The Great Migration

1910-1970: over 6 million migrated.

1910: 89% of black Americans lived in the South.

1970: The figure was only 53%

PUSH FACTORS:

-Overproduction=slumps in cotton prices=lower wages

-Poor harvest because of the bollweevil. 50,000 black cotton workers left South Carolina for the north.

-Escape from debt, peonage and Jim Crow

-Threats of violence.

PULL FACTORS:

-Less chance of lynching

-The economy was revolutionised during the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century by rapid industrialisation. The change happened outside the South

-More opportunities for economical advancement

-Better employment opportunities and wages. In the North, a factory worked could earn up to $335 daily compared to $75 for agricultural work.

-Migrants sent letters to families and friends in the South.

-Black people could vote in the North.

The Problems

-White backlash from the North-blacks seen as taking away their jobs.

-Weakened economy in the South

-Housing problems

-Long term consequences-No jobs left in the North and no work back South

The Chicago Riots

The causes to the riots were due to growing tensions following the Great Migration.

People returned from the war to find their jobs takee.

violence broke out after the police refused to arrest a white man responsible for the death of Eugene Williams. Mobs of blacks and whites clashed in the South side nieghbourhood surrounding the stockgards. Violence continued until August the 3rd, resulting in 15 white people dead and 23 black people dead.