at this point, which our tables of population make so
entirely plain, has been so much misapprehended, and why the prevailing
notions respecting it are so erroneous, is not easy to explain. The
above estimate also reckons all half breeds as belonging to the colored
population. (See De Bow's 'Compendium of the United States Census of
1850,' Tables 18, 42, and 71.)

But this is not all. A careful examination of Tables 42 and 71 of the
volume above referred to, will show that the increase of the colored
race in freedom is certainly not half so great as in slavery. Indeed
there is great reason to doubt whether our colored population has ever
increased at all, except in slavery. From 1790 to 1800 the free colored
population almost doubled, evidently by the emancipation of slaves; for
during that period the slave population of Connecticut, Delaware, New
Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont was greatly
diminished, while that of New Jersey and Maryland was very little
increased. In the last mentioned the increase of her slave population
was only 21/2 per cent. in ten years, while the increase of her free
colored population was 1431/2 per cent. in the same period. These
figures leave no room for doubt that the rapid increase of the free
colored population in all that decade was caused by the fact that the
great mass of the people were honestly opposed to slavery, and therefore
the work of emancipation went on with rapidity.

From 1800 to 1810 the increase of the free colored population was 72 per
cent., under the continued though somewhat slackened operation of the
same cause. From 1810 to 1820 the increase had declined from 72 to 25
per cent.; for the very obvious reason that most of the Northern States
had now no slaves to emancipate, while the Southern States were holding
to the system of slavery with increased tenacity, and emancipation was
becoming less frequent. From 1820 to 1830 the ratio of increase was
again raised to 37 per cent. in ten years. By referring again to Table
71, it will be seen that in that decade, New York and New Jersey
emancipated more than 15,000 slaves, adding them to the free colored
population. From 1830 to 1840 the rate of increase declined to 21 per
cent., and from 1840 to 1850 to only 121/4 per cent., and to 10 per
cent. from 1850 to 1860.

These figures prove that from 1790 to 1840 the increase of the free
colored population depended chiefly on the emancipation of slave