U.S. Census Office, Black and White Populations by States and Territories (1903)

These bar graphs were included in the 1900 Statistical Atlas of the United States, which was compiled under the direction of Henry Gannett. Using data from the 1900 U.S. Census, they present statistics on the Black and White populations of the United States. The first graph depicts the Black population by state and shows that the majority of Black Americans lived in the southern states. The second graph compares the percentage of infants under one year of age to the total population for both the White and Black populations. Overall, the data indicate that the White population had a higher percentage of infants under one year old than the Black population, although the size of this difference varied by state. States such as Utah, Wisconsin, Arizona, and Nevada show significantly higher percentages of infants within the White population compared to the Black population. Other states, including Texas, Oklahoma, Kentucky, and Massachusetts, display a more balanced distribution between the two populations. It is important to note that the data from Hawaii should not be considered representative. Only nine Black children under the age of one were recorded there, and the state’s very small Black population disproportionately skews the results (p. 43). In his description of the graph, Gannett further argues that the data reveal which states have higher birth rates for each race, interpreting these patterns as indicating “the states in which the climatic conditions are most favorable to this race” (pg. 43). Although this interpretation is unfounded, it is historically significant because it reflects the racial assumptions held by many white Americans at the time, which shaped how data were analyzed and understood.