Black and White: Land, Labor, and Politics in the SouthFortune, Timothy Thomas
History
Black and White: Land, Labor, and Politics in the South
Fortune, Timothy Thomas
African Americans -- Southern States; Southern States -- Economic conditions; United States -- Race relations
Q. I suppose the circumstance that the average death rate
is larger in cities ought to be taken into account, the
Southern population being mostly rural, is it not?
--A. The Southern population is to a very great extent
rural--Still there are cities in Georgia which I suppose in
proportion to our rural population would not make the latter
in excess of what it is here. If you take your rural
population here and in New Jersey, where you are densely
populated, we are no more densely populated in the
proportion of our city population to the country than you
are here, I think.
Q. Of the population, which is, as a rule, the more healthy
in the South, the colored or the white population?
By Mr. PUGH:
Q. There must be some qualification of that difference
between the death rate between such States as Massachusetts,
for instance, and Georgia, on account of the fact--which I
suppose must be conceded--that in these new States
population is younger and more vigorous than in the older
States. The emigration to these States has been of the
younger and more vigorous population, not so liable to die
as those who remain behind and are older?
--A. There has been but very little emigration into these
States up to this census.
MR. PUGH. That is the fact to some extent, I suppose,
anyway.
The CHAIRMAN. In that same connection, I suppose, should be
borne in mind the fact that the population of these Eastern
States is largely re-enforced by immigration from Europe,
and that is of the younger and more vigorous European
population, and I do not know but what the people in
Massachusetts will insist upon it that they are as young and
as vigorous as anybody.
Mr. PUGH. I have no doubt. I saw a great many very old
people there.
The WITNESS. I merely mentioned this because I wanted to do
away with the impression which generally exists that the
Southern States are very unhealthy.
Mr. PUGH. I have no doubt that what you state is true as a
general fact.
The WITNESS. Now, to bear out the assertion which I made
that the prosperity of the negroes began to increase with
the cessation of race issues in the South, which has been so
apparent to me that I can almost mark the time that it
began, look at the cotton crop that is being made to a great
extent by small farmers; look at the increase of the cotton
crop in the different States in the last few years. For
instance, take Georgia: in 1870 she made 473,934 bales of
cotton; in 1880 she made 814,441, an increase of 75 per
cent. Alabama in 1870 produced 429,482 bales; and in 1880
699,654, an increase of 62 per cent. Mississippi in 1870
produced 564,938 bales; in 1880 she produced 955,808 bales,
an increase of 69 per cent.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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