2.2.3
The Great Migration
The Great Migration
The Great Migration
The Great Migration occurred between 1910-1970 which saw 6 million black people migrating from rural Southern areas to cities in the North and Midwest.
The Great Migration
The Great Migration
- Between 1880-1910 500,000 black people left the South.
- Migration before 1900 was fairly slow and 6 million black people stayed in the South.
- The Great Migration occurred between 1910 and 1970 and saw 6 million black people migrating from rural Southern areas to cities in the North and Midwest.
- In 1910, 89% of black people lived in the South but by 1970 the figure had dropped to 53%.
- The migration was caused by various push and pull factors.
Issues caused by the Great Migration
Issues caused by the Great Migration
- Racial prejudice.
- The ghettoisation of communities where black people lived.
- The poor economic conditions of these areas meant diseases such as tuberculosis were rife.
- Economic deprivation also meant that crime rates in these areas were high.
- Racial tension resulted in race riots and growing membership of the Ku Klux Klan.
Push and Pull Factors for the Great Migration
Push and Pull Factors for the Great Migration
The Great Migration occurred between 1910-1970 which saw 6 million black people migrating from rural Southern areas to cities in the North and Midwest.
Push factors
Push factors
- One push factor at this time was a slump in the cotton industry. This was caused by poor harvests after insects damaged crops.
- 50,000 black cotton workers migrated from the South between 1922 and 1923.
- Another push factor was the segregation imposed by Jim Crow laws in the south.
- Extreme violence directed towards black people such as lynching was also a push factor.
Economic pull factors
Economic pull factors
- Pull factors for black peoples to migrate to the North were largely centred around economic benefits such as the promise of better jobs.
- During the 19th and early 20th century, America had industrialised. There were many new jobs on offer in the North centred around heavy industry.
- The wages received in the North were also much better.
- During WW1 wages for an industrial worker in the North were $3.25 a day compared with 75 cents for an agricultural worker in the South.
Friends and family pull factor
Friends and family pull factor
- Between 1915 and 1925, 1.25 million black people migrated from the South to the North and settled in industrial cities such as Detroit, Cleveland and New York.
- Black people sent news to family and friends in the South that they were enjoying a better life in the North and this encouraged further migration.
Other pull factors
Other pull factors
- Another pull factor was that black people could vote in the North and they were gaining much more political power.
- A final pull factor was the promise of bigger communities of black people.
1‘Free at Last’ 1865-77
1.1The Thirteenth Amendment
1.2Radical Reconstruction, 1867-77
2The Triumph of ‘Jim Crow’ 1883-c1890
2.1Jim Crow Laws & Civil Rights Cases
3The New Deal and Race Relations, 1933–41
3.1Failure to Address Black Grievances
3.2The New Deal
3.3The Second World War
4‘I have a dream’, 1954–68
4.1Civil Rights Activities, 1954–63
4.2Civil Rights 1964-68
4.3Malcolm X & The Black Panthers
5Obama's Campaign for the Presidency, 2004–09
5.1The Late 20th Century
5.2Barack Obama & his Political Career
5.3Reasons for Obama's Victory
Jump to other topics
1‘Free at Last’ 1865-77
1.1The Thirteenth Amendment
1.2Radical Reconstruction, 1867-77
2The Triumph of ‘Jim Crow’ 1883-c1890
2.1Jim Crow Laws & Civil Rights Cases
3The New Deal and Race Relations, 1933–41
3.1Failure to Address Black Grievances
3.2The New Deal
3.3The Second World War
4‘I have a dream’, 1954–68
4.1Civil Rights Activities, 1954–63
4.2Civil Rights 1964-68
4.3Malcolm X & The Black Panthers
5Obama's Campaign for the Presidency, 2004–09
5.1The Late 20th Century
5.2Barack Obama & his Political Career
5.3Reasons for Obama's Victory
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