How America Has Changed Since the First Census in 1790
1840: ‘Mental illness’ controversy
- U.S. resident population: 17,063,353
- Number of official states: 26
- Median age of population: 17.8
- Immigrants obtaining legal resident status: 84,066
- Biggest cities: New York, NY (Population: 312,710), Baltimore, MD (102,313), New Orleans, LA (102,193)
The 1840 census was the first that sought to tally the number of “insane” or “idiotic” Americans. The results of the questionable survey showed steep numbers of black people in free states suffering from mental illness—while mental illness rates were markedly lower in slaveholding states.
The flawed results were illuminated in an 1844 report in the American Journal of the Medical Sciences and their errors exposed; however, no revisions were made to the census information.