1830 US Census: Population, States, Cities, Demographics | America by the Numbers | Slave population

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In 1830, the United States had 24 states and three territories. There were 12.9 million people in the United States in 1830. Missouri was the most recent state. The borders of the country extended from Louisiana to Missouri to the Great Lakes. The most populous state was New York, followed by Pennsylvania and Virginia.

The largest cities in the United States in 1830 were New York City and Philadelphia, with New York City having over 200,000 people. The largest cities in the south were New Orleans, Louisiana and Charleston, South Carolina.

The territories at this time are Michigan, Arkansas, and Florida.

The states were evenly divided between slave states and free states. The most recent states were Maine and Missouri. The Senate brings in two states at a time, one free and one slave, to keep the Senatorial power balance in check between the regions.

The US Constitution requires the Census to tabulate slaves, so we know exactly how many slaves were in each state. Northern states had nearly abolished slavery, with all northern states have less than one percent slaves. New York had abolished slavery in 1827, adding 10,000 freemen the 1830 Census.

Louisiana and South Carolina had the most slaves in 1830, with the majorities in those states being slaves. Western Virginia and Eastern Tennessee had much lower slavery than the rest of their respective states due to the mountainous terrain. Delaware had more freemen than slaves.

A short film by Jeffrey Meyer