The Great Migration

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The Great Migration of the 1910s
Sabrina Kilbourne Mitchell Rowland
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The South after the Civil War

• Slavery had ended, but African Americans enjoyed
  few freedoms.
• Sharecropping replaced slavery.
• African Americans would have few rights in the
  South.

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Migration to the North

• While most African Americans remained in the
  South, some of those who could leave began to
  migrate to the North.
• They established a foundation for future
  migrants.

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MAP SHOWS THAT THERE WERE NUMEROUS
AFRICAN AMERICANS LIVING IN THE NORTH FOLLOWING
THE WAR.
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Through the 1910s

• Migration from the South was slow, but steady
  until the 1910s.
• The primary destination was the North.

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Location

• Most of the migrants were headed to the big
  cities such as Chicago, New York, and Baltimore.

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Map Showing African American Migration During the
1910s.

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Location - Continued

• The next slide shows the growth of Philadelphia
  during the late 1800s.

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Example of GrowthPhiladelphia 1870-1900
Black Population White Population
Totals
Numbers increase Number Increase
Numbers
1870
1880
1890
1900
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REASONS FOR NORTHERN MIGRATION

• To Avoid Jim Crow Laws - African Americans in
  the South could not vote and experienced
  tremendous racism.

Allen Brooks 1910 lynching
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REASONS FOR NORTHERN MIGRATION - CONTINUED

• 2. Increase educational opportunities -
  Segregation in the South limited opportunities
  for African Americans to gain a quality education
  and forced most into farming.

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REASONS FOR NORTHERN MIGRATION - CONTINUED

• 3. World War I - Many Northern companies simply
  could not find enough white men to fill open
  positions because of the war.

Skilled African American laborers.
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A New Reality

• While African Americans were excited about the
  changes, they were not always met with open hands
  from Northern whites.

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Problems in the North

• Prejudicial attitudes often spilled over into
  violence, including riots, such as the Chicago
  Riot of 1919, which occurred shortly after the
  First World War ended.

A black Chicagoan being questioned about the
riot.
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Bibliograpy http//dbs.ohiohistory.org/africanam
/page.cfm?ID2453 www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory
.org/pages/1032.html http//www.inmotionaame.org/
migrations/landing.cfm?migration8 http//wps.abl
ongman.com/wps/media/objects/1483/1518969/DIV1517.
jpg www.vintagepostcards.com