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Statistical tables of African-American criminality in history, drawn from threeliterary 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: ColumbiaUniversity Press, 1943.

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 thecity. 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 [for

1829-1854

]. Thisincludes prisoners from the Eastern counties of the State, but a large proportion were from Philadelphia:"Years TotalCommit-ments Negroes Per Centof NegroesPer Cent of Negroesof TotalPopulation1829-34..........1835-39..........1840-44..........1845-49..........1850-54..........3398787016336649935620915110629.040.529.823.816.08.27 ( 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 NegroesPer Cent of Negroesof TotalPopulation1836-45..........1846-55..........Total........1164147826421087696178348.2932.01...7.39 ( 1840)4.83 ( 1850).....

"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 CentOffences vs. the person.......Offences vs. property with violence .Offences vs. property without violenceMalicious offences vs. property...Offences vs. Currency and forgery..Miscellaneous...........166191873221674011.413.159.81.511.527.0891654321471112.422.960.22.01.01.5All 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 21.9The South 29.8 70.1 58.9South Atlantic 33.7 72.0 61.6East South Central 31.5 73.1 63.6West South Central 22.6 62.4 46.0