Introduction
The first Great Migration underscores the relocation of over one million Negroes from the rural areas of Southern parts of the United States to the urban areas, which were mainly located in the North between 1910 and 1930 (Cassedy par.14). The aftermath of the 1876 Reconstruction heralded the restitution of white supremacy in the south, which then saw the passing of the Jim Crow segregationist policies. The black community in the South suffered greatly under these policies, as they could not access meaningful economic activities.
Also, even after its dissolution in 1898, the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) continued to execute its oppression against the Blacks and attacks were widely spread even though the group was operating as an underground organization. The southern environment was hostile to Blacks in all aspects.
Fortunately, the First World War created a shortage of workers in the north, which presented an opportunity for the blacks to move from the south and provide the much-needed labor force in the urban industries. This paper explores the causes of this migration from the South to the North, and it centers on the first Great Migration, which occurred between 1910 and 1930.
The causes
Disenfranchisement, violence, and natural disaster
The Reconstruction brought good news to African Americans as the Congress, through the Fifteenth Amendment, allowed Black men to vote (Tolnay and Beck 114). Unfortunately, most states in the South came up with new rules seeking to disenfranchise Blacks and curtail their freedom. Jim Crow’s segregationist laws made life difficult for the Blacks in the South, and an opportunity to leave was welcome.
The rules brought educational, economic, and social disfavors for African Americans living in the South (“United States: Department of Labor” 46-68). The Blacks lost civil rights and liberties, and thus, life became unbearable. The legal doctrine of ‘equal but separate’ authenticated white supremacy, and thus when the opportunity to leave emerged, the blacks moved in large numbers to the north for better living opportunities (“South Unable to Put a stop to Negros Exodus” 1).
With Jim Crow at the helm and white supremacy dominating a majority of the southern states, the Blacks had to contend with racial violence every day. Appiah and Gates note, “With white supremacy challenged throughout the South; many whites sought to protect their former status by threatening African Americans who exercised their new rights” (1011). Organizations like the Ku Klux Klan continued to operate underground after being banned in 1898.
Widespread lynching of Blacks by white supremacists was a commonplace in the South as 3,446 Blacks died during that time (“Lynchings: By State and Race” par.1). The KKK abducted Blacks across the South, burned churches affiliated with the Blacks, and executed all manner of evils in the quest to intimidate African Americans and prevent them from enjoying the gains of the Reconstruction period.
The outbreak of the Boll Weevil, which ravaged the South for over a decade starting from 1910, had multifaceted impacts on the Blacks living in the region. Earlier after the abolishment of slavery in 1865, African Americans needed to survive in a foreign land as liberated people. Unfortunately, the only available opportunity for them to make a living was through agriculture.
The majority of Blacks depended on sharecropping for their survival. Another large number still worked in the plantations to earn a living. Therefore, with the breakdown of the Boll Weevil, farmlands became desolate, and thus blacks could not find employment or reap from agriculture. This quagmire called for an urgent solution, and with the opening of job opportunities in industries across the north, blacks moved in large numbers to avoid starvation.
Better living conditions in the north
World War 1 created an opportunity for African Americans living in the south to move to the north for better living conditions. After the war broke out, immigration from Europe to the United States was stopped, and this aspect created a severe labor shortage in industries (“United States Government” par.12). Also, over 5 million men from the North joined the military to assist the United States in the war.
Therefore, Blacks living in the South saw this as an opportunity to move to urban areas where they were guaranteed to securing employment with better payment as compared to what they were earning in the southern plantations. Employment agents trooped into the south where they convinced the Blacks of the better living conditions and employment opportunities in the North.
The majority of these agents arranged and facilitated means of traveling from the South, coupled with catering for the expenses. Chicago was one of the most preferred northern destinations for the blacks, given the numerous opportunities. The Pennsylvania Railroad also offered a great opening for able-bodied black men, as they were suitable for such positions.
Even though women’s job openings were limited and restricted to the garment industry, they could secure employment opportunities as domestic workers cross Chicago and such an offer for hitherto segregated group of individuals was irresistible (Grossman 81). In the North, African American children had access to better education opportunities as compared to the South, where a child could only advance to the sixth grade.
In the South, Blacks’ schools had minimal or no support from the authorities, and thus, the majority of the children dropped out of school to join their parents in the plantations. On the contrary, the North had better education policies, which called for students to remain in school regardless of one’s skin color.
Apart from the economic and education opportunities in the North, African Americans had the opportunity to enjoy personal freedom, which was a rare issue in the South. Individuals in northern states were engrossed in wealth making, and thus they saw the Blacks’ immigration as an opportunity as opposed to a curse. Therefore, the constant fear that had gripped Blacks in the South was uplifted for the first time in their stay in the United States.
The Black Press
The press in the North played a critical role in fuelling the mass migration of the Blacks from the South. The Chicago Defender was at the center of selling the North to the southern Blacks. From the Northern newspapers, the Blacks accessed information concerning new job openings and train schedules. All vital information concerning the North was available via the Chicago Defender, and thus with the requisite information, the Blacks in South had all the reasons to migrate to the North.
Conclusion
The first Great Migration occurred between 1910 and 1930. The hostile socio-political environment, coupled with the lack of well-paying jobs, compelled African Americans to move to the North, where they were promised of a good life. The Jim Crow segregationist laws disenfranchised the Blacks and curtailed the freedoms enshrined in the Fifteenth Amendment. Also, the breakout of the Boll Weevil ravaged the agricultural sector in the South, which was the mainstay of the African Americans in the region.
Moreover, World War 1 forced states to close borders for European immigrants, thus creating severe labor shortage in the industries, which were then compelled to open doors for Blacks. The Black press, led by the Chicago Defender also encouraged the immigration by painting the North as the preferred destination for southern Blacks. Therefore, the key causes of the first Great Migration were better living conditions in the North, disenfranchisement, violence, and natural disaster in the South, and black press in the North.
Works Cited
Appiah, Anthony, and Henry Gates. Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience – The Concise Desk Reference, Philadelphia: Running Press, 2003. Print.
Cassedy, James. “African Americans and the American Labor Movement.” Federal Records and African American History 29.2 (1997): 1-16. National Archives. Web.
Grossman, James. Land of Hope: Chicago, Black Southerners, and the Great Migration, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1991. Print.
Lynchings: By State and Race, 1882-1968. Web.
“South Unable to Put Stop to Negros Exodus.” Washington Times 23 October 1916: 1. Library of Congress. Web.
Tolnay, Stewart, and Henry Beck. “Racial Violence and Black Migration in the American South, 1910 to 1930.” American Sociology Review 57.1 (1992): 103-116. Print.
United States. Department of Labor. Division of Negro Economics: Negro at Work During the World War and During Reconstruction: Statistics, Problems, and Policies Relating to the Greater Inclusion of Negro Wage Earners in American Industry and Agriculture. New York: Negro Universities Press, 1969. Print.
United States Government. United States Senate: Report and Testimony of the Select Committee of the United States Senate to Investigate the Cause of the Removal of the Negroes from the Southern States to the Northern States 1880. Web.