Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 14.djvu/392

NEGRO IN AMERICA. importations were considerable up to 1808, when they were prohibited by the Constitution. The smuggling in of Africans continued, however, up to the Civil War. Since that time there has been some immigration of negroes from the West Indies, not sufficient, however, to affect the truth of the proposition that recent growth in negro population practically represents a natural increase.

It is a matter of great importance whether or not the negro population is increasing more rapidly than the white. Table 1. from the Twelfth Census shows the number of negroes in the United States for each decade, from 1790 to 1900, together with the percentage of the total population which the negroes represent:

It will be seen that the proportion of negroes to the general population has declined for every decade since 1810 except 1870-80; and it is now generally understood that the apparent increase for that decade was the result of faulty enumeration. It is true that much of the relative increase in white population is to be ascribed to (q.v.). Nevertheless, it appears that the native white population is increasing faster than the negro population. Thus, for the decade 1890-1900, the native whites of native parentage increased 18.9 per cent., while the negroes increased 18.1 per cent.

. In the colonial period negroes were found in every colony, but were most numerous in the South, where their services were in greater demand. The abolition of slavery in the North led to greater concentration in the South; and by 1860, out of 4,441,830 in the United States, only 226,216 lived in the Northern States. Since the war a considerable diffusion has taken place. At times it has been feared that a large proportion of the negroes would flock to the North; but adverse climatic conditions and the difficulty of competing with white labor have forced most of the negroes to remain in the South. See Table II. for the distribution of negroes.

It will be seen that in absolute numbers the negroes have increased in each of the greater census divisions. Relatively to the general population, their numbers have increased in the last decade in the North Atlantic division only. See Table III.

Georgia had a negro population in 1900 of 1,034,813, Mississippi 907,630, Alabama 827,307, South Carolina 782,321. Virginia, North Carolina, Louisiana, and Texas exceeded 600,000. In Alabama the negroes are 45.1 per cent. of the total population; South Carolina, 58.4; Louisiana, 47.2; Georgia, 46.7; Florida, 43.7. A more detailed statistical study would show a tendency of the negroes to concentrate in limited areas in some of the Southern States. Thus, in five counties of the Yazoo-Mississippi delta, in Mississippi, the negroes form 87.6 per cent. of the total population.

. As a laborer, the negro is capable of the hardest physical toil, and works without difficulty where the humidity and heat render labor intolerable for the white. He is lacking in stability, and is inclined to roam from one district to another without any satisfactory reason; he is wasteful and careless, requiring constant supervision. These characteristics have largely determined his economic position. As an agricultural laborer the negro is indispensable in the South, more especially in the low, swampy districts, where the white laborer readily succumbs to disease. As a domestic servant the negro has proved his usefulness. In manufactures, on the other hand, negro labor is unsatisfactory, since the negro will not remain in a position long enough to develop a high degree of skill. The same deficiency is driving him out of the handicrafts. Under slavery a large number of negroes were trained in handicrafts, and proved to be valuable workmen after emancipation; but the generation which has risen since slavery has manifested an unwillingness to enter upon the long period of training necessary for the exercise of the trades. The tendency toward agricultural labor and personal service is illustrated by the statistics of occupations of the Eleventh Census. In 1890, of all negroes in gainful occupations, 57.2 per cent. were engaged in agriculture, 31.4 per cent. in personal service, 5.0 per cent. in manufactures, 4.7 per cent. in trade and transportation, and 1.1 per cent. in the professions. In the Southern States the proportion engaged in agriculture was greater—64 and 71 per cent. for the South Atlantic and South Central divisions respectively.

The wages of the negro agricultural laborer in the South usually range from six to ten dollars a month, with substantial additions in the shape of food, house room, etc. In the busy season of the year the day laborer usually receives a far higher wage. A good cotton-picker in the Yazoo-Mississippi delta often earns a dollar and a half a day. Whether wages are high or low, the negro laborer is likely at any time to leave his employment, with resulting embarrassment to the employer. Hence, it is a common