(Comp. p. 153.)
My next comparison will be that of two great new Western
States--Illinois, a Free State, and Missouri, slaveholding.
The comparison is just, for while Missouri has increased since 1810 in
wealth and population, much more rapidly than any of the Slave States,
there are several Free States whose relative advance has exceeded that
of Illinois. The rapid growth of Missouri is owing to her immense area,
her fertile soil, her mighty rivers (the Mississippi and Missouri), her
central and commanding position, and to the fact that she has so small a
number of slaves to the square mile, as well as to the free population.
The population of Illinois, in 1810, was 12,282, and in 1860, 1,711,951;
the ratio of increase from 1810 to 1860 being 13,838.70. (Table 1, Cens.
1860.) The population of Missouri in 1810, was 20,845, and in 1860,
1,182,012; the ratio of increase from 1810 to 1860 being 5,570.48. (Ib.)
The rank of Missouri in 1810 was 22, and of Illinois 23. The rank of
Missouri in 1860 was 8, and of Illinois, 4.
AREA.--The area of Missouri is 67,380 square miles, being the
4th in rank, as to area, of all the States. The area of Illinois is
55,405 square miles, ranking the 10th. Missouri, then, has 11,875 more
square miles than Illinois. This excess is greater by 749 square miles
than the aggregate area of Massachusetts, Delaware, and Rhode Island,
containing in 1860 a population of 1,517,902.
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