DISTRIBUTION OF AMERICAN GENIUS 199 



towered head and shoulders above the other sections of the United States 

 in her production of eminent persons. Two other sections, the Middle 

 Atlantic and the East North Central States, alone approach her record, 

 and they lag far behind her pace. 



The second question is not so susceptible of positive answer — " Has 

 there been any change in the proportion of distinguished persons con- 

 tributed by New England?" Such a change has undoubtedly taken 

 place. Until 1880 New England took first rank. Up to that time her 

 supremacy can not even be disputed. With that decade, New England 

 drops behind the Middle Atlantic States. Whatever the cause of the 

 change, the change is itself forcing the New Englander's lead very hard. 



The third question: "What contribution of distinguished persons 

 is now being made by the various sections of the United States ?" may 

 not be answered in any dogmatic way. New England is evidently con- 

 tributing a less high proportion of distinguished persons. The Middle 

 Atlantic States, the East North Central States, and the Pacific States are 

 striding rapidly to the front. Thus far (the decade of 1880-1889) the 

 Middle Atlantic States lead, with New England second, and the East 

 North Central States third. 



All the facts at hand point to New England as the one-time birth- 

 place of the largest proportion of distinguished persons. The center is 

 shifting, however, into New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio. That New 

 England once held the palm is a statement that must go without chal- 

 lenge. That she can or will continue to hold it seems doubtful. Mean- 

 while, of the persons whose names found their way into " Who's Who in 

 America" an overwhelming proportion seem to have been born in that 

 section of the northeastern United States bounded by the Mason and 

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



