In Flourish, I created an interactive map depicting the populations of enslaved and free people of color in 1800 around the land of the eastern United States. The darker the red, the higher the population of enslaved people are. My main reasoning for picking this era and census data was to better realize where the deceit of slavery was in the United States after the revolutionary war and being under British occupation. One thing I was not expecting was being able to see clearly the “borders of slavery” which are visually complied into North and South through the map legend.
One way Data Maps help researchers better their understanding of slavery is through the construction of newly formed questions. This practice of digital history resonates well with my previous and nonexistent understanding of certain regions of slavery. At the same time, it draws questions of interest into the described topics wanting to pursue why certain areas had more instances of enslaved people than others. The map itself is very good at showing the history of free vs slave states, drawing a line between Maryland which holds a very large slave population and present day Pennsylvania, which holds very little. Another aspect of this map which helps better our understanding is the very enlarged populations of enslaved people on the coasts and farming areas of the nation. An example of a question this map brings, with previous knowledge of tobacco and cotton farming by enslaved persons, one can ask if plantations were set up on the coast of the United States for better access to trading to Britain. Or possibly if these areas were just good for agriculture. Lastly, taking a deeper dive into this subject and being able to compare this census map with another in a different year can potentially draw endless inquiry. Using this method as a starting point to ask more questions will excel our understanding of what we know about slavery in the United States.
Link to Map: