The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1874-04-08
The Effect of the War and of Eman,
cipation upon the Two Races
at the South.

dt 0AO SouVA'
The January number of the Eain
1ury Review contains an able and in
serssting article upon this subject: ii
which the conclusions of tho write
drawn from Tho statistics of the las
Census Report, arc stated with grea
force and clearness, and at the same
time with an absence of all party
bias, which is as rare as it is com
,mendable.
The writer points out clearly The
fundamental differences which dis
ltinguished emancipation at the South
from all similar cases in the records
Of the past. The revolution which
converted the slaves of the old Ro
man empire into the scrfs of the
middle ages, though played upon q
larger stage, was accomplished grad
:ually and almost impcrceptibly; the
emancipation in Jamaica was affected
pesceably, and upon payment OF Just
compensation, and so likewise was
the liberation Of the serfs in Russia
carried out peaceab}y and with tho
consent of tho masters; in Hayti the
masters were mere handful anc
were swept away by the insurrection
in all these, the masters wero q mere
privileged class forming but q small
portion of the population.
In the South, on the contrary, The
masters constituted . people consid
,erably outnumb boring their slaves
werein q position to oppose q public
opinion Of their own to the public
opinion of tho world, wero absolute
at homo und ruled the government O.
tho Union, and hence they tough'
desperately to maintain tnelrcherlsh
cd institution, and hence for IT'S pres
ervation staked life and property anc
all the resources of o desperate four
years contest. Emancipation came
as q war measure and at one blow
overturned the political, social and
industrial organization Of the South
and moro than all brought about 4
series of consequences which invest
ed the slaves with tho attributes o1
sovereignty and laadc them the dom
inant race.
The effect OF emancipation, cspcci
ally upon the black race, is discussed
at some length by tho writer, and is
shown TO Justify neither the antlcl'
pations Of those who prophesied that
the blacks would die out, or be extcr,
minated, nor of those who predicted
that they would rapidly supplant the
whites, especially in tho warmer
States. The entire colorcd popula
ticn of the United States in 1860 was
.$4,441, $3.50, in 1870, was 4,9S0,OO9
increasing in the ten years by 43S,
179 souls, or just 9.21 per cent; whilst
the increase of the whites in the
same period was 24.39 per ccut; tho
.colored increase being considerably
below half the average Of the whites
and being also far short of onc-half OF
the rate of in crease which prevailed
among themselves before 1860.
Again it is surprising fact that ii
spite of tho ravages ofone Of the most
exhausting civil wars on record, the
rate of increase Of tho whites of the
Confederate States during the 10 yeart
under review was as much as 81 pc.
cent being only one-half Of the one
per cent. less than tho increase o.
tho whole colored race of the United
States. 1t is estimated that the &C
tual deaths in the Confederate az
mics amounted to $4,000 men, 0,
seven-tenths of the entire strength
In view of this frigbtful mortality
and that but few births could hav'
taken place in the families of absen
soldiers, and that scarcely any in
crease was derived from immigration
the fact that the increase of tn
white population of the Southern
States is only y fraction less than th
increase Of the colored race, afford
tho strongest proof Of the abiding
vitality of tho white race of tn
South. Tho great mortality among
the blacks the writer attributes tt
tbrco causes-the crowding Of refu
gee negroes in tho camps of Northocs
armies or in the large cities, at thu
close of the war-tho absence of ma
.tsrnal instincts among their women