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Thomas Jefferson Signed Act of Congress....
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Description
Jefferson signed Act of Congress regarding the First United States Census of 1790
Thomas Jefferson Signed Act of Congress. One page, 8 1/4 x
12 1/2 inches (sight), Philadelphia; October 24, 1791. Matted and
framed alongside a printed portrait of Jefferson to an overall size
of 22 1/4 x 18 1/2 inches. Thomas Jefferson signs this
congressional act extending the deadline for South Carolina to
complete and submit its population count for the First United
States Census of 1790. The document reads, in part:"Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That is shall be lawful for the Marshal of the district of South-Carolina to complete and make return of the enumeration of the inhabitants of the said district, to the President of the United States, in the form and manner prescribed by the act, intituled, 'An act providing for the enumeration of the inhabitants of the United States,' at any time on or before the first day of March next, any thing in the said act to the contrary notwithstanding."
Signed, "Thos Jefferson" as Secretary of State.
When George Washington assumed the presidency in 1789, no accurate count of the nation's population existed. Although the Articles of Confederation had called for a triennial census to apportion taxes among the states, no enumeration had ever been completed. The newly ratified U.S. Constitution corrected this, mandating a decennial census to determine representation and taxation "according to their respective Numbers," counting free persons in full while including "three fifths of all other Persons," meaning those that were enslaved. The first federal census began on August 2, 1790, with Jefferson, as Secretary of State, serving as its director.
Overseeing the census was one of the first major tasks assigned to the newly created corps of U.S. Marshals, each responsible for directing the count in their federal districts. Marshals were fined $800 for failing to submit their returns on time, the equivalent of roughly $22,000 today. In order to avoid this hefty fine, Rhode Island, Vermont, South Carolina, and the Southwest Territory each petitioned Congress for extensions. Jefferson's signed act granted such an extension to South Carolina, whose marshal, Isaac Huger, employed eighteen deputies to complete the state's count. Huger's report, the last to be submitted, was filed on February 5, 1792, listing a total population of 249,073. With South Carolina's figures submitted, Jefferson was able to finalize and publish the first official census report in 1793, recording a national population of 3,929,214.
Although Washington and Jefferson both worried that the census had undercounted the number of Americans by several hundred thousand, it was nonetheless an important undertaking, proving that the young republic was expanding steadily and prospering without reliance on Great Britain.
Includes a letter of authenticity from PSA/DNA.
Condition: Not examined out of frame. Lightly toned with flattened folds and minor soiling. Uneven edges with a few small chips, not affecting text.
Auction Info
2026 February 26 Historical Manuscripts & Texana Signature® Auction #6328 (go to Auction Home page)
Auction Dates
February, 2026
26th
Thursday
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