U.S. Census Bureau Daily Feature for March 15

WASHINGTON, March 15 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following is the daily "Profile America" feature from the U.S. Census Bureau:

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090226/CENSUSLOGO)

MONDAY, MARCH 15: 1850 CENSUS

Profile America -- Monday, March 15th.  The national census beginning the first of next month will be the 23rd time this once-a-decade count has been conducted since 1790.  The 7th census in 1850 profiled a nation growing both in population and technology.  In a nation with 30 states, the census counted just over 23 million people -- an astonishing growth rate of nearly 36 percent in a decade.  The population of New York, the largest city, was just over a half-million.  In the decade to follow, the Supreme Court ruled that slaves do not become free when transported into a free state, the Republican party was founded, and the first elevator was installed.  At the end of the decade, the first productive commercial oil well was completed at Titusville, Pennsylvania.  You can learn more about the census in U.S. history online at 2010.census.gov.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Through the Decades

Profile America is produced by the Public Information Office of the U.S. Census Bureau. These daily features are available as produced segments, ready to air, on a monthly CD or on the Internet at http://www.census.gov (look under the "Newsroom" button).  

SOURCE U.S. Census Bureau