1. The Great Migration Lesson starter:
What were the reasons for many Black Americans moving North after the Civil War?

2. Today we will…
Understand why even more Black Americans moved North during the 20th century

3. Background…
After the abolition of slavery in 1865,many Black Americans moved North to escape the racist attitudes and discrimination of the South

4. The Great Migration
This refers to the years between 1920 and 1925 where around half a million Black people moved north
This happened again in the 1940s
By 1960, six million Southern Blacks were in the North (1/3 of Black Americans)
Can you think why?

5. Why did they move North?
Lots of factory work available during both world wars
More work available in general
No Jim Crow Laws in North
No segregation in North (i.e. schools)
Higher wages in the North
Little or no KKK presence/ lynchings in North

6. Problems of the Great Migration
Chicago, 1919
Competition over jobs
Competition over housing
Race riots due to tensions – white police usually sided with whites
There was still much racism in the North – but it was a better life compared to the South
Discrimination from WASPs
Black Americans had lowest paid jobs and lived in ghettos

7. Model Answer – 2009 q1 What problems did many Black Americans face in the North?
Black Americans still had many problems in the North such as only being offered low paid jobs. This forced them into cheap, poor quality housing. Eventually ghettos developed which were full of crime and social problems. WASPs still looked down upon Blacks in the North and treated them like second class citizens. Race riots even broke out in some cities like Chicago due to the tensions between Blacks and Whites.