Today (April 15th) is Tax Day in America, the day by which we are required to have filed our federal income tax. While the first income tax actually occurred back during the Civil War as a way to fund the cost of battle, that practice was ended and replaced by various other taxes after the war ended. A hundred years ago (1913) the federal government introduced us to the 1040 tax form. This original "return of net income of individuals" tax form was three pages long, with a fourth page containing the instructions. It doesn't appear to be any easier than some of the forms we have to file today !
To get a peek at what your great grandparents had to deal with when it came to the FIRST federal 1040 form, visit: http://www.taxanalysts.com/thp/1040forms.nsf/WebByYear/1913/$file/1040_1913.pdf
