Great Migration Research Paper

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Great Migration of African-Americans The Great Migration, an immense movement of African-Americans from the South to the North from 1916 to 1970; with the largest numbers of migration being around 1919. The Great Migration was caused by an assortment of factors pushing many African-Americans out of the South, with many other factors pulling them to the North. Many African-Americans were dissatisfied with the conditions of the South, being that many African-Americans faced widespread racism, lynchings, and were not able to grow crops due to Boll Weevils. Along with the factors that pushed African-Americans out of the South, there were also factors that pulled them to the North. These factors included less racial discrimination, higher wages,…show more content…
A variety of factors precipitated the Great Migration, and among those factors was racism. After the post Civil War Reconstruction, white supremacy began to resurface in the rural South. Whites became a major threat to the lives of African-Americans as the numbers of lynchings and hate crimes towards African-Americans began to rise. However not only were African-Americans physically demeaned, they were also targeted by prejudice laws such as “Jim Crow”. These ignominious laws were meant to intimidate blacks out of communities and public places and also to glorify the Southern ideas of white supremacy. Blacks also faced political discrimination, such as property requirements and were forced to take literacy test in order vote and as a result of poor education many blacks lost their also right to suffrage. Another preceding factor in the Great Migration was crop devastation caused by Boll Weevils. Boll Weevils destroyed a vast number of cotton plantations resulting in many unemployed sharecroppers causing a major economic depression. The South, which was once known as “King Cotton” was now beginning to see an economic downturn, which caused many African-Americans to vacate the South and inhabited the…show more content…
As a result more blacks beginning to enter urban cities, competition for jobs and living space began to develop between blacks and whites (AAME). As this competition began to increase many whites became increasingly hostile towards blacks due to lowered wages, unemployment, and harsh living conditions. With urban population continuing to grow, many people now faced the hardships of the now overcrowded cities. As more blacks began to crowd cities, housing became a major issue with over 600 black families applying daily for homes and as a result housing was extremely scarce and
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