The South contained the largest numbers of slaves but slaves were counted in every states except Maine and Massachusetts.
The 1790 Census was the first for the US and has occurred every 10 years since.
The census in 1790 counted the following groups: free white males over the age of 16, free white males under the age of 16, free white females, other free people, and slaves. The numbers showed some states had more slaves than free white men with Virginia having the largest number of slaves at 292,627. North Carolina, South Carolina, and Maryland had the next largest. All of these states relied on cash crops and plantation systems to make money.
According to the 1790 census, the enslaved people live within the United States is in the South.
Four states had more than 100,000 slaves in 1790: Virginia (292,627); South Carolina (107,094); Maryland (103,036); and North Carolina (100,572).
At that time, slaves were counted in every states except for Maine and Massachusetts.
The United States Census of 1790 constituted the first census of the entire United States. It recorded the population of the United States as of Census Day, August 2, 1790, as mandated by Article I, Section 2 of the United States Constitution and applicable laws.
