A53 Cornell University Library HB 1545.A53 3 1924 013 688 795 V. Cornell University Library The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924013688795 LIBRARY OF THE U. S, Department of Agriculture. Class DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE AND LABOR BUREAU OF THE CENSUS S. N. D. NORTH, DIRECTOR BULLETIN 22 PROPORTION OF CHILDREN IN THE UNITED STATES ,. c/i-r-[-rr^^ ' . ' '■ ) rrr p WASHINGTON GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 1905 CENSUS BULLETINS. 1. Geogeaphical Distribution of Population. 2. Cotton Ginning (Crops of 1899 to 1902, inclusive). 3. Street and Electric Railways. 4. A Discussion of Increase of Population. 5. Central Electric Light and Power Stations. 6. Mineral Industries of Porto Rico. 7. Estimates of Population of the Larger Cities op the United States in 1901, 1902, and 1903. 8. Negroes in the United States. 9. Mines and Quarries. 10. QuANTiTT op Cotton Ginned in the United States (Crops of 1899 to 1903, inclusive). 11. Municipal Electric Fire Alarm and Police Patrol Systems. 12. The Executive Civil Service of the United States. 13. A Discussion of Age Statistics. 14. Proportion of the Sexes in the United States. 15. A Discussion of the Vital Statistics of the Twelfth Census. 16. Irrigation in the United States: 1902. 17. Telephones and Telegraphs: 1902. 18. Census of Manufactures: 1904. Michigan. 19. QuANTTTY of Cotton Ginned in the United States, 1900 to 1904, inclusive. 20. Statistics of Cities having a Population of over 25,000: 1902 and 1903. 21. Commercial Valuation of Railway Operating Property in the United States: 1904. 22. Proportion of Children in the United States CONTENTS. Page. Letter of transmittal 5 Summary of results _ : 7, 8 Discussion of methods 8-10 The census and the birth rate 8-10 Basis for comparison _ 10 Proportion of children in total population 10, 11 Continental United States 10, 11 Table I. — Number and per cent of children under 10 years of age in total population and decrease in per cent during the preceding 10 and 20 years : 1 800 to 1900 10 Proportion of children to potential mothers _ 1 1-16 " Continental United States _ 11-13 Table II. — Number of children under 5 years of age to each 1,000 females 15 to 49 years of age, and decrease in the number during the preceding 10 and 20 years: 1850 to 1900 11 The North and West and the South • 13 Table III. — Number of children under 5 years of age to each 1,000 females 15 to 49 years of age, and decrease in the number during the preceding 10 years, for the North and West and the South : 1850 to 1900 13 States and territories _ _ 13-16 Table IV. — Number of children under 5 years of age to 1,000 females 15 to 49 years of age, by states and territories: 1850 to 1900. 13 Proportion of children by race 16-20 White children 16-18 Table V. — Number and per cent of children under 10 and 5 years of age, respectively, in the white population, and decrease in per cent during the preceding 10 years : 1800 to 1900 17 Table^ VI. — Number of white children under 5 years of age to 1,000 white females 15 to 49 years of age, by states and territories: 1830 to 1900 - 17,18 Negro, Indian, and Mongolian children , 18-20 Table VII. — Number and per cent of children under 10 and 5 years of age, respectively, in the negro, Indian, and Mongolian popu- lation, and decrease in per cent during the preceding 10 years : 1830 to 1900 19 Table VIII. — Number of children under 5 years of age to 1,000 females 15 to 44 years of age in the total, the white, and negro, Indian, and Mongolian populations, and the excess among the negroes, Indians, and Mongolians: 1850 to 1900 19 Table IX. — Number of children under 5 years of age to 1,000 females 15 to 44 years of age in the total, the white, and the negro, Indian, and Mongolian populations and the excess among the negroes, Indians, and Mongolians for the South: 1850 to 1900.. 20 Proportion of children in city and country 20-22 Main geographic divisions 20-22 Table X. — Number of children under 5 years of age to 1,000 females 15 to 44 years of age in cities having at least 25,000 inhabitants and in smaller cities or country districts, by main geographic divisions, and the ratio of those numbers to the number for the whole division taken as 100: 1900 20 Table XI. — Number of children under 5 years of age to 1,000 females 15 to 44 years of age in cities having at least 25,000 inhabitants and in smaller cities of country districts, by main geographic divisions, and the ratio of those numbers to the number for the whole division taken as 100: 1890 21 Relative fecundity of native and foreign born women 22-27 Table XII. — Distribution, by age periods, of the female population 15 to 44 years of age, classified by nativity, for continental United States: 1900 22 Table XIII. — Estimated number of children under 5 years of age having mothers of native and of foreign birth, respectively, and the number of children of each class to 1,000 females 15 to 44 years of age, of same nativity as that of mothers, for cities having at least 25,000 inhabitants, and for smaller cities or country districts: 1900 24,25 Table XIV. — Estimated number of children under 5 years of age having mothers of native and of foreign birth, respectively, and the number of children of each class to 1,000 females 15 to 44 years of age, of same nativity as that of mothers, for cities having at least 25,000 inhabitants, and for smaller cities or country districts: 1890 26, 27 MAPS. Number of children under 5 years of age to 1,000 females 15 to 49 years of age: 1900 14 Number of children under 5 years of age to 1,000 females 15 to 49 years of age: 1890 - IS (3) LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE AND LABOR, Bureau of the Census, Washington, D. C, August 10, 1905. Sir: I have the honor to transmit herewith Census Bulletin 22, consisting of a discussion of the proportion of children in the population of the United States. This bulletin was written by Prof. Walter F. Willcox, of Cornell University, special agent for the Census Bureau, and is a study based upon the age and sex statistics contained in the reports of the Twelfth and preceding censuses. It compares the number of children with the total population and also with the number of women of child-bearing age, with a view to indicating the direction and extent of the changes in the birth rate of the population of the United States. It is thus indirectly a study of birth rates, the indirect method being necessary because of the absence of any complete and reliable birth rate statistics for this country. It is believed that the bulletin constitutes a valuable contribution to this important and interesting subject. The comparisons made indicate, for instance, that there has been a marked decline in the birtk rate of the total population; that the birth rate among negroes, though higher than among whites in the country as a whole, is at the present time declining with much greater rapidity; that in the South the proportion of children among negroes is now for the first time lower than that among whites; that the fecundity of foreign born women is considerably greater than that of native women and has increased somewhat since 1890. Other general conclusions of importance are stated in the summary of results which precedes the text discussion. Very respectfully, Hon. Victor H. Metcalf, Secretary of Commerce and Labor. (5) THE PROPORTION OF CHILDREN. SUMMARY OF RESULTS. No census can furnish all the information needed to compute the birth rate or number of births in a year to each thousand persons, nor has this information been obtained for the United States, or any consid- erable part of it, by any other agency. The attempts to approximate the birth rate on the basis of census figures have been far from satisfactory. As a result the birth rate in the United States, past or present, is unknown. The ratio of the living children under 5 years of age to each 1,000 living women of child-bearing age is used as the best available substitute for the birth rate during the last half of the nineteenth century. The proportion of children under 10 years of age to the total population can be ascertained for a longer period. It has decreased almost uninterruptedly since the early part of the century, the number of such children constituting approximately one-third of the total population at the beginning of the century and less than one-fourth at the end. The decrease in the corresponding proportion for whites began as early as 1810 and continued uninter- ruptedly to the end of the century. Since 1830, when the figures were first obtained, the proportion of negro children under 10 years of age to the total negro population has decreased . There was, however, an increase from 1860 to 1880. On the other hand there was a rapid decrease from 1880 to 1900. The proportion of white children under 5 years of age to the total population decreased steadily, except from 1850 to 1860, the number of such children being in 1900 about three-fifths of what it was in 1830. The decrease during the last decade of the century was insignificant. The corresponding proportion for negroes was at its height in 1850 and 1880 and except for 1870 was least in 1890. The decades of great immigration and the Civil War showed the greatest ratio of decrease in the pro- portion of children. The decades immediately following those of great immigration showed a reduction in the rate of decrease, probably because of the high birth rate among the Bull. 22—05 2 immigrants. The reduction in the proportion of children to total population during the century sug- gests but does not prove that the birth rate was lower. The increase in the proportion of children among negroes from 1860 to 1880 and the decrease from 1880 to 1900 suggests a high birth rate during the twenty years following emancipation and a rapid fall in the birth rate thereafter. The proportion of children under 5 years of age to women of child-bearing age increased from 1850 to 1860 but has decreased since then, being in 1900 about three-fourths of what it was in 1860. The decline in the proportion of children since 1860 has been less marked in the South than in the North and West. The proportion in the North and West in 1850 was about five-sixths and in 1900 less than three- fourths of that in the South. In 1900 the maximum proportion of children was in North Dakota and Indian Territory, where children under 5 years of age were about two-thirds of the number of women. In 1890 the maximum was in North Dakota and Idaho. In 1900 the minimum number of children was in the District of Columbia and California, being about one-third of the number of women. In 1890 it was in the District of Columbia and New Hampshire. In 1900 there was a band of states from Maine to California in which the proportion of children was below 500 to 1,000 women. This band was broken by Utah, where the influence of the Mormon church was felt. Except for Kansas the proportion for these states was below that for continental United States. In 1890 the regions in which the number of children was less than one-half the number of women were separated. In the North Atlantic states, and in Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Montana, New Mexico, and Nevada the proportion of children increased between 1890 and 1900. The increase in the North Atlantic division was probably due to the high birth rate among the immigrants that entered from 1880 to 1890. In Maryland, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, and Indiana the proportion of children has decreased steadily since 1850. (7) 8 The decrease for the coimtry during the past decade was due in the > main to the controlhng influence of the states west of the Alleghenies. From 1850 to 1880 the low proportion of children in New England and the high proportion in some of the Western states, especially those under Mormon influence, were striking. The proportion of white children was high in the South, showing that the proportion for negro children was not the controlling factor in the proportion for the total population. In many of the states, particularly most of those in the Atlantic divisions, the relative number of white children increased from 1890 to 1900. The largest proportion of negro children was found in 1880 and the smallest in 1900, being only about three-fourths of that in 1880. The proportion for negroes was uniformly larger than that for white. As compared with whites in the South there was for negroes an excess, reaching a maximum in 1880, at every census except 1900, when there was an excess for whites. The proportion of children in cities was about two- thirds of what it was in the country in 1900. In the North there was little difference in the pro- portion for city and country. In the South the proportion in cities was hardly more than half as great as that in the country. In the West the ratio of the proportion for city and country was between the two extremes. In 1900 the proportion of children in the country was about one-sixth greater for the colored population than that for the white. In cities the proportion of children among the whites was more than one-half larger than that among the colored. It may be that the mortality among negro children in the city is high, as generally the birth rate is higher than for whites. The proportion of children for each race was low in southern cities. From 1890 to 1900 the decrease in the proportion of children was much greater for the non-Caucasian than for the white. DISCUSSION OF METHODS. Tlie census and the hirth rate. — The birth rate is a statement of the average number of births in a unit of time, usually a year, occurring in an average unit of population, usually 1,000. The number of people in any given place on a certain date is determined by a census, but to ascertain the birth rate it is needful also to know the total number of births occurring in the year of which the census day is the middle. This number is not given by a census, and hence no census of itself can furnish the informa- tion needed to compute a birth rate. Neither is there in the United States nor in any considerable part of it any effective agency for securing this information. As a result, the birth rate of the population of the United States, present or past, is unknown. The information conveyed by a birth rate is of fundamental importance in the discussion of many economic and social questions. For this reason, in default of direct information regarding the birth rate of the United States, efforts have been made to com- pute it by indirect methods of approximation and to ascertain whether it is stationary or changing, and if the latter, in what direction and how rapidly. The results of these efforts have been far from satisfac- tory and convincing. As the present discussion is another attempt to derive from census figures some light upon this difficult question, it may best be introduced by a summary of the state of the evidence and of opinion at the present time. An article dealing with the subject and published in 1893 was written by Dr. J. S. Billings, easily the fu'st authority on this subject in the United States and the expert in charge of vital statistics for the censuses of 1880 and 1890.' The opening paragraphs of the article are as follows: The results of the Eleventh Census indicate that the birth rate was- decidedly lower, or that the enumeration of children was much more defective in the United States in 1890 than it was in 1880, or that both of these statements are partially correct. We have nowhere in this country an accurate and complete registration of births, and the only way in which we can obtain an approximate estimate for the whole country, or for a state, is, at each decennial census, to take the number of children under 1 year of age found living at the date of the census and add to this the number of children who died during the census year and who were born during the same year. By this method we find that the birth rate per thousand of popula- tion in the United States was 30.95 in 1880 and 26.68 in 1890; that is, it has diminished a little over 4 per thousand. We know that the figures are not accurate for either census, that a large proportion of the deaths of infants in most of the states are not recorded, and that some of the living infants are either not counted at all or, if they are 10 or 11 months old, they are reported as 1 year old. Xevertheless, as the two censuses were taken in substantially the same way it is usually assumed that the errors of omission are in about the same proportion in each case, and hence that the results are comparable with each other, although not comparable directly with the figures from those countries which have a fairly accurate system of registration of births and deaths. After a careful review of the available evidence Doctor Billings ended his analysis of the figures thus: It appears to me that we are justified in concluding that the birth rate has really diminished in the United States and that the errors in the census of 1890 as regards the number of children present are prob- ably not materially greater than those in the census of 1880, except, perhaps, among the colored people in the Southern states. Before the Report on Vital Statistics for the Elev- enth Census was published the available evidence was probed more thoroughly than had been possible at the earlier date, and the conclusion reached that the alternative rejected in 1893 "that the enumeration ' "The Diminishing Birth Rate in the United States," vol. 15, pages 467-477 (June, 1893). The Forum, of children was much more defective in 1890 than it was in 1880" was probably the true one. The argu- ment in support of this conclusion will be found in full in Eleventh Census, Report on Vital and Social Statistics, Part I, pages 490 to 492,. and in expanded form in an article subsequently published/ The in- vestigation which led to this result was occupied mainly with a comparison between the number of children under 1 and under 5 years of age found by the Federal censuses in Massachusetts on the first day of June, 1880 and 1890, and the number of survivors who would have been found on those dates had the registration records of the births and deaths of young children during the five years preceding the census been correct and complete. The fundamental assumption of this method, there- fore, was that state registration returns in Massachu- setts were more accurate than Federal census returns and might be "used to determine the probable error in the population figures." The conclusion reached by this method was that probably at least 1,000,000 children in the United States under 5 years of age were omitted entirely by the census of 1890. At this stage of the argument, therefore, a radical and seem- ingly irreconcilable divergence was manifest, one con- clusion being that the birth rate in the United States in 1890 was hardly more than six-sevenths of what it was in 1880, the other being that the birth rate in 1890 was actually higher than in 1880. Subsequent discussion brought out a point which had been previously overlooked. In 1880 the census enumerators asked this question regarding every per- son in the United States, "Age at last birthday?" and according to the instructions the children under 5 years of age should have included all less than 60 months old; in 1890 the form of the question was changed to "Age at nearest birthday?" and accord- ing to the instructions the children under 5 years of age should have included all less than 54 months old.^ There is no means of deciding how far the instruc- tions on this point were followed in the two enumera- tions, but internal evidence indicates that the change had some effect on the returns for young children- The conclusion reached after consideration of the possible influence of this change was thus stated:^ It seems, therefore, impossible on the one hand to accept Mr. King's contention that the decrease in the birth rate between 1880 and 1890 was merely apparent and not real, and on the other hand to accept the conclusion of Doctor Billings that the decrease in the birth rate in the United States was greater than in any of the eleven countries in western Europe with which comparison is made. There was probably a sharp and almost universal decrease in the birth rate between 1880 ' " The Decrease in the Proportion of Children," by William A. King; Political Science Quarterly, vol. 12, pages 608-621 (December, 1897). ^ This change was not made in the division of vital statistics, and there is no evidence that the change itself or its possible effect was ever called to the attention of the division. Hence the oversight was not unnatural. ' "A Difficulty with American Census Taking," by W. F. Willcox, in Quarterly Journal of Economics, vol. 14, page 466 (August, 1900). and 1890 — a decrease which affected especially the negroes aad to a somewhat less degree the Southern whites; but the actual amount of this decrease was less than the apparent amount, owing to the change in the form of the age question, and it is impossible now to determine what proportion of the decrease was actual and what proportion was merely apparent. Under further analysis another objection to the argument of Mr. King developed. He had assumed that the records of Massachusetts were typical and that the inference from conditions found there to those in the United States was admissible. But a, change in the registration laws of that state went into effect February 26, 1880, too late to affect mate- rially the returns for 1879-80, but affecting those for 1889-90. This change seems to have affected the validity of the inferences from the figures for that state for 1880 and 1890.* After careful study of the efforts that have been made, I am reluctantly compelled to agree with the statement in Volume III, page xlix, of the Twelfth Census that the statistics "are entirely inadequate to determine directly the general birth rate of the coun- try." But the discussion seems to have established the following points as highly probable: 1. In appealing to registration records to impeach a census, one is invoking the less careful and complete record against the more careful. The contrary as- sumption that registration records may and should be corrected by the results of a census seems more rea- sonable and is supported by foreign experience. ' "^ 2. The change in the form of the age question in 1890 affected the returns and unduly lowered to an unknown extent the birth rate of 1890 computed by this method. . 3. One who contends that wholesale omissions oc- curred in the enumeration of young children is bound to explain how, under a system requiring the enumer- ators to visit every house and every family and pay- ing them usually for every name reported, it would be possible to get an approximately complete enumera- tion of adults and yet a deficiency of "at least 25 or 30 per cent" in the enumeration of children under 1 year of age. No such explanation has been made. 4. The effect of the admitted tendency to overstate the age of very young children must also be consid- ered. Nothing should be ascribed to omissions which can be explained in this simpler way. 5. The presumption that there has been a decrease in the birth rate of the United States, because of the fact that there has been such a decrease in almost every country in western Europe, and because what is known of social and economic conditions in the United States would lead one to expect such a decrease here, must be met and rebutted by those who seek to impeach the obvious meaning of the figures. ■• "The Enumeration of Children," by A. A. Young in American Sta- tistical Association Publications, Vol. VII, page 227 (March, 1901). 10 6. The ultimate test of the claim that many young children are omitted by the census is a careful recount in small selected areas where good registration records have been kept for some years, tracing down every case of discrepancy between the two authorities in the effort to determine their comparative accuracy. The careful recount of about 63,000 persons in Maryland shortly after the Twelfth Census completely failed to confirm the theory that enumerators are more likely to omit young children than any other class of the population. On the contrary, the proportion of chil- dren under 1 among the 1,554 omitted was rather less, and the proportion of children under 5 practically the same, as in the general population of Maryland. Basis for comparison. — ^Meantime in the present dis- cussion another line of analysis has been followed. The increase of a population aside from immigration depends not merely on the number or proportion of infants annually contributed to recruit or swell the ranks of the population; it depends also on the num- ber successfully reared. The enumeration of children under 5 years of age is admitted by everyone to be far more accurate and complete than the enumeration of children under 1 year of age. The proportion of children is thus an approximately accurate and a sig- nificant clue to the amount of new blood that is being brought into the country by nature's processes of re- production and growth. Even if the enumeration of adults is substantially complete and that of children far from complete, no valid ground has been shown for beheving that the per cent of omissions among children differs widely from census to census. Each census is organized more efficiently than the last and gathers its information from a better educated, less suspicious, and more friendly population. Hence such omissions should and probably do tend to become relatively less frequent. In that case the reported number of children would increase from census to census faster than the actual number, and the ten- dency of such a gradually disappearing error would be to mask rather than to exaggerate the real decline in the proportion of children. It is a debatable question whether the population with which the number of children is compared should be the total population, the adult population, the women of child-bearing age, or the married women of child-bearing age. Each method has its advantages. The proportion to the total population can be com- puted for a longer period than any other and hence is better adapted for a preliminary survey of the general trend. But for most purposes a comparison with the number of women of child-bearing age seems the best. The number of married women of child-bearing age is known only for 1890 and 1900. Partly for this rea- son, partly because many of the influences tending to decrease the birth rate tend also to decrease marriages, and partly because limiting the comparison to mar- ried women excludes the influence of illegitimacy, the comparison between children and married women should be used only in a subsidiary way. PROPORTION OF CHILDREN IN TOTAL POPULATION. Continental United States. — The number of children under 5 years of age and also the number of women of child-bearing age in the total population have been reported by the censuses only since 1850; the number of children under 10 years of age has been reported for censuses since 1830. Accordingly, an accurate statement of the proportion of children under 10 years of age to the total population can be made for the last seventy years of the nineteenth century. For 1800, 1810, and 1820 the number of free white children tmder 10 years of age was given and for 1820 the number of free colored and slaves under 14 years of age. From this information an effort has been made to estimate approximately the total number of children under 10 years of -age at each of these earlier censuses by aid of the assumption that as the negro population under 14 years of age in 1900 is to the negro population under 10 years of age in 1900, so is the negro population under 14 years of age in 1820 to the negro population under 10 years of age in 1820. For 1800 and 1810 the free colored and slave population under 14 years of age has first been esti- mated from the total free colored and slaves of all ages by assuming that the proportions of 1820 appHed, and then from these estimates the free colored and slave population under 10 years of age has been estimated as in 1820. It is admitted that the results are only approximate, but it must be remembered that these estimates applied to only one-sixth of the entire pop- ulation under 10, five-sixths of it being given by direct enumeration. The figures are given in the following table : Table I. — Number and per cent of children under 10 years of age in total population and decrease in per cent during the preceding 10 and SO years: 1800 to 1900. Total pop- ulation. Population under 10 years oJ age. Per cent of total ' popula- tion un- der 10 years of age. DECREASE IN PEE CENT DURING— CENSUS. Preced- ing ten years. Preced- ing twen- ty years. Continental United States: 1900 75,994,575 62,622,250 50, 155, 783 38,558,371 31,443,321 23,191,876 2 17,063,353 3 12,860,702 9,638,453 7,239,881 5,308,483 18,044,751 15,208,691 13,394,176 10,329,426 9,013,696 23.7 24.3 26.7 26.8 2S 7 0.6 2.4 0.1 1.9 0.4 2.8 1.0 <0.2 0.8 0.0 3 1890' 1880 1870 2 3 1860 1850 6,739,041 1 29 1 3 8 1840 5,440,593 4,224,897 6 3,150,638 6 2,424,683 6 1,776,010 31.9 32.9 32.7 33.5 33.5 8 1830 1820 8 1810 1800 > General enumeration. 2 Exclusive of 6,100 persons in military and naval service. » Exclusive of 5,318 persons in military and naval service. * Increase. . 2.1 1880 1.9 1870 0.7 I860 . 2.1 1860 3.2 1840 1830 . . . 1820 1 1810 1800 1 General enumeration. 2 increase. ' Exclusive of 6,100 persons in the military and naval service. ' Exclusive of 5,318 persons in the military and naval service. The figures show that the decrease in the proportion of white children under 10 years of age began as early as 1810 to 1820 and continued without interruption, but with varying rapidity, to the end of the century. The greatest decreases were found in the decades of greatest immigration and may have been partly due to the disproportionate increase of the adult population in that manner. From the earliest census at which the figures were given there has been a decrease in the proportion of children under 5 years of age at each decade except 1850 to 1860, but that decrease between 1890 and 1900 was insignificant. It will be noticed that the two decades having the smallest decrease in the proportion of children are those immediately following a vast influx of immi- grants. It is probable that these immigrants, living in the United States under conditions on the average much superior to those lived under in Europe and belonging, in the main, to the period of early adult life, would have, during the years following their arrival, a very large birth rate. This may account for the very slight decrease in the decades mentioned. A table in the form of the preceding, comparing the number of children with the total population, is open to the objection already mentioned, that the decrease in the proportion of children might be due simply to the increased vitahty and longevity of the population, and would not, therefore, prove that the birth rate had decreased. For this reason a comparison of the white children with the number of white women between 15 and 49 years of age, has been made for the longest period of time possible with the returns. The results are shown in the following table : Table VI. — Number of white children under 5 years of age to 1,000 white females 15 to Jfi years of age, hy states and territories: 1830 to 1900. STATE OE TEEEITOEY. NUMBEE OF WHITE CHILDEEN UNDEE 5 YEAES OF AGE TO 1,000 WHITE FEMALES 15 TO 49 YEAES OF AGE. 1900 1890 1880 1870 1860 1850 1840 1830 Continental United States. . . . 465 473 537 562 627 613 744 781 North Atlantic division 393 375 423 461 520 508 614 663 New England 358 320 361 393 447 438 530 570 Maine 372 353 386 348 356 372 406 339 300 360 310 317 334 396 384 330 411 348 363 373 448 423 350 451 377 376 408 489 500 406 482 432 418 U2 551 536 391 488 401 431 408 542 661 501 594 470 472 474 668 705 New Hampshire 559 631 Massachusetts 502 Rhode Island 544 506 Southern North Atlantic- 719 373 406 448 545 359 388 444 537 403 448 507 611 436 603 556 566 508 559 613 637 494 553 611 648 616 657 721 787 700 693 Pennsylvania . ... 751 South Atlantic division 803 Northern South Atlantic. 496 490 572 570 621 614 721 732 Delaware 404 420 275 541 699 598 401 430 289 520 594 590 473 494 385 601 701 655 529 535 486 547 699 662 601 667 514 {• 659 655 579 576 485 641 684 660 648 549 768 858 666 Maryland 6.'i4 District of Columbia Virginia 60S West Virginia . . . Southern South Atlantic- 879 North Carolina 619 579 589 6S4 460 602 673 589 576 497 644 655 665 664 566 549 539 578 627 637 623 608 704 742 718 634 636 761 788 717 789 812 981 859 890 823 829 Georgia 1,017 Florida . 1,010 North Central division 1,009 Eastern North Central - - - 433 464 531 610 698 707 877 997 Ohio 395 426 440 426 .514 419 457 453 455 545 502 522 650 520 592 665 632 647 569 653 644 731 737 629 7S7 671 763 747 651 736 838 945 948 798 867 933 Indiana Illinois - 1,112 1,165 Michigan 945 Wisconsin 18 Table VI. — Number of white children under S years of age to 1,000 white females 15 to ^9 years of age, iy states and territories: 1830 to 1900 — Continued. STATE OR TEBKITOBT. NUMBER OF WHITE CHILDREN UNDER 5 YEARS OF AGE TO 1,000 WHITE FEMALES 15 TO 49 YEARS OF AGE. 1900 1890 1880 18J0 1860 1850 1840 18.30 Continental U.S.— Continued. North Central division- Continued. Western North Central . . . 505 549 636 706 788 775 1,003 1,165 556 478 468 700 615 528 486 608 584 504 521 735 676 600 547 613 673 602 604 I 751 731 680 693 740 701 690 794 743 746 633 S91 822 734 465 773 759 725 780 812 764 973 1,007 North Dakota.. South Dakota Kansas South Central division 745 952 1,012 Eastern South Central. . . 579 580 658 626 710 745 957 1,018 554 565 622 620 639 555 573 616 621 659 629 665 678 694 755 666 630 564 626 647 71.S 096 710 724 762 736 728 897 043 950 1,023 Alabama 746 ,1,040 819 1 064 1,171 Mississippi 1 111 Western South Central . . . 743 915 938 Louisiana 600 635 679 662 645 438 582 686 625 786 570 685 633 805 623 874 821 1,128 869 Arkansas 1 196 Indian Territory Oklahoma 648 674 476 Texas 795 584 675 688 855 804 827 621 Rocky Mountain 506 536 582 629 638 672 527 648 586 420 615 611 631 705 598 468 620 637 672 843 679 526 578 757 750 783 545 691 592 820 Wyoming Colorado 428 650 1,083 572 846 Basin and Plateau Arizona 556 651 418 378 588 691 411 426 587 848 587 549 442 927 589 677 Utah 1,097 763 817 846 Pacific 650 468 424 338 540 496 379 742 665 513 986 824 643 1,041 1,100 764 953 484 California Noticing first the proportions for 1900 in the white population as in the total, the two states with the largest proportion of children are North Dakota and Indian Territory and the two with the smallest propor- tion are the District of Columbia and Massachusetts. There are three separate regions in which the propor- tion of white children is below the average for the entire country. The first and much the most im- portant includes every state north of the Potomac and Ohio and east of the Mississippi, except Wisconsin; the second includes the three far western states, Oregon California, and Nevada; the third is Colorado. The uniformly high rate in every Southern state is evi- dence that the high proportion among the total popu- lation in that region is not due to the influence of the negroes upon the total figures. The table shows that in continental United States the proportion of white children to white women 15 to 49 decreased in six of the seven decades between 1830 and 1900 and to a total amount of 316 children in seventy years. That is, the number of Hving children to 1,000 white women in 1900 was less than three-fifths of what it was in 1830. The one decade in which the proportion increased (1850 to 1860) and the one in which its de- crease was far smaller than in any other (1890 to 1900) were the two immediately following the great waves of immigration in 1840 to 1850 and 1880 to 1890. The states in which the proportion of children increased among the white population, 1890 to 1900, included every one in the two Atlantic divisions, except Maryland, District of Columbia, and Georgia, in which there was no change. They included also Alabama, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Nevada. The states with the largest and smallest proportion of children among the white population at successive censuses were as follows : CENSUS. NUMBER OF CHILDREN UNDER 6 YEARS OF AGE TO 1,000 FEMALES 15 TO 49 YEARS OF AGE IN THE WHITE POPU- LATION. Maximum. Minimum. 1830 Arkansas Arkansas Oregon Oregon Washington Utah North Dakota North Dakota 1,196 . 1,128 . 953 . 1,100 . 986 . 848 . 735 . 700 1840 Massachusetts 470 1850 New Hampshire 391 I860 New Hampshire 406 1870 . . . New Hampshire 350 1880 New Hampshire 330 1890 District of Columbia 289 1900 District of Columbia 275 The proportion of white children in the District of Columbia is less than two-fifths of what it is in North Dakota. Negro, Indian, and Mongolian children. — The total number of negroes, Indians, and Mongolians in the United States and the number under 10 years of age have been reported at each census since 1830, inclusive. A great majority of these, especially at earlier cen- suses, when there were no Mongohans in the country and when few Indians were reached by the census, were negroes. Even in 1900 nineteen-twentieths were of that race; consequently the figures are substantially the same as they would be if only negroes were con- cerned. The number and per cent of children in the total non-Caucasian population is shown in the follow- ing table : 19 Table VH.— NUMBER AND PER CENT OF CHILDREN UNDER 10 AND 5 YEARS OF AGE, RESPECTIVELY, IN THE NEGRO, INDIAN, AND MONGOLIAN POPULATION, AND DECREASE IN PER CENT DURING THE PRECEDING 10 YEARS: 1830 TO 1900. PEE CENT OF NE- GRO, INDIAN, DECKEASE IN PER CENT. CENSUS. LATION. AND MONGO- LIAN POPULA- TION. Under 10 years of age during— Under 5 years of age during— Total. Under 10 years of age. Under 5 years of age. Under 10 years of age. Under 5 yaars of age. Preced- ing ten years. Preced- ing twenty years. Preced- ing ten years. Preced- ing twenty years. Continental United States: 1900 9,185,379 7,638,360 6,752,813 5,968,994 4,520,784 3,638,808 2,873,648 2,328,642 2,486,473 2,155,875 2,151,606 1,457,919 1,368,153 1,138,455 955,461 797,167 1,250,676 1,055,045 1,114,365 794,921 725,051 601,315 27.1 28.2 31.9 24.4 30.3 31.3 33.2 34.2 13.6 13.8 16.5 13.3 16.0 16.5 1.1 3.7 S7.5 5.9 1.0 1.9 1.0 4.8 83.8 n.6 6.9 2.9 2.9 0.2 2.7 S3.2 2.7 0.5 2.9 18901 S0.5 1880 . . ... '0.5 1870 2.2 I860 1850 1840 1830 1 General enumeration. The proportion of negroes under 10 years of age, unlike that for whites, has not steadily decreased. On the contrary, the proportion in 1880 was greater not merely than that in 1870, but also greater than that in 1860 or 1850. The very low proportion for 1870 may be and possibly is due, in large measure, to omissions, especially for children. But the very high proportion in 1880 suggests that a greatly increased birth rate, and consequently a rapid increase in the proportion of young children, was one of the first results of emanci- pation. If that be admitted, the parallel between the emancipated negroes in the South and the emanci- pated serfs in Russia, the rate of increase among whom since emancipation has been extraordinary, is a strik- ing one. It is noteworthy also that the decrease in the proportion of children among the colored in twenty ' years, from 1880 to 1900, was much greater than the decrease from 1830 to 1850 or from 1840 to 1860, sug- gesting that the decline in the birth rate among the negroes during the last score of years has been unusu- ally rapid. The proportion of children under 5 years of age was at its height in 1850 and 1880 and, neglecting the figures for 1870 as untrustworthy, it was least in 1900. Comparing this table with that for the whites, it appears that at every census, except that of 1870, the proportion of children among the colored population was greater than among the whites. But a comparison of the number of children with the total population is less significant than a comparison with the number of women of child-bearing age. The comparison in the latter form will be found in the table which follows. For the purposes of comparison the proportions in the ^ Increase. total population and among the whites have been introduced : Table VIII. — Number of children wnder 6 years of age to 1,000 females 15 to 44 years of age in the total, the white, and Ae negro, Indian, and Mongolian populations and the excess among the negroes, Indians, and Mongolians : 1860 to 1900. NUMBER OF CHILDREN UNDER 5 TEARS OF AGE TO 1,000 FEMALES 15 TO 49 TEARS OF AGE. CENSUS. Total ^rn'" Wliite popula- tix)n. Negro, Indian, and Mon- golian ^?Fo^'." Excess among the negroes, Indians, and Mon- golians. Continental United States: 1900 474 485 559 572 634 626 465 473 537 562 627 613 543 574 706 641 675 694 78 1890 101 1880 169 1870 79 I860 48 1850 81 The largest proportion of children among the negroes was found in 1880 and the smallest in 1900, when there were hardly more than three-fourths as many children to 1,000 women as twenty years earlier. There has been uniformly a larger proportion of negro children than of whites. That difference more than trebled between 1860 and 1880, but in 1900 it was less than half what it was in 1880 and less than at any other census except 1860. The high proportion of children in the Southern states has already been noticed. As nearly nine-tenths of the negroes and only one-fourth of the whites live in the South, it may be found more significant to limit the 20 comparison between the two races to the Southern states. This is done in the following table: Table IX. — Number of children under 5 years of age to 1,000 females 15 to 44- years of age in the total, the while, and the negro, Indian, and Mongolian populations and the excess among the negroes, Indians, and Mongolians, for the South: 1850 to 1900. NUMBER OF CHILDREN UNDER 5 YEARS OF AGE TO 1,000 FEMALES 15 TO 49 TEARS OF AGE. CENSUS. Total popula- tion. White popula- tion. Negro, Indian, and Mongo- lian ^?ie- Excess among the negroes, Indians, and Mon- golians. South Atlantic and South Central divi- sions : 1900 580 587 685 623 685 699 581 580 656 601 682 695 577 601 737 661 688 705 14 1890. 21 1880 1870 1860 6 1850 10 1 Excess among the whites. The figures show that the largest proportion of negro children was found in 1880, when there were 32 more to 1,000 women than in the next highest pro- portion, that of 1850. Among whites, on the con- trary, the proportion of children in 1880 was less than in 1850 or 1860. At the two censuses preceding the CivU War the proportion of children for the two races at the South was substantially the same. The immediate effect of the Civil War and Reconstruction, if the figures of 1870 may be trusted to that extent, was to reduce the proportion of children among South- ern whites by about one-eighth and among the negroes by about one twenty-fifth. The following decade saw an increase in the proportion for each race, but as the decrease among the negroes, 1860 to 1870, had been less, so was the increase, 1870 to 1880, greater. But between 1880 and 1900 there was a decrease of 160 in the number of negro children at the South to 1,000 negro women and a decrease of only 75 white children to 1,000 white women. As a result, in 1900 there were for the first time more white children than negro children at the South to 1,000 women. PROPORTION OF CHILDREN IN CITY AND COUNTRY. Main geographic divisions. — At the censuses of 1890 and 1900 the number of children under 5 years of age and the number of women between 15 and 44 years of age were given for every city in the United States having at least 25,000 inhabitants. By group- ing these cities under the states in which they lie and subtracting the total urban population of a state as thus defined, it is possible to get the number and proportion of children living in the smaller cities and country districts. It is unfortunate that the age ques- tion was asked in a different way at these two cen- suses, this change probably affecting the figures to an indeterminate degree. Notwithstanding that fact, the figures are significant and are therefore presented in detail. In 1900 the 160 cities of at least 25,000 in- habitants in the United States had 390 children to 1 ,000 women of child-bearing age, .and the country outside these 160 cities had 572 children to 1,000 women; that is, the proportion of children in cities was little more than two-thirds as great as in the rest of the country. But the difference between the different divisions of the country has already been noticed and it is possible that this difference affects the foregoing figures. Accordingly, the proportion for each of the five great divisions has been computed. Assuming the propor- tion of children in each division as 100, the ratio of the proportion in cities and in country districts, respec- tively, and the difference between city and country, are stated in the following table : Table X. — Number of children under 5 years of age to 1,000 females 15 to 44 years of age in cities having at least 25,000 irihabitants and in- smaller cities or country districts by main geographic divisions, and the ratio of those nunibers to the number for the whole division taken as 100: 1900. NUMBER OF CHIL- DREN UNDER 5 YEARS OF AGE TO 1,000 FEMALES 15 TO 44 TEARS OF age: 1900. RATIO TO NUMBER IN WHOLE DIVI- SION, TAKEN AS 100, OF NUMBER— Differ- DIVISION OR RACE. Total. In cit- ies having at least 26,000 inhab- itants. In smaller cities or coun- try dis- tricts. In cit- ies having at least 26,000 inhab- itants. In smaller cities or j coun- try dis- tricts. ence in ratio. Total population: Contmental United States 518 390 572 75.3 110.4 36.1 North Atlantic divi- sion . 429 608 499 645 478 508 407 334 393 349 317 399 452 658 538 679 546 659 94.9 54.9 78.8 54.1 66.3 78.5 103'. 4 > 108.2 107. S 105.3 114.2 110.0 10.6 63.3 29.0 51.2 47.9 31.5 South Atlantic divi- sion North Central divi- Soiith Central divi- Westem division. White population : Continental United States North Atlantic divi- sion 432 595 502 659 477 685 412 365 399 384 318 260 453 641 639 692 546 651 95.4 61.3 79.5 68.3 66.7 44.4 104.9 107.7 107.4 105.0 114.3 111.3 9.5 46.4 27.9 46.7 47.6 66.9 South Atlantic divi- North Central divl- South Central divi- sion Western division Negro, Indian, and Mongolian population: Continental United States North Atlantic divi- 297 630 370 612 516 252 269 227 274 267 376 687 476 653 576 84.8 42.7 61.4 44.8 51.7 126.6 109.0 128.6. 106.7 111.6 41.8 66.3 67.2 61.9 69.9 South Atlantic dlvi- North Central divi- sion . South Central divi- sion Western division The table shows that the main divisions of the United States differ widely in the effect produced 21 upon the figures by drawing the distinction between city and country. In the North Atlantic division the large cities have almost as great a proportion of children as the smaller cities and country districts. In southern cities, on the contrary, the proportion of children is hardly more than half as great as it is in the same division outside of these cities. In the Far West the difference between city and country is inter- mediate in amount. Thus in passing from the North Atlantic states across the country through the North Central to the Western and back through the South Central to the South Atlantic, the difference between city and country constantly augments. This is prob- ably due, in large measure, to the fact that the im- migrant population who have been swarming into northern cities of recent years, especially into the cities* of the North Atlantic states, have been multiplying by numerous births with much rapidity, while the corre- sponding laboring class which has immigrated into southern cities from the surrounding country districts has not been thus increasing. To ascertain whether this conjecture is correct, figures have been computed for each of the two main races. The figures for the non-Caucasians, except in the Western division, may be taken as substantially the same as those for the negroes, were the latter obtainable. These figures for races show that in continental United States the proportion of children outside the large cities among the negroes, Indians, and Mongo- lians is about one-sixth larger than among the whites. But in the large cities the proportion of children among whites is more than one-half larger than among the negroes, Indians, and Mongolians. This differ- ence between the races is practically universal. There were 125 cities in the United States in 1900 having at least 25,000 inhabitants and at least 100 women of each race between 15 and 44 years of age. Among these there were only eight, namely, Cambridge, Lynn, and Maiden, Mass.; Akron, Ohio; Springfield, 111. ; and San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Sacramento, Cal., in which the proportion of non-Caucasian chil- dren to 1,000 women equaled that of the whites. No ■ one of these eight cities contained as many as 4,000 negroes. The last three may be disregarded on the ground that probably the figures for non-Caucasians refer quite as largely to Mongolians as to negroes. The other five hardly do more than emphasize the rule that in nearly all cities, and in absolutely all with a large negro population, the proportion of negro children to negro women is less than the proportion of white children to white women. This is the more sur- prising because in the industrial classes of the popula- tion, to which the negroes mainly belong, the birth rate is usually high. It is beyond the scope of this analysis to attempt to suggest the causes for the difference. But one may suggest that the phrase of Siissmilch, writing in the eighteenth century, that cities are the graves of mankind, which was probably true of white residents of cities, even the best governed and the healthiest until about the beginning of the nine- teenth century, and which is doubtless still true of cer- tain Russian and oriental cities, is true so far as the negro race is concerned of our American cities. This low proportion of children of both races in southern cities is also probably an important factor in their lower rate of growth in population, already mentioned in the bulletin on Increase of Population. The following table gives the same information for 1890 as that contained in the preceding for 1900. A comparison of the two throws some light upon the changes for the decade 1890 to 1900. Table XI. — Number of children under 5 years of age to 1,000 females 15 to 44 years of age in cities hiving at least S5,000 inhabitants and in smaller cities or country districts by main geographic divisions, and the ratio of those numbers to the number for the whole division taken as 100: 1890. NUMBEE OF CHIL- EATIO TO DREN UNDER 5 NUMBER IN YEARS OF AGE TO WHOLE DIVI- 1,00( FEMALES 15 SION, TAKEN TO 44 YEARS OF AS 00, OF AGE 1890. NUMBER — 1 Differ- DIVISION OE RACE. In Cit- ies having In smaller cities and In Cit- ies having In smaller cities and ence in ratio. Total. 25,000 inhab- try. dis- tricts. 25,000 inhab- try dis- tricts. itants. itants. Total population: Continental United States 529 401 574 75.8 108.5 32.7 North Atlantic divi- sion. . . 411 385 431 93.7 104.9 11.2 ■ South Atlantic divi- 606 539 362 450 649 564 59.7 83.5 107.1 104.0 47.4 North Central division 21.1 South Central division 663 380 692 67.3 104.4 47.1 Western division 512 348 574 68.0 112.1 44.1 White population : Continental United States 517 407 559 78.7 108.1 29.4 North Atlantic divi- sion 412 388 431 94.2 104.6 10.4 South Atlantic divi- 587 541 385 466 627 564 65.6 84. 3 106.8 104.3 41.2 North Central division 20.0 South Central division 665 402 693 60.5 104.2 43.7 Western division 516 351 578 68.0 112.0 44.0 Negro, Indian, and Mongolian population : Continental United States 619 305 672 49.3 108.6 59.3 North Atlantic divi- 328 268 407 81.7 124.1 42.4 South Atlantic divi- 638 4.55 311 294 685 542 48.7 64.6 107.4 119.1 .58.7 North Central division 54.5 South Central division 659 331 690 60.2 104.7 54.5 Western division 379 250 424 66.0 110.9 44.9 The proportion of children in the United States decreased in the decade by 11, a decrease just equal to that in cities. In country districts, on the con- trary, the decrease was' only 2. The paradox, that the decrease in the whole country was only just equal to that in cities and was much more than that in country districts, is probably explained by noticing the large number of places which entered this class between 22 1890 and 1900. In 1890 there were 124 cities, but in 1900, 160, having at least 25,000 inhabitants. The decrease in the proportion of children among non- Caucasians in cities was much greater than the de- crease among the whites. EEIATIVE FECtTNDITY OF NATIVE AND FOEEIGN BOBN WOMEN. The tables which have already been given showing the proportion of children to 1,000 women of child- bearing age, for the whole population and with dis- tinction of race, have been supplemented by other tables in which an effort has been made to distinguish between the proportion of children, and thus indi- rectly between the fecundity of the native and foreign born women. In the preparation of these tables it has been necessary to use estimates. The method of estimating employed can best be understood by an example. The number of native white persons of foreign parentage in the United States in 1900 was 15,687,322. This included all native white persons either or both of whose parents were born abroad. Of this number 12,330,692 had foreign born mothers; the remainder had native mothers and foreign bom fathers.' This shows that 78.6 per cent of the native white persons of all ages one or both of whose parents were born abroad had foreign born mothers. The number of native white children under five years of age in the United States, one or both of whose parents were foreign born was 2,407,429. It has been assumed that of this number 78.6 per cent had foreign born mothers and the remainder had native mothers and foreign born fathers. On that assump- tion the number of native white children of foreign born mothers was 1,912,399. The total number of native white children under 5 years of age was 7,877,152. Subtracting the estimated number having foreign born mothers, we have the estimated number having native mothers, 5,964,753. With these two numbers, the number of native white women from 15 to 44 years of age, and of foreign born white women of the same age, may properly be compared. In obtaining the figures given in the extended tables at the end of this bulletin the number of native white children having foreign born mothers and native mothers respectively has been computed for each city having at least 25,000 inhabitants, and for the rest of each state by the method just described, and the totals for each state and for the United States have been obtained by adding the separate items as thus esti- mated. The result reached for the whole United States by this method of addition differs from the result reached by the more direct method by about 20,000, or a little more than 1 per cent. It is obvious that the method is one of approximation. The results reached 'Twelfth Census, Vol. I, page 809. by it, however, are believed to be substantially accu- rate. Probably the error in the proportion of children as thus estimated would not be greater than 1 per cent. Before accepting these figures as an indication of the relative fecundity of the native and the foreign bom white women, some allowance should be made for the difference between the two classes as regards age distribution. This difference is shown in the following table : Table 'XJI.^IKstrihution, hy age periods, of Ae white female population 15 to ^ years of age, classified by nativity, for continental United States: 1900. AGE PERIOD. Total.. 15 to 19 years 15 years . , 16 years . ; 17 years . . .18 years.. 19 years . . 20 to 24 years 25 to 29 years 30 to 34 years 35 to 39 years 40 to 44 years FEMALES 15 TO 44 TEARS OF AGE: 1900. Native white. Number. 12,889,028 2,994,734 618, 590 626,081 592, 823 597, 448 569, 792 2,726,267 2,312,390 1,872,017 1,595,465 1,388,155 Per cent distri- bution. 100.0 Foreign bom white. 2,687,924 290,365 41,838 48, 761 55, 350 69,675 74, 741 463,296 507, 708 512,981 504, 762 408,812 Per cent distri- bution. 100.0 10.8 1.5 1.8 2.1 2.6 2.8 17.2 18.9 19.1 18.8 15.2 It appears from the above table that 23.2 per cent of the total number of native white women 15 to 44 years of age were under 20 years of age, or in the age group 15 to 19, while of the corresponding class of foreign born white women only 10.8 per cent were in this younger group. When it is remembered that women in the age group 15 to 19 years were by no means possible mothers for the older children in the age group under 5, it becomes evident that on account of this difference in age distribution a com- parison based on the proportion of children under 5 to women 15 to 44 will exaggerate somewhat the Rela- tive fecundity of the foreign born white women. Re- ferring again to the table it will be found that 14.3 per cent of the native and only 5.4 per cent of the foreign born women were under 18 years, and therefore not possible mothers of children above 3 years of age. In other words, the assumption that all women between 15 and 44 are of child-bearing age is not quite accurate when we are considering the possible mothers for children of all ages under 5. This defect in the assumption could be ignored in a comparison between two classes having practically the same age distribution, but when the proportion of women in the younger age group is much larger for one class than for the other, the difference must not be overlooked in considering the significance as regards the question of fecundity, of figures showing proportion of children under 5 to women 15 to 44. Yet the effect of this difference is probably not serious 23 enough to invalidate the general conclusion which may be drawn from an inspection of such figures. The figures for the proportion of children in 1900 bo 1,000 _native and foreign born white women are as follows : CENSUS. NUMBEK OF CHILDREN UNDER 5 TO 1,000 -WHITE WOMEN 15 TO 44 YEARS OF AGE. Total. Native women. Foreign born women Difler- ence. 1900 508 517 462 475 710 666 248 1890 191 The preceding figures show that there was a decrease of 9 between 1890 and 1900 in the proportion of all white children to all white women, that in the case of the native whites the decrease was 13, and m the case of the foreign born whites the increase was 44. The total decrease in fecundity was due apparently to a decrease among native white women, partly offset by an increase among foreign born white women. The increase among the foreign born is probably connected with the enormous immigration between 1880 and 1890, and the great number of foreign born women who bore children in this country during the years im- mediately following that wave of immigration. With reference to the native white women no such powerful influence was at work. Whether the decrease in this class was general over the country is indicated by the following figures : DIVISION. NUMBER OF CHILDREN TO 1,000 NATIVE WHITE WOMEN 1.5 TO 44 YEARS OF AGE. 1900 18i)0 Increase. Decrease, Continental United States . . - 462 475 13 North Atlantic 355 592 431 661 417 354 585 468 659 465 1 7 South Atlantic 37 South Central.. g 48 ' These figures show that in the Atlantic divisions there was a slight increase in the proportion of children living who were born to native white mothers; that in the South Central division the decrease was slight, and that decrease for the whole country was the result very largely of the great decrease in the North Central and Western divisions. So, too, the decrease in the pro- portion of children was confined chiefly to the cities, as the following figures indicate : CITY OR COUNTRY. NUMBER OF CHILDREN TO 1,000 NATIVE WHITE WOMEN 15 TO 44 YEARS OF AGE. 1900 1890 Decrease. 296 522 309 523 13 1 In consequence of this change the difference between city and country increased from 214 in 1890 to 226 in 1900. Various other inferences will be suggested by a careful inspection and comparison of the figures in Tables xiii and xiv. 24 Table XIII.— ESTIMATED NUMBER OF CHILDREN UNDER 5 YEARS OF AGE HAVING WHITE MOTHERS OF NATIVE AND OF FOREIGN BIRTH, RESPECTIVELY, AND THE NUMBER OF CHILDREN OF EACH CLASS TO 1,000 FEMALES 15 TO 44 YEARS OF AGE, OF SAME NATIVITY AS THAT OF MOTHERS, FOR CITIES HAVING AT LEAST 25,000 INHABITANTS, AND FOR SMALLER CITIES OR COUNTRY DISTRICTS: 1900. FOREIGN BORN WHITE FEMALES 15 TO 44 TEARS OF AGE. NATIVE WHITE :HILDREN UNDER 5 YEARS OF AGE. NUMBER OF NATH^E CHILDREN UNDER 6 OF AGE. WHITE YEARS NATIVE WHITE FE- MALES 15 TO 44 TEARS OF AGE. Total. Estimated number having — Bom of native mothers to 1,000 native females 15 to 44 years of age. Bom eign moth 1,000 f boraf 15to4' of a of for- bora STATE OR TERRITORY. Native mothers. Foreign bom mothers. ers to oreign smales 1 years ge. In cities having at least 25,000 inhabit- ants. In smaller cities or country districts. In cities having at least 26,000 inhabit- ants. In smaller cities or country districts. In cities having at least 25,000 inhabit- ants. In smaller cities or country districts. In cities having at least 25,000 inhabit- ants. In smaller cities or country districts. In cities In having 1 smaller at least ' cities or 25,000 'country inhabit- ' dis- ants. tricts. In cities having at least 25,000 inhab- itants. In small- er cities or coun- try dis- tricts. In cities having at least 25,000 inhab- itants. In small- er cities or coirn- try dis- tricts. Continental United States 3,384,262 9,504,766 1,626,161 1,161,763 1,933,579 5,934,004 1,000,207 4,957,238 933,372 976,766 296 522 612 841 North Atlantic division 1,655,082 2,051,783 971,648 437,659 1,060,869 1,115,672 493,320 817,523 567,549 1 298,149 | 298 398 584 j 681 352,843 572,894 266,721 196,661 231,330 304,190 88,604 186,762 142,726 ■ 117,428 j 251 326 535 597 Maine- ... - 10,041 7,448 120,141 61,708 65,624 201,861 27,594 95,976 1,478,889 3,644 8,875 23,897 18,955 10,290 87,844 16,272 39,403 240,998 4,187 5,656 59,911 31,034 32,286 108,268 17,836 54,855 811,482 2,401 1,722 45,595 19,822 26,334 58,644 8,336 29,031 630,761 1,786 3,933 14,316 11,212 6,952 49,624 9,600 25,824 180,721 239 231 ■■■"256' 239 270 311 380 321 386 291 302 302 427 490 443 """527" 538 615 603 599 New Hampshire Vermont 692 676 244,079 38,362 52,913 1,302,239 195,725 26,370 32, 107 704,927 164,128 23,339 34,021 829,639 61,064 9,155 14,262 404,716 103,064 14,184 19,759 424,823 665 Rhode Island 584 Connecticut. . . 655 Southern North Atlantic . 750 New York 695,689 147,950 458,600 221,284 559,278 175,245 744,366 1,246,566 479, 548 78,004 147,375 28,955 85,271 48,465 107,262 17,601 483,292 101,374 244,873 90,957 249, 765 96,404 465,313 809,488 206,298 49,290 149,128 71,921 195, 221 63,631 371,909 796,934 276,994 1 54.644 297 333 325 325 349 363 600 639 578 668 650 657 640 52,084 96,746 19,036 32, 773 93,404 12,554 676 871 South Atlantic division 713 Northern South Atlantic . 186,666 566, 189 26,812 10,868 77,592 349,649 59,872 341,212 17,720 8,437 321 604 661 776 13,941 95,266 48, 133 20,071 9,255 34,618 18,802 113,080 2,812 17,507 4,404 964 1,125 2,143 676 5,016 6,742 43,580 15,809 7,641 3,820 13,365 9,364 62,575 4,803 31,601 13,498 7,046 2,924 12,049 8,884 58,587 1,939 1 480 11,979 3.988 345 332 280 351 316 348 473 518 '"""6O9" 662 669 690 .684 525 617 796 614 710 795 District of Columbia 2,311 ' Virginia 244,976 188,331 681,377 2,640 2,536 6,733 150, 957 126,753 459,839 149, 136 124,605 455,722 595 896 1,316 1,821 2,148 4,117 690 847 Southern South Atlantic. 611 273,648 117,464 233,896 56,369 3,842,660 882 449 917 4,486 549,200 186,887 76, 146 158,269 39,537 2,368,418 185,319 75,811 157,620 36,972 1,824,298 568 336 ""his 3.34 359 285 677 645 674 656 476 """"76!" 609 482 677 644 South Carolina 5,962 25,689 2,967 1,111,390 461 1,431 251 442,322 2,221 9,957 1,187 615,631 1,898 9,085 1,066 316,240 323 746 872 121 299,391 649 2,565 534,120 708 Florida 572 North Central division. 973 Eastern North Central . .. 764, 596 2,289,853 347,549 290,489 449,311 1,292,515 211,842 1,039,173 237,469 253,342 277 454 683 872 242,709 79,059 294,397 80, 160 68,271 346, 794 630,210 471,648 578,590 333, 639 275,766 1,552,807 67,053 9,098 193,953 43,961 33,494 94, 773 34,249 16,331 68, 140 93,538 78,231 258,711 115,707 29,998 207,566 47,705 48,335 166,320 306, 139 239,408 333,026 207,843 206,099 1,066,903 68,614 23,386 79,122 20,400 20,320 104,398 278,035 225,264 282, 736 131,879 121,259 785, 125 47,093 6,612 128,444 27,305 28,015 61,922 28,104 14,144 50,290 75,964 84,840 280,778 283 296 269 254 298 301 441 478 489 395 440 606 702 727 662 621 836 663 821 866 738 812 Wisconsin 1,084 1,085 Western North Central . . . Minnesota . ... 68,629 46,936 183,288 183,868 392,599 461, 191 31,588 56,373 156,006 271,183 1,866,307 40,446 10,020 31,270 83,890 54,000 11,198 30,373 21,701 33,650 23,899 54,744 43,356 21,071 78,786 181,831 240,884 270, 127 45,388 51,765 116,924 158,984 1,325,683 18,099 14,493 66,997 83,628 184,560 268,296 15,417 27,288 80,213 135,724 1,277,378 25,257 6,578 21,789 98,203 66,324 11,832 29,971 24,477 36,711 23,260 48,305 264 309 311 '""'284' 356 350 455 470 560 488 484 614 500 684 624 656 697 "■""629" 669 714 1,171 1,043 1,057 987 North Dakota ""ih'.ihi 7,553 85,492 1 128 31,416 16,525 203,755 10,537 2,500 19, 736 8,928 5,881 71,411 6,626 1,672 14,081 1,091 973 South Central division 882 Eastern South Central 113,056 994,843 8,409 6,924 43,587 663,653 37,314 657,693 6,273 5,960 330 661 746 861 62,274 36,780 14,001 349,473 305,625 200,953 138,792 871,464 5,688 1,933 788 2,526 1,373 2,007 1,018 47,820 24,098 14,035 5,454 228,358 198,416 142,482 94,397 662,030 19,594 12,786 4,935 225,940 197, 356 140,879 93,518 619,685 4,504 1,250 519 2,418 1,060 1,603 879 42,345 316 348 336 376 647 646 701 674 711 792 647 659 689 957 772 Alabaina 799 Western South Central. . . 90,700 11,326 41,905 34,097 7,808 886 49,484 5,712 104, 774 192, 476 61,370 72,334 440,510 4,760 505 4,438 2,303 979 3,568 36,532 22,757 2,313 83,233 136, 196 46,523 54,244 342,834 19,091 2,003 80,352 134,355 44,746 60,476 309,756 3,666 310 2,881 1,841 777 3,768 33,078 386 351 ""■"366 767 698 729 698 703 614 """'esi 649 799 1 056 TexM 35,504 6, on 16,835 1 is, 003 3,832 905 25 Table XIII.— ESTIMATED NUMBER OF CHILDREN UNDER 5 YEARS OF AGE HAVING WHITE MOTHERS OF NATIVE AND OF FOREIGN BIRTH, RESPECTIVELY, AND THE NUMBER OF CHILDREN OF EACH CLASS TO 1,000 FEMALES 15 TO 44 YEARS OF AGE, OF SAME NATIVITY AS THAT OF MOTHERS, FOR CITIES HAVING AT LEAST 25,000 INHABITANTS, AND FOR SMALLER CITIES OR COUNTRY DISTRICTS: 1900— Continued. NATIVE WHITE CHILDREN UNDER 5 YEARS OF AGE. NUMBER OF NATIVE CHILDREN UNDER 5 OF AGE BORN OF— WHITE YEARS NATIVE WHITE FE- MALES 15 TO 44 YEAKS OF AGE. FOREIGN BORN WHITE FEMALES 15 TO 44 YEARS OF AGE. Total. Estimated number having — Native mothers to 1,000 native females 15 to 44 years oi age. Foreign bom STATE OR TERKITOET. Native mothers. Foreign born mothers. mothers to 1,000 foreign born females 15 to 44 years of age. In cities having at least 25,000 mhabit- ants. In smaller cities or country districts. In cities having at least 25,000 inhabit- ants. In smaller cities or country districts. In cities having at least 25,000 mhabit- ants. In smaller citied or country districts. In cities having at least 25,000 inhabit- ants. In smaller cities or country districts. In cities having at least 25,000 inhabit- ants. In smaller cities or country dis- tricts. In cities having at least 25,000 inhab- itants. in small- er cities or coun- try dis- tricts. In cities having at least 25,000 inhab- itants. In small- er cities or coun- try dis- tricts. Continental U. S.— Continued. Western division 192,751 497,450 63,501 102,559 80,630 324,743 47,315 241, 105 33,315 83,638 245 485 625 816 Rocky Mountain 38,271 165,867 11,838 36,059 16, 682 120,388 10,323 91,408 6,359 28,980 270 551 537 804 Montana 4,613 26,260 25,802 12,793 66,229 34,783 56,061 2,695 11,391 4,349 3,390 13,975 2,954 14, 748 2,907 22,044 20,961 10, 119 42, 126 25,138 48,774 1,409 13,112 16,363 7,088 31,838 23,007 33,921 1,498 8,932 4,598 3,031 10,288 2,131 14,853 305 ""'265' 371 499 634 554 481 661 605 666 ""'532' 754 784 Idaho. . 1,057 Wyoming 894 33,658 9,143 13,775 8,914 4,861 736 721 Basin and Plateau 10, 110 3,649 6,506 3,753 2,753 1,007 13,368 36,898 5,795 275,522 5,142 8,620 1,086 61,752 10, 753 34,864 3,157 155,581 7,184 24,542 2,195 115,776 3,569 10,322 962 39,805 ""37i' 230 537 665 379 420 '""754' 504 694 Utah 10,110 3,649 6,506 3,753 2,753 1,212 886 144,370 48,014 57,442 33,239 24,203 769 Washington 24,813 16,481 103,076 54,'390 59,226 161,906 9,153 4,662 34, 199 13,617 7,008 31,127 11,298 6,198 39,946 39,931 34,004 81,646 6,732 3,826 22,681 28,455 28,278 59,043 4,566 2,372 17, 265 11,476 5,726 22,603 271 232 220 523 477 365 499 509 505 843 817 726 26 Table XIV.— ESTIMATED NUMBER OF CHILDREN UNDER 5 YEARS OF AGE HAVING WHITE MOTHERS OF NATIVE AND OF FOREIGN BIRTH, RESPECTIVELY, AND THE NUMBER OF CHILDREN OF EACH CLASS TO 1,000 FEMALES, 15 TO 44 YEARS OF AGE, OF SAME NATIVITY AS THAT OF MOTHERS, FOR CITIES HAVING AT LEAST 25,000 INHABITANTS AND FOR SMALLER CITIES OR COUNTRY DISTRICTS: 1890. FOEEIGN BOEN WHITE FEMALES 15 TO 44 YEARS OF AGE. NATIVE WHITE CHILDREN UNDER 5 TEAES OF AGE. NUMBER OF NATIVE CHILDREN UNDER 5 OF AGE. WHITE TEAES NATIVE WHITE FE- MALES 15 TO 44 TEAES OF AGE. Total. Estimated number having— Bom o( native mothers to 1,000 native females 15 to 44 years of age. Bom eign moth 1,000 f bom ] 16 to 4 of of for- bom STATE OR TERRITORY. Native mothers. Foreign bom mothers. ers to oreign emales 4 years ige. In cities having at least 25,000 in- habit- ants. In small- er cities or coun- try dis- tricts. In cities having at least 25,000 in- habit- ants. In small- er cities or coun- try dis- tricts. In cities having at least 26,000 in- habit- ants. In small- er cities or coun- try dis- tricts. In cities having at least 25,000 in- habit- ants. In small- er cities or coun- try dis- tricts. In cities having at least 25,000 inhabit- ants. In smaller cities or country dis- tricts. In cities having at least 25,000 inhab- itants. In smaller cities or coun- try dis- tricts. In cities having at least 25,000 inliab- itants. In smaller cities or coun- try dis- tricts. Continental United States 2,306,822 8,089,148 1, 182, 743 1,146,928 1,381,769 5,111,260 712,980 4,220,961 668,779 890,309 309 522 665 776 North Atlantic division .... 1,190,968 1,970,958 709,995 390,670 713,301 999,623 347,879 769,447 365,422 230, 176 292 390 515 589 , 259, 732 563,894 183, 757 173,384 140, 211 262,661 60,010 174,481 80,201 88,170 231 309 436 509 Maine 7,522 6,025 122,370 61,569 63,724 194, 149 28,260 93,832 1,407,054 2,696 7,776 19,612 16,118 10,040 76,691 17,521 34,402 217,286 2,724 3,459 53,216 25,089 28,968 92, 178 16,307 46,893 736,972 1,616 1,119 44,211 18,179 22,657 53,768 8,112 27,654 594,966 1,108 2,340 9,005 6,910 6,311 38,410 8,196 19,339 142,006 216 186 ""'23i' 226 248 309 361 295 356 277 287 294 423 411 301 "■'431' 438 532 542 469 New Hampshire 467 629 182,316 27,203 36, 666 931,236 137,969 16, 191 19,125 626,238 101,645 13,212 19,271 573,090 42,068 6,121 9,096 287,869 69,487 7,091 10, 175 285,221 501 Rhode Island 468 Connecticut 562 Southern North Atlantic. 654 New York 500, 146 102,823 328,267 176,864 564,400 154,328 688,336 1,036,549 351, 116 54, 795 120,328 27,181 94, 439 37, 214 85,633 15,667 329,648 66, 178 177,264 77,797 250, 711 79,365 406,896 658,696 145,082 33,328 109,459 61,099 193,361 58, 730 342,875 648,642 184, 566 32,850 67,806 16,698 67,350 20,636 64,021 10,054 290 324 333 345 343 381 498 626 626 600 564 614 607 New Jersey 564 PpTinfiylvflnin. 748 South Atlantic division 642 Northern South Atlantic. 162,775 473,317 26,379 9,338 67,989 284,878 52,354 278,070 15,635 6,808 343 587 616 729 Delaware 11,355 79,893 37,332 16,718 7,477 24; 089 18,545 98,488 2,374 16,657 4,195 881 1,372 1,802 848 4,704 5,244 39,242 13,247 6,834 3,422 9,808 9,217 54,271 3,926 28,425 11,309 6,310 2,384 8,745 8,703 50,716 1,318 10,817 1,938 524 1,038 1,063 514 3,565 346 356 303 377 319 363 469 515 ""584" 656 658 555 653 462 595 767 690 606 756 Virginia 208,211 148,073 563,232 1,814 1,972 6,329 122,605 98,786 373,818 121,532 97,119 370,572 1,073 1,666 3,246 592 West Virginia 846 Southern South Atlantic. 513 227,801 94,825 195,863 44,753 3,310,208 693 488 890 4,258 604,427 150,622 61,343 131,328 30,526 2,188,852 150,185 61,037 130,770 28,580 1,641,205 437 306 558 1,945 647,647 '""348' 368 326 659 644 668 639 496 ""603' 685 664 631 6,648 18,441 521 1,281 2,280 7,528 1,966 6,779 314 749 627 627 Florida 457 North Central division 695,837 370,714 473,182 226,944 246,238 906 Eastern North Central . . . 455,020 2,016,969 272,690 327,040 326,243 1,208,143 141,902 927,292 184,341 280,851 312 460 676 869 Ohio 167,795 48,811 165,804 49,469 33,141 240,817 584,186 423,737 510,791 283,050 215,205 1,293,239 61,035 7,066 142,043 38,343 24,204 98,024 38,800 19,474 78,016 99,346 91,406 277,387 95,497 19,765 141,944 38,682 30,365 146,939 291,883 229,272 315,863 189,763 181,362 980,709 52,760 14,731 48,467 15,260 10,704 85,042 260,764 212,003 248,637 116,551 89,337 713,913 42,747 5,024 93,487 23,422 19,661 61,897 31,119 17,269 67,226 73,212 92,025 266,796 314 302 311 308 323 363 446 500 487 412 415 562 700 711 658 611 812 631 802 Indiana 887 862 737 1,007 962 Western North Central. . . Minnesota 46,681 28,062 119,840 114,061 321,748 405,539 15,608 44,108 139,778 262,507 1,420,807 39,589 8,762 34,279 80,019 64,228 15,388 22,168 23,105 40,627 31,862 45,850 38,666 16,042 63,924 134,407 216,374 260,421 28,256 47,929 122,537 171,785 1,013,155 15,894 9,467 39,221 51,676 166,247 244,241 9,098 25,502 84,699 143,450 977,256 22,772 5,675 24,703 82,731 60,127 16,180 19,158 22,427 37,838 28,335 35,899 340 337 327 ""454' 411 355 463 483 602 587 578 606 568 688 575 637 721 "seo" 648 688 1,034 936 1,051 865 971 33,536 12,708 133, 119 12,929 2,476 20,468 22,473 6,834 61,363 15,231 5,229 47,262 7,242 1,606 14,091 931 889 South Central division 783 Eastern South Central ... 69,681 863,682 8,919 9,458 29,522 570,884 23,260 563,263 6,262 7,621 334 652 702 806 38,369 23,564 7,768 307,426 268,639 170,463 117, 154 557,125 6,145 2,113 661 4,676 1,641 2,040 1,102 36,392 17,176 9,333 3,013 197,629 175,108 118,474 79,773 442,271 12,487 8,169 2,614 193,380 173,959 117,032 78,892 413,993 4,689 1,174 399 4,149 1,149 1,442 881 28,278 325 346 337 378 629 648 687 673 743 763 556 604 678 887 Tennessee 700 707 799 Western South Central . . . 63,438 11,649 31,831 24,002 7,829 777 40,465 3,682 77,042 164,254 11,457 304,372 5,830 534 2,266 2,252 540 31,335 19,013 1,663 59,956 125,302 8,386 248,627 14,712 1,366 58,480 123,619 7,949 223,945 4,301 297 1,476 1,683 437 24,682 364 371 ""ill 759 753 694 736 738 556 ""623' 662 747 809 Texas i9,36i 5,185 ii,i65 7,924 3,23i 788 27 Table XIV.— ESTIMATED NUMBER OF CHILDREN UNDER 5 YEARS OF AGE HAVING WHITE MOTHERS OF NATIVE AND OF FOREIGN BIRTH, RESPECTIVELY, AND THE NUMBER OF CHILDREN OF EACH CLASS TO 1,000 FEMALES, 15 TO 44 YEARS OF AGE, OF SAME NATIVITY AS THAT OF MOTHERS, FOR CITIES HAVING AT LEAST 25,000 INHABITANTS AND FOR SMALLER CITIES OR COUNTRY DISTRICTS: 1890— Continued. NATIVE WHITE CHILDREN UNDER 5 YEARS OP AGE. NUMBER OF NATIVE WHITE CHILDREN UNDER 5 YEARS OF AGE. NATIVE WHITE FE- MALES 15 TO 44 YEARS OF AGE. FOREIGN BORN WHITE FEMALES 15 TO 44 YEARS OF AGE. Total. Estimated number having— Bom of native mothers to 1,000 native females 15 to 44 years of age. Bom of for- eign bom STATE OK TEEKITOET. Native mothers. Foreign bom mothers. •mothers to 1,000 foreign bom females 15 to 44 years of age. In Cities having at least 25,000 in- habit- ants. In small- er cities or coim- try dis- tricts. In cities having at least 25,000 in- habit- ants. In small- er cities or coim- try dis- tricts. In cities having at least 25,000 in- habit- ants. In small- er cities or coun- try dis- tricts. In cities having at least 25,000 in- habit- ants. In small- er cities or coun- try dis- tricts. In cities having at least 25,000 inhabit- ants. In smaller cities or country dis- tricts. In cities having at least 26,000 inhab- itants. In smaller cities or coun- try dis- tricts. In cities having at least 25,000 inhab- itants. In smaller cities or coun- try dis- tricts. Continental U. S.— Continued. Western division 110,034 350,626 54,385 90,314 56,126 250,934 29,796 184,401 26,330 66,533 271 526 484 7.17 ■Rnp.Vy Mnnntn.iTi 19, 112 113,070 7,411 27,829 9,123 85,579 5,876 65,871 3,247 19,708 307 683 438 708 15,712 11,878 7,735 48,765 28,980 33,561 7,462 2,812 3,005 12,142 2,408 15,300 12,769 11,026 6,696 34,172 20,926 34,919 7,943 8,173 4,447 26,054 19,254 20,616 4,816 2,853 2,249 8,118 1,672 14,303 ■""307' 375 506 688 575 534 664 614 ""■"438" 709 646 Idaho 1,015 748 Colorado" 19,112 7,411 9,123 5,876 3,247 669 New Mexico 694 Basin and Plateau 6,634 3,644 5,069 2,487 2,582 935 6,329 21,989 5,243 203,995 4,278 9,016 2,006 47,185 6,371 25,262 3,286 130,436 3,820 14,879 1,917 97,914 2,551 10,383 1,369 32,522 '""375" 254 604 677 366 480 ■■■"769' 473 596 Utah 6,634 3,644 5,069 2,487 2,582 1,152 682 Pacific 84,288 43,330 41,934 21,433 20,501 689 Washington 10,879 7,244 66,165 37,608 46, 120 120,267 6,121 3,174 34,035 10,713 6,874 29,598 6,626 2,880 32,428 30,018 30,632 69,786 3,853 1,667 15,913 22,410 25,773 49,731 2,773 1,213 16,515 7,608 4,859 20,055 354 230 241 596 659 414 453 382 485 710 Oregon 707 678 o