in the United States in Fifty Years. 61 



period of life when either cause would be most operative ; that is, 

 between the ages of ten and thirty-six. By the fifth census, the 

 males of this class between ten and twenty-four, were 43,079, and 

 females 47,329 ; and of those between twenty-four and thirty-six, 

 the males were 27,650, and the females 32,541. In like manner, 

 by the sixth census, the males between ten and twenty-four were 

 52,805, and the females 56,592 ; and between twenty-four and 

 thirty-six, the males were 35,321, and the females 41,682 ; so that 

 of the whole excess of females by the fifth census, amounting to 

 . 12,693, nearly three-fourths (9,141) were between the ages of ten 

 and thirty-six; and of the excess by the sixth census, 13,341 more 

 than three-fourths (10,148) were between the same ages. Nor can 

 any argument against the supposed greater emancipation of fe- 

 males be drawn from the fact, that there is no correspondent de- 

 ficiency of female slaves between the ages of ten and thirty-six, 

 since such emancipation may be counterbalanced, and more than 

 counterbalanced, by the runaway slaves, who are mostly males. 



It will be also perceived, that there was, both in 1830 and 1840, 

 a greater preponderance of males on the part of the whites than of 

 the slaves, owing partly to the excess of males of the white emi- 

 grants from Europe, and partly to the diminution of male slaves by 

 running away. 



Of the whites, the excess of males was the greatest in 1800; 

 being to the females as 100 to 95.3. This was probably owing to 

 the great number of French emigrants who thronged to the United 

 States about the close of the last century. A similar flow of emi- 

 grants from Europe, between 1830 and 1840, has caused the like 

 excess of white males, which is shown by the last census. 



To free the comparison between the sexes from the influence of 

 immigration as far as practicable, let us take the males and females 

 under ten years of age. Their numbers were first taken in 1800 : 

 By the second census the white males were to females as 100 to 93.6 

 By the third census " " " " " 94.8 



By the fourth census " " '* " " 95.2 



By the fifth census " " " " " 95.3 



By the sixth census " " " " " 95.4 



By this, it appears that there has been a steady increase in the 

 proportion of females during the last forty years. But the greater 

 disproportion between the sexes, which is shown by the two first 

 enumerations, than that which appears in the three last, seems to 

 require explanation. Perhaps it is to be found in the interruption 



