Great Migration

The Great Migration

Jacob Lawrence

​In this Quizizz lesson, explore the lasting cultural, political, and societal impact of the Great Migration through the life and work of artist Jacob Lawrence.

World War I

During the first world war, there was a great migration North by black Southerners.​

The defense industry during WWI drew large numbers of African Americans when immigration restrictions were imposed during the war, reducing the supply of cheap, immigrant labor​

Jobs

The war caused a labor shortage in Northern industries.

​

Citizens of foreign countries were returning to their native lands.

Multiple Choice

What time period did the Great Migration take place?

• 1950 - 1990

• 1910 - 1930

• 1840 - 1865

• 1990 - 2020

Multiple Choice

Job shortages during WWI created opportunities for Blacks in America. Is this a PUSH or PULL factor?

• Push

• Pull

From every southern town left migrants by the hundreds to travel North for a better life

With all other sources of labor having been exhausted, the black migrants were many industry's last resort

Racial tensions in the United States were still high

Last Resort

Migrants were advanced by passage on railroads, paid for by norther industries desperate for workers. However, the cost of the railroad ticket would be taken out of their future wages.

Railroads

By the end of 1919, some 1 million Blacks had left the South, usually traveling by train, boat or bus.

​

A smaller number took automobiles, or even horse-drawn carts​

Getting there

Multiple Choice

Passage on the railroads were sometimes paid by Northern factories.

• True

• False

The Migrant

Black migrants had lived rural, lives, nurtured by the Earth. They were now moving to an urban world of industrial machinery

Multiple Choice

Some left because their farms had been devastated by floods. Is this an example of a PUSH or PULL factor?

• PUSH

• PULL

The Floods

Here you can see a photograph of flooded farmlands in the South

Multiple Choice

Some left because the boll weevil had ravaged the cotton crops. Is this an example of a PUSH or PULL factor?

• PUSH

• PULL

The migrants were very poor.

Multiple Choice

Food had doubled in price because of the war. Is this a push or pull factor?

• PUSH

• PULL

Multiple Choice

For African Americans, there was no justice in Southern Courts. Is this a PUSH or PULL factor?

• PUSH

• PULL

There were often lynchings.

Multiple Choice

After a series of lynchings, the migration quickened. Is this an example of a PUSH or PULL factor?

• PUSH

• PULL

Multiple Choice

After the Civil War, discrimination and racism still plagued the South. There was a manufactured difference between white and black.

Is this a PUSH or PULL factor?

• PUSH

• PULL

Multiple Choice

In many communities, the Black press was read with great interest, encouraging the movement.

Is this an example of a PUSH or PULL factor?

• PUSH

• PULL

And so, the migration spread.

In the South, black children were not allowed in school.

Multiple Choice

Labor agents representing Northern factories were a common presence in Southern black communities. Is this an example of a PUSH or PULL factor?

• PUSH

• PULL

​Soon, many homes, and even entire communities were empty.

But many men would stay until they could take the whole families with them.

Multiple Choice

The migrants found improved housing when they arrived north. Is this an example of a push or pull factor?

• PUSH

• PULL

Multiple Choice

Letters from relatives in the North told of the better life there. Is this an example of a push or pull factor?

• PUSH

• PULL

They left the South in great numbers. They arrived in the North in great numbers.

They kept coming.

Many found work in new, modern industries.

Open Ended

What type of jobs are depicted in Lawrence's paintings?

There were better living conditions in the North.

The South was desperate to keep its source of cheap labor. Norther labor agents were often jailed and operated in secrecy.

​

​

To make migration difficult, Southern police would often arrest and detain Blacks who purchased train tickets.

Multiple Choice

In the North, African Americans had more educational opportunities. Is this an example of a push or pull factor?

• PUSH

• PULL

Multiple Choice

In the North, African Americans had the freedom to vote. Is this a push or a pull factor?

• PUSH

• PULL

As the migrant population grew, good housing became scarce. Workers were forced to live in overcrowded and dilapidated tenement houses.

Open Ended

Based off the painting, was the North exempt from discrimination? Explain what you see.

Race Riots were numerous.

​

White workers were hostile toward the black migrants who had been hired to break their strikes against unfair labor conditions.

​Race Riots

Multiple Choice

Based on the painting, African Americans seeking to find better housing moved into new areas. This resulted in...

• Parades being held in their honor

• The bombing of their homes

• The end of racism

• Colin Kaepernick kneeling for the National Anthem