PEOPLE IN MOTION Migration AP HG Mr. Hensley SRMHS Migration focuses on the motion of people through space. In this section, we introduce the Ravenstein Model of Human Migration.

Migration Terminology Migration refers to the diffusion of people from one region to another If the move is meant to be permanent, we classify it as migration If the move is temporary or cyclical, it is circulation Ex: college students

In or Out? People leaving a country are called emigrants People entering a country are called immigrants Net migration = Immigrants minus emigrants Globalization versus diversity – migration is still about place

Ravenstein’s Model Ravenstein is a famous German geographer (19th Century) who did much work on migration Breaks it down into three groups: reasons for migrating, distance and characteristics of the migrants Each group contains push (reasons to leave) and pull (reasons to come) factors

Examples of Push and Pull

REASONS for Migrating Economic reasons are usually the most important Cultural (and political) reasons are also common – historically, slavery has been the largest cultural migration reason Environmental reasons

Case Study: United Kingdom

ECONOMIC Reasons Better jobs and higher living standards are the primary goal “Good jobs” are relative and can change over time Resources can create jobs and attract migrants (“boom towns”) Ex: North Dakota Oil sands and shales (Bakken Formation)

CULTURAL reasons Currently, political instability is the biggest cultural push factor Freedom (especially religious) the biggest cultural pull factor Refugees are migrants who were forced to leave and cannot return for fear of persecution

ENVIRONMENTAL Reasons Environment usually operates as a push factor (droughts, floods) Can be a pull factor (example of Hawaii) Famous example: “Okies” of the 1930’s fleeing the Dust Bowl People living near rivers (floodplains) are vulnerable

Case Study: Eastern Europe After WW2, Eastern Europe was controlled by totalitarian states – migration was cultural After 1991, democracy was the norm – now reasons are economic Also, better pollution controls in the West mean a superior environment

DISTANCE of Migration Ravenstein believed most migration was internal to a country’s borders He also believed most international migration occurred for economic reasons Cities got big from migration not from population growth Distance-decay idea

CHARACTERISTICS of Migrants Most long-distance migrants are male Most long-distance migrants are single adults not families with children 40% of all US immigrants are between 25 and 40 years old – versus 20% of all Americans Implications for the future? (Pop. pyramid?)

Is This What we Expect?

Migration Cartograph (Net migration < 0 and nation is shrunk to zero)

Historical Trends Between 1525 and 1866, 12.5 million Africans were shipped to the New World. 10.7 million survived This fundamentally shaped the destinies of North and South America Why Africans?

The Scots-Irish In America, over 200,000 Scots-Irish emigrated from Great Britain during the 1700’s They spread westward, seeking land until they encountered the natural barrier of the Appalachian Mountains

Germans and Irish In the 1840’s, large groups of Germans cane to America to escape political chaos at home The Irish came to escape oppression and mass starvation (potato blight) Both faced discrimination

Asian Immigrants in the West After the Gold Rush (1849), hundreds of thousands of Chinese emigrated to the United States (railroad work) They faced severe discrimination Only allowed to live in certain parts of the city (“Chinatown” ghettoes)

“Yellow Peril” racism

Eastern European Immigration Peaked from the 1870’s through the 1920’s Immigrants almost always settled in large Eastern cities Factories need cheap labor No laws to protect the poor (squalid conditions)