For this analysis of data, I decided to look at the census of people in 1850 since it is the most recent dataset provided. My research question is this: How many non-whites were enslaved compared to those free? Why were certain groups free/enslaved? Does it vary by state/location?
To be as complete with this research as possible, I compared every possible category of non-white people: free male, free female, enslaved male, and enslaved female. Each category is in its own bar in the chart, and these groups of bars are separated by state. What I noticed immediately after entering this data is the fact that most of the northern states don’t have any bars representing those enslaved. The few states that did have enslaved nonwhites (Deleware, for instance) had much fewer than those that were free. The southern states consistently have more enslaved nonwhites than those free. This tells me that the north was very against slavery, and the south was more supportive of slavery. Some states like South Carolina and Alabama have incredible amounts of enslaved people, which hits at my moral values, as I’ve stated in past blog posts. I also wonder what makes the gender vary by state; is it just the fact that there are more of one gender in a state? Are states like South Carolina and Louisiana an exception, since they have more females counted in both categories? What causes these numbers to vary? Such questions would require more in-depth research about the states in that timeframe.
Excellent visualization and observations about the data! This chart offers clear distinctions in age group/sex across locations– it is a great spin-off from the data map that offers another perspective on this census information. I also enjoyed reading about your additional questions that you might explore if you were to pursue this project further. Thank you for sharing these observations!