Worksheets and No Prep Teaching Resources Reading Comprehension Worksheets A New Nation (1776-1830)

The Census A New Nation (1776-1830)

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The Census
Print The Census Reading Comprehension with Sixth Grade Work

Print The Census Reading Comprehension


Reading Level

	edHelper's suggested reading level:	grades 6 to 8
	Flesch-Kincaid grade level:	7.95

Vocabulary

	challenging words:		statehood, assured, census, Archeologists, representation, confidential, military, extensive, social, colonist, government, based, public, zero, citizen, tally
	content words:		United States, Revolutionary War, Our Founding Fathers

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The Census By Jane Runyon

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¹     If the year ends in a zero, you can count on a census being taken in the United States. A census is a count of the number of people living in a certain area. In the days of history when Rome ruled much of the world, a census was used to tax the people. Archeologists have found evidence that censuses were taken as far back as 3000 B.C. So, why do we need a census today? And how did they begin in the colonies?
 
²     The British used a census as early as the 1600s in the Virginia colony. They used the number of people they counted to decide how much they should tax each colonist. Before a new area of land was added to the colonies, a census was taken. Much later, it was decided that an area needed to have a population of 60,000 before it could apply for statehood.
 
³     After the Revolutionary War, a new government was formed for the United States of America. The Constitution declared that the number of members in the House of Representatives would be based on the population of a state. The country had just finished a long war. The government had accumulated a large debt because of that war. Someone needed to pay those debts. Article 1, Section 2 of the Constitution placed the responsibility for the war debts with the states depending upon their population. It was decided that an extensive census needed to be taken. Our Founding Fathers were pretty smart. None of the states wanted to have to pay a lot of money for the debts. That would be a reason not to report a large population. On the other hand, all of the states wanted to have the largest representation they could in the House of Representatives. That was a good reason to report everyone they could. By combining these two items, it assured the fact that states would report their number of people accurately.

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A New Nation
(1776-1830)

A New Nation (1776-1830)

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United States

United States

American Government         Black History and Blacks in U.S. History         Children in History         Government Careers         Hispanic Heritage         How Can I Help?

Immigration         National Parks and Monuments         Native Americans         Presidents of the United States         Women's History

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United States History

A Nation Divided (1840-1861)         A New Nation (1776-1830)         After the Civil War (1865-1870)         American Revolution         Cold War (1947-1991)         Colonial America (1492-1776)         Lewis and Clark (1804-1806)         Pearl Harbor         Spanish American War (1898)         The 1890's         The 1900's         The 1910's         The 1920's         The 1930's

The 1940's         The 1950's         The 1960's         The 1970's         The 1980's         The 1990's         The 2000's         The Civil War (1861-1865)         The Great Depression (1929-1945)         The United States Grows (1865-1900)         The War of 1812         Wild, Wild West         World War I (1914-1918)         World War II

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50 States

Fifty States Theme Unit

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Document Based Activities

Document Based Activities

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