The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1883-12-13
Who the Western People are.

ine IhllhuclDtlh IDntS undertook.
some weeks ago. to investigate the origin
Of the people of the Western States and
Territories, TO discover which States mad
contributed most to the wealth and pop.
ulation of the great West. New Eng.
land has had much of the credit Of this :;
and the prevalence of New England
ideas aud habits throughout this region
seemed to give some foundation to this
claim. The Times, therefore, was DOT a
little astonished 10 discover on what .
feeble basis it rested, and To find by a
thorough investigation of :hn census
figures how much More tho South had
contributed to the wealth and growth of
the West than New England.
In taking the Canadian census, the
British Government gives not only the
nativity of every inhubiant but his
descent. 1t is consequently able to
declare that there are ,29S,92S persons
OF French descent, whose ancestors have
probably not seen France these 200
years; SSl ,3Ol persons Of English, 957,-
4O3 of Irish and 699,9S3 Of ScotL
descent, etc. With all its claborateness
our census has not sought to give similar
figures. 1t is, however, q very easy cal.
culation TO make, and the result will
certainly be surprise to many Western
people who have been taught this idea
of their New England origin Just as the
Dulgarians, VINO arc cousins Of the Turks,
have cen taught :ha: they were Sclays.
When Ohio, en- Territory, was
thrown open to ttlencnt, century
ago, large number of New Eng!anders
settled in the northeastern corner, "thc
Reserve" Sut j much larger number of
Soutbcrners established themselves
throughout the State. There are to-day
twice as many Eirginians in Ohio ~
people from all the six New England
States, and the South contributes ut least
five times as many people rs New Eng
land. OF the present population OF
American descent, 36 per cent. trace their
ancestry to families moving from south
OF Mason and Dlxon's line, and CT per
cent.-of which only one-third was from
New England-irom the older Northern
States; i'll other words more than one.
third of the people Of Ohio are Southern.
crs in blood and descent and sentiment.
In other Western States, the South
contributes an even larger proportion of
the population. In Oregon, for instance,
one Southern State contributes more
people than all the New England and
Middle States together. Dividing the
people of Oregon according 10 their
descent, As per cent. came from the South
and SO per cent. from the North.
Kansas is supposed to be another New
England in the far West, yet there arc
10000 Southerners to $4,000 New Eng
landers, and ~ per cent. Of its people
came originally from Southern soil.
1t has been customary to refer to Texas
as owing its large prosperity to Western
immigration and enterprise. Without,
saying word against these Western
emlgrants, who are the very best Of citi-
zens, it is quite evident they have played
small part in the development of tho
State. New England has contributed
just 4, ,O65 to the population of Texas, the
rest OF the country north Of the Ohio,
6O,394, and the older Southern States,
555,937. or the native population of
Texas to-day % per cent. is Southern
aud Z per cent. Northern.
Such was pretty much the condition Of
affairs that the Philadelphia Times
showed, and which we have only carried
out a little further. This internal move.
ment Of the population in this country is
one OF its great safeguards. 1t mixes up
the people of the different sections and
prevents that sectionalism which would
destroy the Union. In those early days,
when the West was thrown open to set
tlement. Southerners by the thousand
poured into it, and did as much to devel-
op it as the people of New England and
the Middle States. Ii this tide OF immi
grafton now turns in this direction, and
the people of the North and West move
southwark and settle on Southern soil, it
will be but naturally accomplishing the
same result as has made the great West
prosperous and populous with Southern
labor, enterprise and energy.