The New Jersey Miscount

The 1860 Census and Accidental Humanization

Abstract

The 1860 census is the only example in U.S. history when the U.S. government systematically recorded the names and the ages enslaved individuals of a state.  Because government officials underestimated the number enslaved people in New Jersey, there was no slave schedule and the names of enslaved individuals appeared within their enslavers in the regular 1860 census.  The official census statistics only listed 18 individuals as enslaved in 1860, but a close examination of every 1860 census page for New Jersey uncovers 64 names tied to slavery.  This essay explores the context behind the census, and how the census accidentally humanized people that it often marginalized.