The Great Migration was a huge relocation of African Americans from the Southern states of the United States to northern and Midwestern cities. This occurred between the years of 1910 and 1970. Over 6 million African Americans traveled to Northern cities during the migration. Some northern city destinations were Richmond, D.C, Baltimore, New York, and Newark. Western and Midwestern destinations were those such as Los Angelos, San Francisco, St. Louis, Chicago, and Detroit. During this time period and previous years, Jim Crow laws in the South were greatly in affect and causing African Americans a rough time due to the racism they faced. After Reconstruction had ended, white supremacy had taken it's toll in the South and Jim Crow had taken over.. The North, Midwest, and West of the United States began to face a shortage in industrial laborers due to World War I beginning and putting an end to immigration of Europeans to the United States. African Americans felt that heading north was their escape from harsh laws and unsatisfactory economic opportunities. Many people, including teenagers, from the South would write letters to the Chicago Defender asking for help to come North and find work because in the South it was hard to make a living. Some migrants already had family members in the North. For example, James Green, an elderly man who migrated at a young age from Goldsboro, North Carolina, had an aunt who lived in New York, who wanted him to be with her. He and his wife moved to New York, after his return from the air force. Because Edwards 2 migrants moved North to escape from Jim Crow and the disgrace in economic opportunities in the South, going North was seen to bring about a better living for individuals and families.... ... middle of paper ... ...ricans, 1915-40." Bureau of Labor Statistics. U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1 Mar. 1987. Web. 9 Apr. 2014. Green, James. "Migration Thumbnails." Interview by Michelle Clark, Jane Bottner, and Michael Murray. Migration Thumbnails. Hudson River Museum, 20 Nov. 2001. Web. 16 Apr. 2014. Irons, Peter. "Jim Crow's Schools."AFT. American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO, n.d. Web. 15 Apr. 2014 Lemak, Jennifer A. "Albany, New York and the Great Migration" The Free Library 01 January 2008. 09 April 2014 "Racial Tensions in Omaha: The Great Migration." NebraskaStudies.Org. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Apr. 2014. "The Great Migration." The African American Migration Experience. The New York Public Library, n.d. Web. 9 Apr. 2014. "The Great Migration: Migration Resources." The African American Migration Experience. The New York Public Library, n.d. Web. 9 Apr. 2014.
The transition, however, was not so smooth. Men and women were attracted to the new cities because of the culture and conveniences that were unavailable to rural communities. Immigrants in particular were eager to get to cities like New York, Chicago, and Boston for these reasons, and to look for better jobs than the ones they had found at home. In fact, without the increase in immigration from 1850 to 1920 (where around 38 million came to America), cities would have expanded at lethargic rates – if at all – due to a decreasing fertility rate and a high rate of infant mortality. Death due to disease was also common. Yet the influx of immigrants managed to make up for these losses, and cities grew exponentially for nearly a century1.
In the years from 1860 through 1890, the prospect of a better life attracted nearly ten million immigrants who settled in cities around the United States. The growing number of industries produced demands for thousands of new workers and immigrants were seeking more economic opportunities. Most immigrants settled near each other’s own nationality and/or original village when in America.
The 'Standard' of the 'Standard'. Web. The Web. The Web. 13 Nov. 2010.
“Everything that is done in the world is done by hope” (Martin Luther King Jr.). During 1910-1970, hope for the African Americans was migration from the rural south to the Midwest and northeast of the United States, and for the Mexicans it was making the march to El Norte. This chapter in time was acknowledged as the Great Migration. With the aftermath of World War I, there was a massive labor shortage. This created a miracle for the African Americans, as they escaped from a world of segregation, and were offered jobs within the industrial company. However, for the Mexican transition the odds were not quite in their favor.
...n the trying time of the Great Migration. Students in particular can study this story and employ its principles to their other courses. Traditional character analysis would prove ineffective with this non-fiction because the people in this book are real; they are our ancestors. Isabel Wilkerson utilized varied scopes and extensive amounts of research to communicate a sense of reality that lifted the characters off the page. While she concentrated on three specifically, each of them served as an example of someone who left the south during different decades and with different inspirations. This unintentional mass migration has drastically changed and significantly improved society, our mindset, and our economics. This profound and influential book reveals history in addition to propelling the reader into a world that was once very different than the one we know today.
The Great Migration was the movement of more than 6 million African Americans from the South to Northeastern, Midwestern, and Western cities. Before it began, 90 percent of all African Americans were living in the South. By the end, nearly half of them were living in cities of the North and West. (Wilkerson). During this time, the Southern economy was suffering greatly. Wages were low, jobs were few and pests called bull weevils could destroy entire cotton crops. (Liccone 3). After the passing of the 13th Amendment, freed slaves were allowed to leave their plantations and start a new life. However, leaving their plantation could result in angry whites hurting or killing them, so most were convinced to stay with their fo...
The 'Standard' of the 'Standard'. Web. The Web. The Web. 20 Mar. 2012. The. Ode, Kim.
As black and white southerners moved west and north it was most frequent that they would settle down into a community made up of their own race. Even white northerners had social differences than the white southerners who may have moved in next to them as most neighborhoods in the industrial north held second-generation immigrants of European descendants. As Gregory phrased it “residential dispersion meant that for most white migrants, the resettlement experience would be an exercise in integration.” (pg.164) As religion started to build on black empowerment the people started to back the civil rights movement more. They started to make political powers in the North that were not accessible in the South and had a high “rate of electoral activity given the poverty and recent arrival of most of the population.” (pg.241) The civil rights era marked a huge turning point for African American’s rights and political involvement because they were able to influence the country into making a change that otherwise would leave us with a very different America
Gregory, James N.. "Second Great Migration: Historical Overview." UW Faculty Web Server. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2011. .
On December 31, 1890 a transition in history occured. New York City would start a new era in the history of the United States starting with the opening of Ellis Island as an immigration depo. This attracted many immigrants to the United Stated because of more job opportunities and as means to start a new life. As more immigrants came to America, it began to be known as the "land of opportunities". Immigrants coming in filled work spaces in industries with the hopes of someday becoming successful. These immigrants helped prove to other future immigrants that if you moved to America then you could start a better life for yourself and your families. On the other hand with positives come negatives and there were many involving immigration.
When the newcomers came to the north and west Starling, Gladney, and Foster it wasn’t a warm welcome. Wilkerson says that often when immigrants from the southern states came to the north or west mostly people closed the door on them and didn’t want to help. It a long time for them to find there place in major cities of the North and West, but southerners who stayed end up finding their way using elements of the old culture with the new opportunities in the north. Also traveling to the newer states wasn’t easy for African Americans. They usually traveling by train, boat or bus. And it was very dangerous to travel because of the gas station your able to stop at and even stop to get food. Also the long trips ahead. You would never know what troubles would be head of the journey. Typically once the black citizens arrived in the state it was hard to settle and to find a job with leak of skills. Like Ida Mae husband George ended up hauling ice up flights of stairs in cold Chicago and Ida Mae did domestic jobs before finding a decent job. Wilkerson also states that it took them a long time before really get settled in an affordable home in south side of Chicago. Then the journey to south was not cheap to make it far so many African Americans took in mind that having money before leaving would be the
Some would say, quotes John F. Kennedy, “Everywhere immigrants have enriched and strengthened the fabric of American life.” Thus, in today’s society, we can say that immigrants are what made America possible—economically and socially. We are in a melting pot era where the impossible was made possible. From the time John F. Kennedy was elected in 1960, making a promise to change the national origins system to unite the nations of all countries equally. Hence, in 1965, under Lyndon Johnson’s administration, Kennedy’s promise came into light, amending the INS—favoring unification of families, not national origins. Although, the unification was made possible, the peacefulness never lasted.
Throughout history, there are many instances of African Americans being mistreated in America. It started during the 1600s and it can be argued that it has not stopped since. Over the years, many African Americans acquired the resilience to make changes. The Civil Rights Movement was one of the most important parts of African American history. It was also important to world history. If it was not for the Civil Rights Movements, African Americans would not have the rights that are available today and the world would be completely different. There were many events that led to the creation of the Civil Rights Movement. After Abraham Lincoln passed the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing current slaves, there was an uprising in the south. Slavery
for generations Both white and black families had grown up in a culture where the two races were separate. this created a vicious circle in which “discrimination breeds discrimination.” This, along with harsh Jim Crow laws and poor economic conditions forced a major portion of African Americans towards the north. By 1925, more than 1.5 million Blacks lived in the north.
1.5 million African Americans left Southern areas for Northern cities from 1910 to 1940. (Memory.loc.gov, pg. 1) Then from 1940 to 1950 another 1.5 million African Americans left the South, and moved to Northern cities. (Memory.loc.gov, pg. 1) Soon after by 1970 there were more than 5 million African Americans in the North. (Inmotionaame, pg. 2) The global structure and states being of the United States underwent a huge geographical change, but what was surprisingly significant during this time after the end of World War II, was their change in destination. (Memory.loc.gov, pg. 2) Every 1 in 7 Southerner went from going South to North, from South to North or Western states, immediately afterwards. (Faculty.washington.edu, pg. 1)