Using the 1790 census, Congress reapportioned seats in the House of Representatives. This bill lists the new number of representatives for each state. States with large (but non-voting) enslaved populations were awarded greater representation in Congress than states with equal numbers of white male voters and fewer enslaved persons.
Within the state of Pennsylvania, 13…
Within the state of Virginia, 19
Records of the U.S. Senate, National Archives and Records Administration
H.R. 163, A bill for an apportionment of Representatives among the several States according to the first enumeration, March 6, 1792
The First Census
The United States Constitution requires the federal government to count the inhabitants of each state every ten years as the basis for taxation and congressional representation. Congress authorized the first census in 1790—it counted every free person and all indentured servants, but excluded Indians who were not taxed and tallied only three-fifths of enslaved persons, who were not considered citizens. After the Civil War, the Fourteenth Amendment recognized formerly enslaved persons as citizens to be fully counted.
Using the 1790 census, Congress reapportioned seats in the House of Representatives. This bill lists the new number of representatives for each state. States with large (but non-voting) enslaved populations were awarded greater representation in Congress than states with equal numbers of white male voters and fewer enslaved persons.
Within the state of Pennsylvania, 13…
Within the state of Virginia, 19
Records of the U.S. Senate, National Archives and Records Administration
