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U.S. 19th Century Population and Demographics
South Carolina 19th Century Demographics
U.S. 19th Century Population and Demographics
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The table below shows the U.S. population broken down by race and status for 1850 through 1870, and for 1900. It shows the same data for the state of Pennsylvania (a free but border state). Below is the data for the City of Charleston and South Carolina.
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Nationally, there were nearly four million slaves in the U.S. in 1860, and 488,000 free-colored. This meant that about 14% of the population was African-American (usually identified as “black” or “colored”), and 12.6% were slaves. Before 1870, this designation would have included most individuals of color - black, and mixed-race with part white, Native American, or Hispanic heritage. Later Native-Americans and non-mixed Hispanics were counted separately, but these categories were confusing until very recently. By 1900, the “colored population” was under 12%. The most probably explanation for the smaller percentage is that the U.S. experienced massive immigration from Europe between 1880 and 1900. From 1870 to 1900, the white population of the U.S. nearly doubled, while African-American population increased by about 1.8 times.
In the 2020 census, the non-Hispanic white population represented just 60.1% of the total population. Black population, at 12.2% has remained fairly steady, while other non-white groups together represent about 27%. Of those, the Hispanic population was 18.5%, and Asian, mixed race, Native American, and Pacific Islands together account for about 9.2%. By 2030, the non-Hispanic white population will be about 55% of the total population. The U.S. is projected to have a majority of people of color by about 2045.
South Carolina 19th Century Demographics
In 1850, according to U.S. Census data for the City of Charleston, there were approximately 20,000 whites, about 19,500 colored slaves and about 3400 free colored living in the city. Slaves and free colored represented about 56% of the population in the city of Charleston. The numbers would have been somewhat smaller in 1829 but the proportions were probably similar. The house slaves living in Charleston had much less freedom of movement (passes required) than the free colored, but many did run errands or do other business for their masters in town. They often were able to attend the same churches as free colored on Sundays.
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In the 1860 U.S. Census, about 24,000 whites, 14,000 slaves and 3,200 free-colored were counted in the City of Charleston. This represents a slight drop in the total population in Charleston. Numbers published by the City of Charleston in 1861, by that time under the Confederacy, were somewhat higher. These numbers are undoubtedly affected by the fact that both whites and slaves may have lived part of the year in the city and at other times on outlying plantations or farms, so the timing of the count may have been different.
It is notable that from 1850 to 1900 (and well before that), African Americans (including mulatto and mixed race) outnumbered the white population by a significant amount in South Carolina. This was also true in Charleston (except in 1860, where the census numbers may not be accurate). It is small wonder that South Carolinians were highly anxious about the possibility of a slave uprising such as that attempted by Nat Turner in Virginia in 1831. It was not until 1920 – 1930, when Jim Crow laws and lynchings in the South increased African-American migration to the North, that whites began to outnumber African Americans in South Carolina. By 1990 there were 2.5 times as many whites as African Americans in South Carolina.
Charleston Dialect
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In the 1840s it is likely that white and black inhabitants of Charleston and its surroundings would have shared a distinctive southern dialect with variations depending on levels of education and exposure to standard English grammar v. less exposure and more direct African influence. It is difficult to know how to reproduce these differences exactly. For one thing, the influences on the Charleston dialect are varied, and in any era individuals in the same place will speak differently. [1] The most notable, consistent element of the Charleston and Low Country dialect is the dropping of the “r”, especially at the end of words. Dropping of a final “g” was also common. There can also be a “Canadian” type use of “oo” in place of “ou”, as in “hoose” vs “house”, but that was less common. The replacement of “eye” or “I” with “Ah” was less pronounced in Charleston, but more common in upland areas.
Grammar and vocabulary could also be distinct. In the first chapters I have tried to produce a general impression of the Charleston dialect with a range of levels of deviation from standard or northern English usage. For instance, I have had some characters use the “Ah” for “I”, but for others I’ve had them use “I”. I do not pretend to expertise in these language variations, and I introduce these differences only to indicate a general distinction from Northern English, and to a lesser extent between southern classes. For instance, Angelina and her sisters would have had Charleston accents, but probably spoke with mostly (but not completely) standard English grammar; Henry who spent more time among plantation slaves and with his mistress, Nancy, may have adapted his speech more to their local usage. Nancy’s speech was likely to be a mix of the African influenced vernacular of the slaves (AAVE)[2] and the more standard Charleston speech that she was exposed to as a house slave. While Gullah was spoken in the Sea Island areas, its influence on upper class Charleston would have been minimal. Slaves from that area who were brought to Charleston would have spoken it.
[1] “Older Southern American English. Wikipedia. See particularly the sections on “Charleston” and “Grammar and Vocabulary.” https://en.wikipedia.org
[2] “African-American Vernacular English”, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org
Quaker Speech
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When Sarah moved to Philadelphia and joined the Quakers she adopted the Quaker style of speech, using “thee”, “thou”, and “thy” for both second person singular and second person plural, and the corresponding verb forms. Angelina also adopted this after she came to Philadelphia and joined the Quakers, as is evident from her extant letters to Sarah from around 1830 on.[1] Many of Sarah’s letters to Angelina from that period do not seem to have survived, but in letters to others, such as Sarah Douglass, she uses the Quaker form. Birney[2] mentions that they both used Quaker speech despite discomfort with some of its ungrammatical forms. They would probably not have used it consistently in conversation with non-Quakers such as their sister Anna and other family members. However, Angelina does use it in her first letter to William Lloyd Garrison and later the sisters use it in their correspondence with Theodore Weld. After they broke with the Quakers around 1838, they discontinued using it, except perhaps by habit, with their remaining Quaker friends.
[1] Birney, Grimké Sisters. Chapters 8–11.
[2] Birney, Grimké Sisters.
The Nat Turner Rebellion
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Also known as the Southampton Insurrection, it took place in Virginia in 1831. Turner was educated and was a preacher. During the insurrection, about 50 – 65 white men, women and children were killed. Turner survived in hiding for about 30 days, but eventually he was executed along with 56 other slaves accused of participating. As many as 120 enslaved and free African Americans were killed in retaliation.
Slavery and Literacy
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In 1740 South Carolina passed the first law prohibiting teaching slaves to read and write. It could be punished by a fine of $100 pounds and six months in prison. Negroes who learned to read could be punished by whippings. After the Nat Turner rebellion in 1831, all the southern states except Maryland, Kentucky, and Tennessee had passed laws making it illegal to teach slaves to read or write. Nevertheless, even in Charleston there were some “Sunday” schools for teaching free colored to read, usually run in association with churches. Archie and Frank attended one of these at least occasionally. There were other less formal ways to learn to read and some free-colored and a few slaves were able to do so. It is estimated that about 5 – 10% of slaves became literate before the civil war, but they risked severe punishment if they were discovered to be literate.
Freeing slaves in South Carolina
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“It was uncommon for slaves to be freed in the state [South Carolina] since manumission was generally illegal. In 1850, for instance, only two slaves gained their freedom.” (“African Americans in South Carolina”, Wikipedia). Prior to 1820, a slave may have been able to buy his own freedom, or a benefactor could buy a slave and set him free. However, a law of 1820 stated that “no slave shall hereafter be emancipated but by act of the Legislature.” In other words, from 1820 to 1865, the only route to legal emancipation in South Carolina would have been to gain the sympathy of the conservative white men who formed the state’s General Assembly—an almost impossible task.
If a slave were sent North, they could conceivably be set free there, but in the case of Nancy and her sons, Henry would have lost Nancy’s help and companionship and that of his mixed-race sons, and he was apparently unwilling to make that sacrifice during his lifetime. It would have been difficult to provide for that in his will, although perhaps not impossible. It is also doubtful whether Nancy would have been willing to leave Charleston where at least she had some friends and family. Of course, Henry did not expect to die as young as he did, and his will was sufficiently vague (“be treated as members of the family”) to allow Montague free rein to re-enslave the boys when they reached a “useful” age.
During the 1830’s and 1840s several Grimké family slaves, at least Betsy Dawson and Stephen, were sent north to Anna Grimké and were set free by her, although they continued to work for the family.
The American Colonization Society
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The Society, founded in 1816, advocated sending African Americans back to Africa, notably to Liberia, because it was felt they could never successfully integrate into U.S. society. The movement was opposed by most of the African American Community and by those who favored full abolition of slavery within the U.S. Several prominent abolitionists such as James Birney and Gerrit Smith began as colonizationists but were soon convinced of its inadequacy.
The American Anti-Slavery Society and its Fracture
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Founded by William Lloyd Garrison and Arthur Tappan in 1833, its founding members included Theodore Weld, Lewis Tappan, and James Birney. By 1838, there were 1350 local chapters and a quarter of a million members. The founding of the Society was precipitated by several events around 1830, including the need to combat the influence of the American Colonization Society and the fears and unrest generated by the Nat Turner rebellion and other smaller slave uprisings.
Prominent members included Elizur Wright, Henry Stanton, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lydia Maria Child, Maria Weston Chapman, James Forten (father of the prominent free-colored Philadelphia Fortens), Forten’s son-in-law, Robert Purvis, Wendell Phillips, Lucretia Mott, Abby Kelley Foster, Beriah Green, Lucy Stone and John Greenleaf Whittier. Frederick Douglass, an escaped slave who became the leading voice of African Americans in the mid-late 19th century, joined the society after the internal schism around 1841.
There seemed to be two major reasons that the American Anti-Slavery Society fractured around 1839-1841. One was dissatisfaction with the “Garrison faction” that advocated immediate and unconditional emancipation of the slaves and with Garrison himself who was considered too uncompromising and outspoken, and was unwilling to work within the current political system. The other was the issue of women speaking in public, which had come to a head with the Pastoral Letter of the New England Clergy in 1837 which condemned women’s public speaking, and particularly their speaking to mixed (“promiscuous”) audiences of men and women. Garrison also embraced the participation of women in leadership. The issue was further brought to a head when the abolitionist women and Garrison wanted Abby Kelley to serve on the Society’s business committee, and the more conservative members objected.
On April 14, 1839, just a month before Theodore Weld and Angelina Grimké’s wedding, Beriah Green writes to Theodore Weld about the quarrelling among the abolitionists: “How quarrelsome our brother Abolitionist are growing….we must be willing to quarrel for the slave and endure the quarrelling of others. God grant, we may be saved from contending for ourselves and against the slave.” The quarrelling dated back to the time of the Pastoral Letter and the sisters’ public writings on the “woman question” and continued through the following year. In the end it led to the split of the American Anti-Slavery Association, and a severe weakening of the influence of the abolitionists in changing public opinion through the lecture circuit. However, the struggle was continued through written publications such as Weld’s American Slavery as It Is and through an increasing emphasis on political action.
The alternative organization that was formed with the support of the Tappan brothers was the American and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society, which became the haven for the anti-feminist abolitionists, including Amos Phelps, and several prominent African American members who objected to women’s increasing roles on religious grounds. Eventually two political parties, the Liberty party (1840s) and the Free-Soilers (1848 – 1854), carried the banner of abolitionism into the political front and ran political candidates for election and for the U.S. Presidency. James Birney and Gerrit Smith both ran for office under their auspices.
The Burning of Pennsylvania Hall
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Nearly all of the events recounted in the novel are detailed in the contemporary newspaper accounts, each of which has a different slant on the events. The Philadelphia papers tend to be anti-abolitionist and gloss over the failure of the fire department or by-standers to do anything to prevent the arson or save the burning building. The more liberal of the New York and Boston papers are openly critical of Philadelphia’s leaders for standing by and doing nothing.
A more detailed account of all the events of these several days was written for The Liberator, including the stories of the mob violence, the women escorting their colored sisters out of the building, and the aftermath and burning of the Hall on the following evening. It was not signed but seems to have been written by one of the women who was present at virtually all the events, possibly Abby Kelley or Maria Weston Chapman. There are also multiple other newspaper accounts of the events by both pro-abolitionist and pro-slavery or conservative journals.
The Amistad Case
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The Amistad was a Cuban schooner that was carrying 53 African to slavery on a Caribbean plantation in 1839. The Africans seized the ship, killed the captain and cook and tried to get the Spanish slave traders to sail back to Africa. When the ship ran aground off the coast of Long Island, NY, the US government imprisoned the Africans and returned control of the ship to the slave traders. However, Connecticut arrested the two Spanish traders on the charge of enslaving free Africans. The district court ruled that the Africans were not Spanish slaves, having been captured as free men in Africa. He ordered the U.S. to release them, and transport them back to Africa. After considerable diplomatic wrangling, the U.S. federal government, fearing Spanish anger and southern displeasure, appealed the decision to the Supreme Court. Former President John Quincy Adams agreed to argue that the Africans had been illegally taken from their free state in Africa and were never subjects of Spain. Although the Supreme Court was dominated by southerners, they accepted Adams’ argument, and the Africans were returned to freedom in their homeland. During their time under detention, several abolitionists, including Theodore Weld, helped to teach them some English, and one of their leaders wrote him the note of thanks that is mentioned in the novel.
The Fugitive Slave Law
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Passed in 1850, the law required that northern states enforce the arrest and return of fugitive slaves to their owners, even though slavery was illegal in those states. Officers of the law were expected to enforce this return, although many refused. It was highly unpopular in the North but remained the law until well into the Civil War. Practically it meant that those, such as Harriet Tubman, who escaped to the North and guided others there, were not truly safe until they reached Canada. Popular sentiment protected them in areas where they had powerful friends such as the Gerrit Smiths in central New York, but they were always at risk of discovery and being sent back to their owners in the South.
Civil War Facts
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The most recent demographic estimates by J. David Hacker, “A Census-Based Count of Civil War Dead”, put the number of deaths attributable to the Civil War at 650,000 to 850,000 with a mid-range estimate of about 750,000. See “How Many Died in the American Civil War?” at www.history.com. This data suggests that nearly 23% of Southern men between 20 and 24 in 1860 lost their lives because of the war.
While some African Americans participated on the Confederate side of the war, they were not allowed combat roles and they mainly served as cooks, teamsters, and manual laborers. Many more African Americans served in the Union Army and Navy. Recruitment of black soldiers was slow until 1862-1863 when they were allowed to show their worth in battle. By 1863 there were 14 Negro regiments. Although they fought bravely in 450 battle engagements, many in the Union Army were also relegated to labor-intensive menial tasks and saw little combat. Ultimately, about 186,000 served in the Union Army, making up 10% of the force, and another 20,000 served in the Union Navy. About 38,000 black soldiers died in the war with nearly 75% of those dying from disease or infection.
​Travel from 1820 to 1920
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Prior to the 1830’s long distance transportation in the U.S. was primarily by sailing vessels or by steamboats or ferries, all of which depended on access by waterways. The building of the Erie Canal and its opening in 1825 provided both cargo and settlers to travel inland and reach western New York, Ohio, and other midwestern states much more easily. Other land transportation was by various kinds of carriages and wagons, by horseback or on foot.
Railroads appeared in the Eastern United States around 1840. By then, more than 3,000 miles of track had been laid, primarily in the Northeast. By 1860, the U.S. had over 30,000 miles of track, more than the rest of the world combined.[i] While the South had built some short railroad lines by 1860, its lack of a comprehensive railway system was a handicap in the Civil War. By 1828 the B & O railroad began operating, and by 1840 railroads connected the major mid-Atlantic cities. The first passenger cars were stagecoach-like and were often referred to as “train cars”. New Jersey’s Camden and Amboy railroad began operation in 1830. Washington, DC and Philadelphia were connected as far as Amboy, NJ (close to Raritan Bay), but a ferry was needed to get to New York City and up to Albany. Albany was connected by railroad along the Erie Canal route through central New York, nearly to Buffalo. The connection between New Jersey through Connecticut to Boston was not complete in 1840, but these various gaps in the system were largely “filled in” during the 1840s and 1850s. In 1850 there was still a gap between the New York/northern New Jersey area and the railway that connected Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts. By 1860 the entire East Coast was connected by railway from Georgia all the way to Portland, Maine, and there were connections to most of the major inland cities as well. The transcontinental railroad was completed in May 1869.
Local transportation also underwent a revolution during the second half of the 19th century, with horse-drawn omnibuses and horse-drawn railcars being replaced with cable cars and electric streetcars around the 1870s to 1890s. Boston first subway line was completed in 1898. By the turn of the centuries, automobiles and gas-powered buses were on the way, although it wasn’t until the 1920s that they became somewhat affordable, and in the older cities where there was affordable mass transit, car ownership was less common until after World War II.
[i] “The Transportation Revolution”, Smithsonian American Art Museum.
https://americanexperience.si.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/The-Transportation-Revolution_.pdf
Lighting
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In the early 19th century homes were lit by candles and oil lamps. Wax made from whale oil was used for better candles and for oil lamps, and in the 1850s paraffin wax lamps provided a further improvement. Gas lighting was available for public streets and spaces starting before 1820, but it was not deemed safe for homes until the 1860s. After Edison perfected the incandescent light bulb in 1879, electric lighting became possible, but most homes continued to rely on gas lighting until well after World War I.
Eating
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Cooking and Food Preparation: In the early 19th century, cooking was primarily done over open flames or with a wood or coal-fired stove. Because of lack of refrigeration, food was preserved by drying it (such as fruits and vegetables) or by smoking or salting meats or fish. Otherwise, families could prepare fresh seasonal foods. In the winter, cold weather allowed for better preservation of some foods. Canning of vegetables and fruits also provided the ability to eat preserve and eat these foods out of season. Jams and jellies were popular. Overall, food preparation could take an enormous amount of a family’s time.
Foods: Pork, fish, poultry, sausage, and beef were all eaten in 19th century American, as well as wild game. Soups and stews, porridges, beans, corn and cornmeal, bread and cheese were all widely eaten. Cakes, pies, and puddings were the most common desserts. Milk was widely available, and while tea remained a standard drink in the U.S., coffee became increasingly common throughout the 19th century. While rum, beer and whiskey were common in early 19th century America, wine was less common. The temperance movement in the 1830s through the 1910s made alcoholic beverages less popular in some circles. Cider, other fruit juices, milk and water were consumed along with tea and coffee.
Mealtimes: In 1847, one source describes U.S. meal times as: “Breakfast, from six to eight o’clock A.M., Dinner (largest meal) from one to three o’clock P.M., Tea from six to eight o’clock P.M, and Supper “by bona fide Americans, is not taken.” The lighter evening meal probably evolved from a substantial tea to a light supper over time, or they were combined. With the coming of industrialization, more people worked away from the home and a larger evening meal became more dominant. Of course, all of these customs of eating differed considerably from region to region, and especially between rural, farming families and urban families.
The 1913 Women’s Suffrage Parade
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The Woman Suffrage Procession of 1913 was the first suffragist parade in Washington, D.C. Scheduled on March 3, 1913, the day before President Woodrow Wilson's inauguration, it was organized by the suffragist Alice Paul for the National American Woman Suffrage Association. Thousands of suffragists marched down Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C. “in a spirit of protest against the present political organization of society, from which women are excluded".
The march was important in advancing women's suffrage in the United States. However, when black suffragists announced they intended to participate, white southern suffragists threatened to boycott the event. Black suffragists were asked to march in a separate section towards the end of the parade. to mollify white southern delegates. Some African American women did march with their state delegations. A group of women from Howard University also participated in the parade. Although some Black women did appear to be segregated at the back of the parade, contemporary sources suggest that others marched with their respective state delegations or professional groups.
The parade itself was led by labor lawyer Inez Mulholland, dressed dramatically in white and mounted on a white horse, and included nine bands, five mounted brigades, 26 floats, and close to 8,000 marchers, including many notables such as Helen Keller, who was scheduled to speak at Constitution Hall after the march. Individuals came from European nations, Canada, India, Australia, New Zealand and many other countries around the world to support the movement.
Most women marched in groups determined by their occupation or under their respective state banners. For example, Jeannette Rankin, from Montana, marched under her state flag, and then returned to Washington, D.C. four years later as the first U.S. congresswoman.
Along the way, the marchers encountered crowds, mostly male, on the street that should have been cleared for the parade. They were jeered and harassed, and the police were of little help. Some actively participated in the harassment. Eventually, boys from the Maryland Agricultural College created a human barrier protecting the women from the angry crowd and helping them progress forward to their destination. Over 200 people were treated for injuries at local hospitals. Despite all this, most of the marchers finished the parade. When Congress investigated the lack of police protection, the chief of police was fired.” [i]
[i] “The Woman Suffrage Parade of 1913”. Wikipedia.