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THE NEGRO FARMER
By CARL KELSEY
A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA IN
PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR
THE DEGREE OF PH. D.
Printed and on sale by
JENNINGS & PYE
CHICAGO
1903
PRICE FIFTY CENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I. Introduction 5
II. Geographic Location 9
III. Economic Heritage 22
IV. Present Situation 29
Virginia 32
Sea Coast 38
Central District 43
Alluvial Region 52
V. Social Environment 61
VI. The Outlook 67
VII. Agricultural Training 71
Population Maps 80
=OLD-TIME NEGROES.=
CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION.
In the last three hundred years there have been many questions of
general interest before the American people. It is doubtful, however, if
there is another problem, which is as warmly debated to-day as ever and
whose solution is yet so uncertain, as that of the Negro. In the second
decade of the seventeenth century protests were being filed against
black slavery, but the system was continued for nearly 250 years. The
discussion grew more and more bitter, and to participation in it
ignorance, then as now, was no bar. The North had less and less direct
contact with the Negro. The religious hostility to human bondage was
strengthened by the steadily increasing difference in economic
development which resulted in the creation of sectional prejudices and
jealousies. The North held the negro to be greatly wronged, and accounts
of his pitiable condition and of the many individual cases of ill
treatment fanned the flames of wrath. The reports of travelers, however,
had little influence compared with the religious sentiments which felt
outraged by the existence of bond servitude in the land. Through all the
years there was little attempt to scientifically study the character of
the problem or the nature of the subject. A mistaken economic sentiment
in the South and a strong moral sentiment at the North rendered such
studies unnecessary, if not impossible. The South, perceiving the
benefits of slavery, was blind to its fundamental weaknesses, and the
North, unacquainted with Negro character, held to the natural equality
of all men. Thus slavery itself became a barrier to the getting of an
adequate knowledge of the needs of the slave. The feeling grew that if
the shackles of slavery were broken, the Negro would at once be as other
men. The economic differences finally led to the war. It is not to be
forgotten that slavery itself was not the cause of the war, nor was
there any thought on the part of the Union leaders to make the blacks
citizens. That this was done later was a glowing tribute to their
ignorance of the real demands of the situation. The Republican party of
to-day shows no indication of repeating this mistake in the newly
acquired islands. I would not be understood as opposing suffrage of the
blacks, but any thoughtful observer must agree that as a race they were
not prepared for popular government at the time of their liberation. The
folly of the measures adopted none can fail to see who will read the
history of South Carolina or Mississippi during what is called
"Reconstruction."
Immediately after the war, new sources of information regarding the
Negro were afforded the North. The leaders of the carpet-bag regime,
playing political games, circulated glowing reports of the progress of
the ex-slaves. A second class of persons, the teachers, went South, and
back came rose-colored accounts. It might seem that the teacher could
best judge of the capacity of a people. The trouble is that in the
schools they saw the best specimens of the race, at the impressionable
period of their lives, and under abnormal conditions. There is in the
school an atmosphere about the child which stimulates his desire to
advance, but a relapse often comes when ordinary home conditions are
renewed. Moreover, it is well known that the children of all primitive
races are very quick and apt up to a certain period in their lives,
excelling often children of civilized peoples, but that this disappears
when maturity is reached. Hence, the average teacher, not coming in
close contact with the mass of the people under normal surroundings,
gives, although sincerely, a very misleading picture of actual
conditions. A third class of informants were the tourists, and their
ability to get at the heart of the situation is obvious. There remain to
be mentioned the Negro teachers and school entrepreneurs. Naturally
these have presented such facts as they thought would serve to open the
purses of their hearers. Some have been honest, many more
unintentionally dishonest, and others deliberately deceitful. The
relative size of these classes it is unnecessary to attempt to
ascertain. They have talked and sung their way into the hearts of the
hearers as does the pitiful beggar on the street. The donor sees that
evidently something is needed, and gives with little, if any, careful
investigation as to the real needs of the case. The result of it all has
been that the testimony of those who knew far more than was possible for
any outsider, the southern whites, has gone unheeded, not to say that it
has been spurned as hostile and valueless. The blame, of course, is not
always on one side, and as will be shown later, there are many southern
whites who have as little to do with the Negro, and consequently know as
little about him, as the average New Yorker. This situation has been
most unfortunate for all concerned. It should not be forgotten that the
question of the progress of the Negro has far more direct meaning for
the southerner, and that he is far more deeply interested in it than is
his northern brother, the popular impression to the contrary
notwithstanding. It is unnecessary to seek explanations, but it is a
pleasure to recognize that there are many indications that a better day
is coming, and indications now point to a hearty co-operation in
educational efforts. There are many reasons for the change, and perhaps
the greatest of these is summed up in "Industrial Training."
The North is slowly learning that the Negro is not a dark-skinned
Yankee, and that thousands of generations in Africa have produced a
being very different from him whose ancestors lived an equal time in
Europe. In a word, we now see that slavery does not account for all the
differences between the blacks and whites, and that their origins lie
farther back. Our acquaintance with the ancestors of the Negro is
meager. We do not even know how many of the numerous African tribes are
represented in our midst. A good deal of Semitic blood had already been
infused into the more northern tribes. What influence did this have and
how many descendants of these tribes are there in America? Tribal
distinctions have been hopelessly lost in this country, and the blending
has gone on so continuously that perhaps there would be little practical
benefit if the stocks could be determined to-day. It is, however, a
curious commentary on the turn discussions of the question have taken,
that not until 1902 did any one find it advisable to publish a
comprehensive study of the African environment and to trace its
influence on subsequent development. Yet this is one of the fundamental
preliminaries to any real knowledge of the subject.
In close connection with the preceding is the question of the mulatto.
Besides the blending of African stocks there has been a good deal of
intermixture of white blood. We do not even know how many full blooded
Africans there are in America, nor does the last census seek to
ascertain. Mulattoes have almost entirely been the offspring of white
fathers and black mothers, and probably most of the fathers have been
boys and young men. Without attempting a discussion of this subject,
whose results ethnologists cannot yet tell, it is certain that a half
breed is not a full blood, a mulatto is not a Negro, in spite of the
social classification to the contrary. The general belief is that the
mulatto is superior, either for good or bad, to the pure Negro. The
visitor to the South cannot fail to be struck with the fact that with
rare exceptions the colored men in places of responsibility, in
education or in business, are evidently not pure negroes. Even in
slavery times, the mulattoes were preferred for certain positions, such
as overseers, the blacks as field hands. Attention is called to this
merely to show our ignorance of an important point. Some may claim that
it is a matter of no consequence. This I cannot admit. To me it seems of
some significance to know whether mulattoes (and other crosses) form
more than their relative percentage of the graduates of the higher
schools; whether they are succeeding in business better than the blacks;
whether town life is proving particularly attractive to them; whether
they have greater or less moral and physical stamina, than the blacks.
The lack of definite knowledge should at least stop the prevalent
practice of taking the progress of a band of mulattoes and attempting to
estimate that of the Negroes thereby. It may be that some day the
mulatto will entirely supplant the black, but there is no immediate
probability of this. Until we know the facts, our prophecies are but
wild guesses. It should be remembered that a crossing of white and black
may show itself in the yellow negro or the changed head and features,
either, or both, as the case may be. A dark skin is, therefore, no sure
indication of purity and blood.[1]
It is often taken for granted that the Negro has practically equal
opportunities in the various parts of the South, and that a fairly
uniform rate of progress may be expected. This assumption rests on an
ignorance of the geographical location of the mass of blacks. It will be
shown that they are living in several distinct agricultural zones in
which success must be sought according to local possibilities.
Development always depends upon the environment, and we should expect,
therefore, unequal progress for the Negroes. Even the highest fruits of
civilization fail if the bases of life are suddenly changed. The
Congregational Church has not flourished among the Negroes as have some
other denominations, in spite of its great activity in educational work.
The American mode of government is being greatly modified to make it fit
conditions in Porto Rico. The manufacturers of Pennsylvania and the
farmers of Iowa do not agree as to the articles on which duties should
be levied, and it is a question if the two have the same interpretation
of the principle of protection. Different environments produce different
types. So it will be in the case of the Negro. If we are to understand
the conditions on which his progress depends, we must pay some attention
to economic geography. That this will result in a recognition of the
need for shaping plans and methods according to local needs is obvious.
The present thesis does not pretend to be a completed study, much less
an attempt to solve the Negro problem. It is written in the hope of
calling attention to some of the results of this geographic location as
illustrated in the situation of the Negro farmer in various parts of the
South.
The attempt is made to describe the situation of the average man. It is
fully recognized that there are numbers of exceptions among the Negroes
as well as among the white school teachers, referred to above. That
there is much in the present situation, both of encouragement and
discouragement, is patent. Unfortunately, most of us shut our eyes to
one or the other set of facts and are wildly optimistic or pessimistic,
accordingly. That there may be no misunderstanding of my position, let
me say that I agree with the late Dr. J. L. M. Curry in stating that: "I
have very little respect for the intelligence or the patriotism of the
man who doubts the capacity of the negro for improvement or usefulness."