equally divided between thirteen free states and thirteen slave states.

The territories in 1840 are Wisconsin, Iowa, and Florida. However, the Republic of Texas has been recently made independent of Mexico. If the United States annexes Texas, then the north-south divide again becomes even.

There were 17 million people in the United States in 1840.

There were 2.5 million slaves in the United States in 1840.

The northern states had nearly achieved universal emancipation by this time. Delaware had about 3% slaves, so it functioned more like a northern state. The Upper South states like Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Maryland had slavery rates around 20%, while the deeper south states had slave figures between 33%-55%, with South Carolina having the highest percentage of slaves.

Virginia shows a distinction between a high proportion of slaves in eastern Virginia and a much lower percentage of slaves in the mountain west.

Railroads and canals like the Erie Canal have made populations explode. New York State is the most populous state.

New York City has over 300,000 people.

Philadelphia, Boston, Baltimore, and New Orleans all have over 100,000 people when adjacent neighborhoods are counted in city populations.

Cincinnati is the largest city in the northwest. Louisville, Kentucky is as large as Pittsburgh, both cities on the Ohio River.

St. Louis is a major hub in the west on the Mississippi River.

Native nations on the frontier of the United States include the Mandan, Sioux, Sauk, Fox, Osage, Ojibwa, Cherokee, Choctaw, and Creek. Some of these, like the Choctaw, Cherokee, and Creek had been recently removed west of Arkansas in the infamous Trail of Tears.

Paintings from the Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

A short film by Jeffrey Meyer