Historical Criminal Tables

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Statistical tables of African-American criminality in history, drawn from three

literary sources:

PART I. 1829-1855

DuBois, W. E.B. The Philadelphia Negro: A Social Study. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press,

1899. (reedited 1996).

PART II. 1910

Reuter, Edward Byron. The American Race Problem: A Study of the Negro. Ed. Seba Eldridge. New York:Thomas Y. Crowell, 1927.

PART III. 1910-1938

Bonger, Willem Adriaan.Race and Crime. Trans. Margaret Mathews Hordyk. New York: Columbia

University Press, 1943.


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PART I. 1829-1855

DuBois, W. E.B. The Philadelphia Negro: A Social Study. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press,

1899. (re-edited 1996). (Chap. 13, 'The Negro Criminal', excerpts):

"Some actual figures will give us an idea of this, the worst period of Negro crime ever experienced in the

city. The Eastern Penitentiary [Philadelphia] was opened in 1829 near the close of the year. The totalnumber of persons received here for the most serious crimes is given in the next table [for1829-1854]. This

includes prisoners from the Eastern counties of the State, but a large proportion were from Philadelphia:"

Years Total

Commit-

ments

Negroes Per Cent

of

Negroes

Per Cent of

Negroes

of Total

Population1829-34..........

1835-39..........

1840-44..........

1845-49..........

1850-54..........

339

878

701

633

664

99

356

209

151

106

29.0

40.5

29.8

23.8

16.0

8.27 ( 1830)

7.39 ( 1840)

7.39 ( 1840)

4.83 ( 1850)

4.83 ( 1850)

"A better measure of the normal criminal tendencies of the group would perhaps be found in the statistics of

Moyamensing [Prison, Philadelphia], where ordinary cases of crime and misdemeanor are confined andwhich contains only county prisoners. The figures for Moyamensing prison [1836-1855] are:"

Years TotalCommit-

ments

Negroes Per Centof

Negroes

Per Cent ofNegroes

of TotalPopulation

1836-45..........1846-55..........

Total........

11641478

2642

1087696

1783

48.2932.01

...

7.39 ( 1840)4.83 ( 1850)

.....


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"The character of the crimes committed by Negroes compared with whites is shown by the following table,

which covers the offences of 1359 whites and 718 Negroes committed to the Eastern Penitentiary

[Philadelphia], 1829-1846. If we take simply petty larceny we find that 48.8 per cent of the whites and 55

per cent of the Negroes were committed for this offence."

Kinds of Crime Whites Negroes

Num

ber

Per

Cent

Num

ber

Per

Cent

Offences vs. the person.......

Offences vs. property with violence .Offences vs. property without violence

Malicious offences vs. property...Offences vs. Currency and forgery..

Miscellaneous...........

166

191873

22167

40

11.4

13.159.8

1.511.5

27.0

89

165432

147

11

12.4

22.960.2

2.01.0

1.5

All Offences......... 1359 718 100 100

PART II. 1910

Reuter, Edward Byron. The American Race Problem: A Study of the Negro. Ed. Seba Eldridge. New York:Thomas Y. Crowell, 1927 (Chap. 14, 'Delinquency and Crime', excerpts)

PERCENTAGE OF NEGROES IN U.S. PRISON POPULATION: 1910

In Total Population Among Prisoners

(Enumerated (CommittedJan. 1, 1910) During Year)

United States 10.7 30.6 21.9

The South 29.8 70.1 58.9

South Atlantic 33.7 72.0 61.6

East South Central 31.5 73.1 63.6West South Central 22.6 62.4 46.0


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The North 1.8 13.1 9.6 New England 1.0 4.6 2.6

Middle Atlantic 2.2 12.8 9.4East North Central 1.6 14.7 11.0

West North Central 2.1 20.8 14.4

The West 0.7 5.9 3.2

Mountain 0.8 7.8 4.4

Pacific 0.7 4.6 2.5

U.S. Penitentiaries 31.3 24.6

PART III. 1910-1938

Bonger, Willem Adriaan.Race and Crime. Trans. Margaret Mathews Hordyk. New York: ColumbiaUniversity Press, 1943. (Chap. 3, 'Race and Crime, Case Studies: Negro Criminality', excerpts)

TABLE I

PRISONERS AND YOUTHFUL DELINQUENTS, U.S.: 1910

Total per Jan. 1 Sentenced during 1910

Race Number Per 100,000 pop. Number Per 100,000 pop.

Whites 93,841 114.8 382,052 467.4

Negroes

41,729 424.6 108,268 1,101.7

Other colored

902 218.6 3,614 876.0

Total 136,472 148.4 493,934 537.0


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TABLE II

TERMS BEGUN IN U.S. STATE AND FEDERAL PRISONS (PER 100,000

POPULATION OF 15 YEARS AND OVER), 1929-1935

Men Women

Years Whites Negroes Whites Negroes

1929 113.4 385.1 6.5 30.7

1930 124.0 416.3 5.8 25.2

1931 136.2 478.8 5.8 26.7

1932 128.0 483.8 5.6 27.2

1933 117.0 447.0 ? a ? a

1934 107.1 436.4 5.3 25.6

1935 113.4 473.5 5.4 28.9

TABLE III

SURVEY OF MEN IN PRISONS, PER 100,000 U.S. POPULATION:

AVERAGE FOR THE YEARS 1926-34

Crimes Whites Negroes

Manslaughter

(both homicide and by negligence) 3.9 32.8

Felonious assault 2.7 28.9

Rape 3.1 6.2

Theft (including that of autos) 24.9 64.1

Burglary 20.5 76.1

Robbery 12.0 31.2


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