Do You Know US Census History?

The correct answer is 13 because the first census conducted in a country is usually used to count the number of states or regions within that country. In this case, the first census counted 13 states.

Article 1, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution requires the taking of the census.

The first census was conducted in 1790, as required by the U.S. Constitution. Article 1, Section 2 of the Constitution states that "The actual Enumeration shall be made within three years after the first meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent Term of ten Years, in such manner, as they shall by law direct.”

The nationwide population census, conducted every 10 years, originated with the founding fathers and the framework they established to create the government of the United States. Between May 25 and September 17, 1787, state delegates gathered in Philadelphia to revise the Articles of Confederation - the nation’s governing document since 1777. The topic of a nationwide census arose during debate about how to handle the debt incurred from the Revolutionary War. A census provided a way to allocate the debt among the states fairly. Additionally, the founding fathers wanted to establish a truly representative government that linked state population totals to the number of members in the House of Representatives. By counting people for both taxes and representation, they believed the census would be both accurate and fair. While states might inflate their population numbers to increase their representation in Congress, doing so also would increase the state’s tax burden.

U.S. Marshals and their assistants collected census data by personally visiting each household in the United States. Marshals were replaced by specially trained supervisors and census enumerators for the 1880 and later censuses.

In 1920, the U.S population surpassed 100 million. This means that by the year 1920, the number of people living in the United States had exceeded 100 million.