Race Traits and Tendencies of the American Negro

by Frederick L. Hoffman

Description

Hoffman, Frederick L. Race Traits and Tendencies of the American Negro. New York: Published for the American Economic Association by the Macmillan Company, 1896. (Publications of the American Economic Association. Vol. XI. Nos. 1, 2 and 3. Pages 1-329. August, 1896.) x, 329 pp. With a new introduction by Paul Finkelman. Reprinted 2004 by The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd. ISBN 1-58477-318-9. Cloth. $85. * A fascinating study of the circumstances of African-Americans during the first thirty years show more from the emancipation of slavery in the United States. This analysis is divided into chapters that examine population factors, vital statistics, anthropometry, race amalgamation and social and economic conditions and tendencies. The author concludes that, as of 1896, the abolition of slavery did not demonstrably improve the plight of African-Americans in the United States. Hoffman was the statistician to the Prudential Insurance Company of America at the time of this publication, and as such collected vital and social statistics regarding African-Americans. As legal historian Paul Finkelman notes: "By employing the beguiling methodology of statistical analysis and other tools of the emerging social sciences, the work justified, among other things, massive racial discrimination in the insurance industry" Introduction, i. show less