History

1860

Census Day was June 1, 1860.

Authorizing Legislation

The 1850 Census Act was the authorizing legislation for the 1860 census. That act had stipulated that, according to the recommendation of the secretary of the interior, its provisions were to be adhered to for all future decennial censuses if no new authorizing legislation was passed by January 1 of the year in which the census was required.

Intercensal Activity

The Census Office, and the position of superintending clerk were abolished in May 1865. A portion of the clerks engaged in census work transferred to the General Land Office, where work of the 1860 census was completed under the direction of the commissioner of the General Land Office.

Further Information

• A wide variety of historical statistics from this and other decades is available in Historical Statistics of the United States: Colonial Times to 1970 Part I and Part II [PDF]
• Reports and statistics from the 1860 census