Murder rates in the US (1855)

[LindaTrent]

Between a long time interest in murder rates, and a lack of being able to get to sleep this evening, I decided to do a little research. According to an article in the Washington [DC] Globe dated January 2, 1855:

New York was the most dangerous state followed by California, Texas, Louisiana, Kentucky, Virginia, and Ohio. They were followed by Georgia, Missouri, Mississippi, Pennsylavania, Illinois, Tennessee, Massachusetts, Alabama, Maryland, Indiana, and South Carolina. Followed by North Carolina, Wisconsin, Michigan, Arkansas, Connecticut, Iowa, Maine, Florida, New Hampshire, New Jersey, with Deleware, Rhode Island, and Vermont tied for the safest.

Now granted the article says "The following tables embrace the number of murders and executions which have taken place in the United States during the past year, as complete as we have been able to gather them from the accounts published in the newspapers." It also states "We have recorded none where the killing was the result of accident, or where there was the least doubt about the victim having met death by violence from the hands of some designing individual:..." I rearranged the order of the states in order of most violent to least number of murders.

New York --- 74 murders and 7 executions
California --- 64 murders and 15 executions
Texas --- 50 murders and 3 executions
Louisiana --- 47 murders and 14 executions
Kentucky --- 46 murders and 6 executions
Virginia --- 45 murders and 6 executions
Ohio --- 43 murders and 5 executions
Georgia --- 39 murders and 0 executions
Missouri --- 33 murders and 4 executions
Mississippi --- 32 murders and 5 executions
Pennsylvania --- 28 murders and 4 executions
Tennessee --- 26 murders and no executions
Illinois --- 26 murders and 3 executions
Massachusetts --- 19 murders and no executions
Alabama --- 17 murders and 2 executions
Maryland --- 15 murders and 1 executions
Indiana --- 13 murders and no executions
South Carolina --- 12 murders and 8 executions
North Carolina --- 8 murders and 5 executions
Wisconsin --- 8 murders and 1 execution
Michigan --- 7 murders and no executions
Arkansas --- 6 murders and 2 executions
Connecticut --- 4 murders and 1 execution
Iowa --- 4 murders and no executions
Maine --- 4 murders and no executions
Florida --- 3 murders and no executions
New Hampshire --- 3 murders and no executions
New Jersey --- 3 murders and no executions
Delaware --- 1 murder and no executions
Rhode Island --- 1 murder and no executions
Vermont --- 1 murder and no executions

That should add up to 682. Interestingly enough in January 1848 the Watertown Chronicle (Watertown, WI) gave the total for that year as about 224, so the murder rate tripled in just 7 years! I wonder what the murder rates were in the states during the war primarily on the homefront, (about another 6-7 years)?

Linda.

[Horace]

Re: Murder rates in the US (1855)

I couldn't sleep this morning so I started riffing on this. I ain't really a math guy but here goes.

There were about 27,000,000 people in the U.S. in 1855, and you found 682 murders. that's about 1 murder per 211,000 people.

The U.S. population in 2007 was about 301,000,000, and I found the national murder rate at 16,929. That's about 1 murder per every 17,000 people.

the 5 highest per capita murder rates in 2007 by state were Louisiana, Maryland, Alabama, New Mexico and South Carolina. New York and Texas were pretty low on the list.

One other stat chunk: The U.S. population has increased by about 32 million in the last 10 years: 5 million more people than were in the country in 1855.

[chesnutmor]

Re: Murder rates in the US (1855)

Yikes.. This is some startling stats for murder rates. I wonder if the stats have ever been broken down into rural vs urban. I will have to look into this a little more.

[JohnTaylorCW]

Re: Murder rates in the US (1855)

Sorry Todd, but I need to correct your 1855 murder rate, it's about 1 per 39,600 of population.

Murder rates:

1855 - 2.53/100,000
2007 - 5.6/100,000

It would be interesting to know the comparable rates for solving the murders.

[Horace]

Re: Murder rates in the US (1855)

I retried my creative math approach and came up with about what you quoted: 2.66 per 105,468 for 1855. Thanks. I musta carried a zero somewhere.
Well it's a relief to know that we're only twice as unsafe now.

[FortyRounder]

Re: Murder rates in the US (1855)

Now granted the article says "The following tables embrace the number of murders and executions which have taken place in the United States during the past year, as complete as we have been able to gather them from the accounts published in the newspapers." It also states "We have recorded none where the killing was the result of accident, or where there was the least doubt about the victim having met death by violence from the hands of some designing individual:..."

I think it's safe to assume that there were a large number of murders that didn't go reported or were missed by the vigilant folks at the Washington Globe.The methods of gathering data, including crime statistics, are far more rigorous and scientific these days than in 1855. Forensics experts are also better able to determine cause of death. The mid nineteenth century was a dangerous time anyway: parents beat their children, city families lived outside or in squalid tenements, food was often poor, alcoholism was rampant, diseases ravaged whole communities, safety standards in the workplace were nonexistant, and slaves and immigrants were often treated cruelly. I think it's quite obvious that, far from being twice as unsafe, we people of 2009 have it rather easy compared to our forebears.