The sixth census was governed by the same general provisions of law as in 1830. Under the provisions of an act of March 3, 1839 (and amended by an act of February 26, 1840), the enumeration began on June 1, 1840. Marshals were to receive two copies of the census receipts from enumerators by November 1, 1840, one of which was to be sent to the Secretary of State by December 1, 1840.
No population questionnaire was prescribed by the Congress—the design of the questionnaire was left to the discretion of the Secretary of State, and closely followed that used in1830. The law did specify the inquiries to be made of each household.
| 1840 Census Information | Online | Download | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Volume 1 | Sixth Census or enumeration of the inhabitants of the United States, as corrected at the Department of state, in 1840... | N/A | N/A |
| Volume 2 | Statistics of the United States of America, as collected and returned by the marshals of the several judicial districts, under the thirteenth section of the act for taking the Sixth Census | N/A | N/A |
| Volume 3 | Compendium of the Enumeration of the inhabitants and statistics of the United States, as obtained at the Department of State, from the returns of the Sixth Census...To which is added an abstract of each preceding census. | ZIP 223.5 MB |
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| Volume 4 | A census of pensioners for revolutionary or military services; with their names, ages, and places of residence, as returned by the marshals of the several districts... | ZIP 28.7 MB |
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Source: U.S. Census Bureau
