University of Virginia Library

CHAPTER III.

POPULAR REPRESENTATION.

The following tables present the subject of Popular Representation
in a very plain and simple manner, showing the white
population, free colored, and total free population, and the
popular vote cast in 1852. They also show the number of
representatives in Congress, and the electoral votes, both as
they now are and as they would be were freemen only
represented.

TABLE VII.
Political View of the Slave States.

                                 

Slave States.	White Population.	Free Colored Population.	Total Free Population.	Popular Vote cast in 1852.	Representation in Congress.	Representation were not Slaves represented.	Electoral Vote as it now is.	Electoral Vote were not Slaves represented.
Alabama	426,514	2,265	428,779	41,919	7	5	9	7
Arkansas	162,189	608	162,797	19,577	2	2	4	4
Delaware	71,169	18,073	89,242	12,673	1	1	3	3
Florida	47,203	932	48,135	7,193	1	1	3	3
Georgia	521,572	2,931	524,503	51,365	8	6	10	8
Kentucky	761,413	10,011	771,424	111,139	10	9	12	11
Louisiana	255,491	17,462	272,953	35,902	4	3	6	5
Maryland	417,943	74,723	492,666	75,153	6	6	8	8
Mississippi	295,718	930	296,648	44,424	5	3	7	5
Missouri	592,004	2,618	594,622	65,586	7	7	9	9
North Carolina	553,028	27,463	580,491	78,861	8	7	10	9
South Carolina	274,563	8,960	283,523		6	3	8	5
Tennessee	756,836	6,422	763,258	115,916	10	9	12	11
Texas	154,034	397	154,431	18,547	2	2	4	4
Virginia	894,800	54,333	949,133	129,545	13	11	15	13
Total	6,184,477	228,128	6,412,605	807,800	90	75	120	105

TABLE VIII.
Political View of the Free States.

                                   

Free States.	White Population.	Free Colored Population.	Total Free Population.	Popular Vote cast in 1852.	Representation in Congress.	Representation were not Slaves represented.	Electoral Vote as it now is.	Electoral Vote were not Slaves represented.
California	91,635	962	92,597	74,736	2	2	4	4
Connecticut	363,099	7,693	370,792	66,768	4	4	6	6
Illinois	846,034	5,436	851,470	155,497	9	10	11	12
Indiana	977,154	11,262	988,416	183,134	11	12	13	14
Iowa	191,881	333	192,214	16,845	2	2	4	4
Maine	581,813	1,356	583,169	82,182	6	7	8	9
Massachusetts	985,450	9,064	994,514	132,936	11	12	13	14
Michigan	395,071	2,583	397,654	82,939	4	5	6	7
N. Hampshire	317,456	520	317,976	52,839	3	4	5	6
New Jersey	465,509	23,810	489,319	83,211	5	6	7	8
New York	3,048,325	49,069	3,097,394	522,294	33	36	35	38
Ohio	1,955,050	25,279	1,980,329	353,428	21	23	23	25
Pennsylvania	2,258,160	53,626	2,311,786	386,214	25	27	27	29
Rhode Island	143,875	3,670	147,545	17,005	2	2	4	4
Vermont	313,402	718	314,120	43,838	3	4	5	6
Wisconsin	304,756	635	305,391	64,712	3	3	5	5
Total	13,238,670	196,016	13,434,686	2,318,578	144	159	176	191

It will be recollected that the area of the Slave States is
851,448 square miles, and that of the Free States 612,597.
The white population of the Slave States is 6,184,477, and of
the Free States 13,238,670. The number of free inhabitants
in the Slave States is 6,412,605, and in the Free States
13,434,686. The number of freemen in the Free States is,
therefore, over 600,000 more than double the number in the
Slave States.

The representation in Congress is, from the Slave States
ninety members, representing the 6,000,000; and from the
Free States one hundred and forty-four, representing the
13,000,000. This discrepancy between population and representation
arises from the fact that, in determining the number
of representatives to which each State is entitled, five slaves
are reckoned equal to three freemen. The 3,200,304 slaves,
therefore, in the Slave States are reckoned equal to 1,920,182 ⅖

freemen, and are represented accordingly. The slaves of the
South have, therefore, a representation equal to that of the
Free States of New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut, Iowa,
and Wisconsin.

Without the representation allowed to slave property, the
number of representatives from the Slave States would be
seventy-five, insteated of ninety; and from the Free States
one hundred and fifty-nine, instead of one hundred and forty-four;
a gain of thirty in favor of the Free States, making their
representation double that of the Slave States, even without
the representation of Rhode Island, Wisconsin, California, and
Iowa.[1]

By such a change, Kentucky, Louisiana, North Carolina,
and Tennessee, would lose one representative each; Alabama,
Georgia, Virginia, and Mississippi, two each; and South Carolina
three. Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Michigan, New Hampshire,
New Jersey and Vermont would each gain one; Ohio
and Pennsylvania two, and New York three.

The free population of the whole fifteen Slave States is not
9,000 more than that of the three States of New York, Pennsylvania
and Massachusetts. These three States have now
sixty-nine representatives.

The popular vote cast at the last Presidential election,
(1852) in the Slave States was 807,800; in the Free States
2,318,578—a majority in favor of the latter of 1,510,778, and
a ratio of almost three to one. The aggregate vote of the
following eleven States, viz: Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina,
Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Florida, Arkansas,
Delaware, and Texas, was less than that of the single
State of New York; the total vote of all these States being
515,159, while that of New York was 522,294; and yet,

according to the present system of representation, these States
are entitled to seventy-nine electoral votes, and New York to
only thirty-five.

The three States, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Ohio, or
even the two States of Pennsylvania and New York, cast a
popular vote larger, by more than 60,000, than all the Slave
States. The three first named States have sixty-three electoral
votes; the last two have sixty-two; and the fifteen Slave States
one hundred and twenty!

In the North, 93,296 freemen and 16,101 voters are required
to elect a representative to Congress. In the South, only
71,251 freemen and 8,976 voters. A President elected by the
Northern votes over a candidate receiving the Southern votes
would have a popular majority of 1,510,778 votes, or about
twice the number of votes ever cast by the South.

A President elected by the South, with the votes of States
enough in the North to elect him, would not be chosen by the
majority. Then, suppose a candidate to receive every vote in the
South (one hundred and twenty electoral votes), and the votes
of Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island
(thirty electoral votes), this would give him one hundred and
fifty electoral votes to one hundred and forty-six against him;
but the popular majority against him would be almost a million
of votes, or more than the whole Southern vote, as will be seen by
the table, the South having 807,800 voters, and the Free States
mentioned, 284,962; being a total of 1,092,762 votes; while the remaining Free States, casting but one hundred and forty-six
electoral votes, would have a popular vote of 2,033,616, which
is a majority of 940,854. If a President were so elected,
would the North and the Northwest be justified in dissolving
the Union therefor?

Or, again: suppose a President elected by the vote of the
South and the vote of Pennsylvania and New Jersey, the
electoral vote would be one hundred and fifty-four for him and

one hundred and forty-two against him; the popular vote would
be 1,277,225 for him, and 1,849,153 against him—or a majority
of 571,928 votes, which is about three-quarters of the whole
vote of the South. Would the Northeast and Northwest
probably dissolve the Union on such a result?