First US Census Records Nearly 700,000 Enslaved People

The 1790 census enumerated 697,681 enslaved people — 17.8 percent of the US population. Virginia held the largest enslaved population (292,627), followed by South Carolina (107,094) and Maryland (103,036). Free Black Americans numbered roughly 59,000. Census data apportioned Congressional seats under the Three-Fifths Clause, amplifying slaveholder political power.