Steve, as a native Southerner who attended integrated public schools beginning in the late 1960's through the entire 1970's, I can understand why the South had Jim Crow laws. Such laws were designed to protect White people from dysfunctional and criminal blacks. For what it's worth, I was born, raised, and still live in an upper Southern state that had a high number of free blacks by 1860 according to the map in your article. As you note, we certainly didn't have many "W.E.B. Du Bois" types in my part of the South. I'm guessing there aren't many in the middle of the US either. Enjoyed the article as always.
> "we certainly didn't have many "W.E.B. Du Bois" types"
As Du Bois was basically a supercilious philanthropy-grifter, you weren't missing much. But at least he didn't harm anyone. Well, didn't harm anyone directly, anyway. He did advocate for various forms of Marxism even after that movement's blood trail was becoming too apparent to ignore, so one could attribute some share of that casualty list to him.
I’m in the middle of T.R. Fehrenbach’s Lone Star: A History of Texas and the Texans. If you have time, Steve, it’s well worth a look. His thoughts on slavery and its effects aren’t very different from what you’ve written here and he writes from a perspective that I, as a northerner, have never seen presented well before.
I’ve also read his books on the Comanches and on the Korean War. He reminds me of John McPhee, though not quite as dazzling.
The Mississippi River basin was dominated by New Orleans for a very long time and someone who moved to New Orleans as an adult stood a good chance of dying from yellow fever. Thus the slaves who lived or passed through the area were also affected.
Why is Pennsylvania's homicide rate higher than the other mid-Atlantic states? Is it mostly Philadelphia, or are there lots of murders in the western part (central PA seems mighty white), where the blacks might have come up the Mississippi & Ohio? The black population of Pittsburgh has fallen from 100k to 68k in forty years.
Perhaps they go south to spend their money, or ND is too busy to get in trouble. If it isn't demographics, law enforcement might be known to be laxer in SD.
From our Michigan house overlooking the Lake, where we spent Summers and Winter holidays and weekends, the great ore freighters were a common sight on the horizon from the Spring up to the worst Fall storms -- the Witch of November -- until they began to disappear in the early 2000s (because of changing industrial conditions, not because they all sank like the famous
'Edmund Fitzgerald' immortalized in the almost unlistenably sad Gordon Lightfoot song [ink below]). I miss them.
Steve, as a native Southerner who attended integrated public schools beginning in the late 1960's through the entire 1970's, I can understand why the South had Jim Crow laws. Such laws were designed to protect White people from dysfunctional and criminal blacks. For what it's worth, I was born, raised, and still live in an upper Southern state that had a high number of free blacks by 1860 according to the map in your article. As you note, we certainly didn't have many "W.E.B. Du Bois" types in my part of the South. I'm guessing there aren't many in the middle of the US either. Enjoyed the article as always.
> "we certainly didn't have many "W.E.B. Du Bois" types"
As Du Bois was basically a supercilious philanthropy-grifter, you weren't missing much. But at least he didn't harm anyone. Well, didn't harm anyone directly, anyway. He did advocate for various forms of Marxism even after that movement's blood trail was becoming too apparent to ignore, so one could attribute some share of that casualty list to him.
Anyone who has watched a few seasons of AE’s “ First 48” series on homicide investigation should have a grasp of who is killing who in this country.
I’m in the middle of T.R. Fehrenbach’s Lone Star: A History of Texas and the Texans. If you have time, Steve, it’s well worth a look. His thoughts on slavery and its effects aren’t very different from what you’ve written here and he writes from a perspective that I, as a northerner, have never seen presented well before.
I’ve also read his books on the Comanches and on the Korean War. He reminds me of John McPhee, though not quite as dazzling.
Even though I know Steve does not read books, he should look up
Necropolis: Disease, Power, and Capitalism in the Cotton Kingdom
by Kathryn Olivarius
https://www.hup.harvard.edu/books/9780674241053
The Mississippi River basin was dominated by New Orleans for a very long time and someone who moved to New Orleans as an adult stood a good chance of dying from yellow fever. Thus the slaves who lived or passed through the area were also affected.
Disease can really affect history. Also on this topic is “Mosquito Empires” by J.R. McNeill. (Deals with the Caribbean)
I’ve ordered the book you suggested.
Why is Pennsylvania's homicide rate higher than the other mid-Atlantic states? Is it mostly Philadelphia, or are there lots of murders in the western part (central PA seems mighty white), where the blacks might have come up the Mississippi & Ohio? The black population of Pittsburgh has fallen from 100k to 68k in forty years.
Maryland has a higher homicide rate than Pennsylvania. A better question is why does South Dakota have twice the homicide rate of North Dakota.
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/sosmap/homicide_mortality/homicide.htm
Isn't that the fracking boom creating a wild west atmosphere? Too much money and not enough women.
There is more fracking in North Dakota than South Dakota.
Perhaps they go south to spend their money, or ND is too busy to get in trouble. If it isn't demographics, law enforcement might be known to be laxer in SD.
Wiki says that North Dakota’s percentage of Native Americans is almost twice as high as that of South Dakota.
I was just in Rapid City for a week and it seemed like an earthly paradise to me.
From our Michigan house overlooking the Lake, where we spent Summers and Winter holidays and weekends, the great ore freighters were a common sight on the horizon from the Spring up to the worst Fall storms -- the Witch of November -- until they began to disappear in the early 2000s (because of changing industrial conditions, not because they all sank like the famous
'Edmund Fitzgerald' immortalized in the almost unlistenably sad Gordon Lightfoot song [ink below]). I miss them.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vST6hVRj2A
Murder stats drop, stats debunkers rise:
https://www.aporiamagazine.com/p/murder-as-measuring-stick