The Effect of Geography and Vitamin D on African American Stature in the Nineteenth Century: Evidence from Prison Records

Abstract

The use of height data to measure living standards is now a well-established method in economic literature. Although blacks and whites today reach similar terminal statures in the United States, nineteenth-century African American statures were consistently shorter than those of whites. Greater insolation (vitamin D production) is documented here to be associated with taller black statures. Black farmers were taller than workers in other occupations, and, ironically, black youth statures increased during the antebellum period and decreased with slavery's elimination.

The relationship between 19th century BMIs and family size: Economies of scale and positive externalities

“…Because urban Philadelphia is a comparatively large part of the sample, BMIs were lower in states with greater population densities. Much has also been written about the 19th century mulatto stature advantage; however, darker complexioned US blacks had heavier BMIs than whites and mulattos (Bodenhorn, 1999;Carson, 2008bCarson, , 2009aSteckel, 1979).…”

Nineteenth century African-American and white US statures: the primary sources of vitamin D and their relationship with height

“…However, 19th century whites were consistently taller than blacks, and mulattos were taller than darker pigmented blacks. However, we are less certain of the source of this variation (Margo and Steckel 1982;Sunder 2004;Carson 2008a). A common explanation for taller mulatto statures is that 19th century social and economic forces favored fairer complexions over lighter complexions, and lighter colored blacks benefited from these social and economic institutions (Margo and Steckel 1982, p. 521;Bodenhorn 1999, p. 983).…”

Beyond black and white: Color and mortality in post-reconstruction era North Carolina

“…However, anthropomorphic evidence from the economic history literature suggests that failing to address skin tone differences may mask the existence of heterogeneous health outcomes among blacks. Most of this research on health and complexion focuses on the relationships between phenotype and height, an important measure of living conditions, including nutrition and the physical environment [11, 35]. …”

“…While both dark- and light-skinned children were about the same height, lighter-skinned adults were taller, likely reflecting differences in access to proper nutrition [11]. Carson (2009) and Carson (2008) confirm the existence of a mulatto height advantage in a large study of prisoners spanning the antebellum and postbellum periods [35, 37]. Carson (2009) suggests that lighter-pigmented blacks may have possessed a relative advantage in Vitamin D production (insolation) over their darker-skinned counterparts.…”