The first United States Census was authorized.
Authorizing the legislation were President George Washington, Vice President John Adams, and Speaker of the House Frederick Muhlenberg.
The census began on Monday, August 2, 1790, and was finished within 9 months, under the rules and directions established in an Act of Congress approved March 1, 1790 (“An Act providing for the enumeration of the Inhabitants of the United States,” 1 Statutes at Large 101).