DISTRIBUTION OF AMERICAN GENIUS 193 



and the East North Central States — are plainly in a class by themselves. 

 Among these states, in every instance except one (the East North Cen- 

 tral States, 1850), the proportion of eminent persons born in those 

 groups of states is higher than the proportion of the total population 

 found in those states at the same time. Among the other groups of 

 states, in every case except two (Pacific States, 1870 and 1880), the pro- 

 portion of eminent persons born is lower than the proportion of the total 

 population found in the states. It therefore appears that of the eminent 

 persons born up to 1890, the vast proportion were in that northeastern 

 section of the United States bounded by the Mason and Dixon line on 

 the south, and the line of the Mississippi-Missouri Eiver on the west. 



Among these northeastern groups of states New England holds a 

 unique position. Throughout the entire period she appears as the birth- 

 place of a far larger proportion of eminent persons, in proportion to her 

 population, than either of the other groups. During the early years her 

 lead was little short of remarkable. Of the distinguished persons born 

 before 1850, she produced almost one third, while her population in 1850 

 was but one ninth of the total population of the United States. The 

 Middle Atlantic States, with a quarter of the population, produced only 

 a little more than a quarter of the eminent persons. The same relation 

 between the two sections holds true of the decade from 1850 to 1859. In 

 this period New England has one tenth of the population, and one fourth 

 of the distinguished persons, while the Middle Atlantic States have a 

 quarter of the population, and about a third of the distinguished persons. 

 Even as late as 1880 the ratio between the proportion of eminent men 

 and of population is higher in New England than in any other section 

 except the Middle Atlantic States. At the same time, the East North 

 Central States, with the single exception of the years before 1850, report 

 a proportion of distinguished persons born only a little higher than their 

 proportion of the population. During the first three periods the relative 

 proportions of eminent persons born and of population are fairly similar 

 in the Middle Atlantic and the East North Central States, but at the 

 same time very markedly below the standard set by New England. 



The considerable lead of New England and the marked lead of the 

 Middle Atlantic States and the East North Central States over the other 

 sections of the country may be tested in various ways. Instead of com- 

 paring the proportion of eminent persons in the various sections with the 

 total population, a comparison may be made with the native white popu- 

 lation. This seems particularly fitting in view of the large negro popu- 

 lation in the south, which has contributed so little to the number of 

 eminent persons in the country. Such a comparison is likewise desira- 

 ble in those states of the north where there is a large proportion of 

 foreign-born persons. A comparison appears in Table IV., where the 

 number of eminent persons per one hundred thousand of total popula- 

 tion and of native white population is given. 



