Analysis: The Great Human Migration

The progression of people into and within the United States has had an essential impact on the nation, both intentionally and unintentionally. Progressions such as The Great Migration and the Second Great Migration are examples of movements that impacted the United States greatly. During these movements, African Americans migrated to flee racism and prejudice in the South, as well as to inquire jobs in industrial cities. They were unable to escape racism, but they were able to infuse their culture into American society. During the twentieth century, economic and political problems led to movements such as The Great Migration and The Second Great Migration which impacted the United States significantly.

The Great Migration was a massive movement of African Americans from the South to the North from 1863 to 1960. The largest spike in this migration occurred from about 1910 to 1920.

Without The Great Migration, or the migration of African Americans from 1915 to 1970 from the south to the north, the north would have suffered economically (Wilkerson 8). Specifically, without the Great Migration, the north would have faced extensive job shortages, that would have eventually led to economic turmoil. One cause of The Great Migration was the need for southern African Americans to take industrial jobs in the north. Furthermore, during times of war, many men were removed from the workforce, meaning that the north needed additional workers to fill the now vacated spots. (The Great) The north needed the southern African Americans in order to fill these slots, and without them, the north’s economy would have suffered

The Great Migration brought about a massive redistribution of the African American population throughout the United States. It transformed black ways of life, art, and institutions, as well as the demographics and cultures of many American cities.

In the years 1910-1970 our country saw one of the largest population shifts in history. More than 6 million African Americans trying to escape segregation laws and poor economic opportunities fled the South in hopes of finding a better way of life in the North, Midwest, and West. This would later been called The Great Migration.

Between 1700 CE and 1900 CE, the world saw radical growth and change. New inventions, technologies and innovations led to major shifts in power and new societies emerged. A common theme between these two dates is the migration of peoples for a variety of reasons. Some left their homelands due to push factors, like famine, war and disease. Some left due to pull factors, like economic prosperity, religious tolerance and freedom. From 1700 CE to 1900 CE, global migration experienced a continuity in long distance migration to the Americas as a result of a need for labor. Although there is a continuity, there are major changes in the push and pull factors for migration such as like the Irish Potato Famine and the migration of immigrants into Australia due to the promise of economic prosperity.

Tory Grizzle Williams History 2a 21 May 2018 Great Migration The progression of people into and within the US has had an affect on the nation. Progressions such as the Great Migration is an example of a movement that has greatly impacted the US.

During the twentieth century more than six million African Americans migrated from rural communities in the South to large cities in the North and West. One of the major causes of this widespread movement was for African Americans to escape the segregation policies known as the Jim Crow laws, racism, and to seek better civil and economic opportunities. They migrated to the northern and western big cities because employment agents in the North and Midwest began enticing African-American men and women to migrate north by offering to paying for their travel expenses. The high demand for workers, higher pay, better education and better housing options in the North sounded very appeasing to many African-Americans since their current living conditions in the south were horrendous, and millions obliged to what they hoped was “a journey into freedom”.

In 1843, farmers from Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee and Ohio, who were not satisfied by the future their homes could offer them, decided to leave on a 2000-mile journey to Oregon in hope of finding better lives . In 1845, a few years after "The Great Migration of 1843", fur trapper and guide Stephen Meek, mislead a group of emigrants following the Oregon trail from Missouri to the Willamette Valley, to a shortcut that put many of their lives at stake. Based on this true story, Kelly Reichardt’s Meek’s Cutoff (2010) uses its mise-en-scène, cinematography and other formal properties to generate meaning about themes represented in this event such as trust, survival, and women’s role in a patriarchal society. The demonstration of this type of society is shown in the film by the use of the women’s point of view, which will be analysed using a simple chosen excerpt. In the selected scene, the women’s muteness and passiveness can be clearly identified by multiple elements of formal features such as the point of view shot and edit of sound.

The Great Migration brought about changes that would bring prosperity to most, but little did they know, it would come with a price. That price was endured through various social, economic, and political challenges that occurred during this harsh time in black history. Many opportunities were available for families that would travel far to take advantage of opportunities that would start a new beginning. The Great Migration was a movement of hope that there is a land that is free of oppression and strife. However, black families in the north faced issues that were troubling and contradicting to their belief of the north. Their thoughts of living racism free and gaining economic power was far fetch when they experienced the challenges of the north. The challenges blacks faced during the Great Migration paved the way for numerous opportunities and breakthroughs we have experienced and have not experienced today.

Between 1910 and 1970, a mass number of African Americans moved from the rural southern states of america larger urban cities like Chicago, New York, Philadelphia and Detroit. Historically this is known as ‘The Great Migration’, which proved to be an important factor in the development of African American music, art and culture. When the migrants left their homes the south in search of a better life, they left behind the threat of lynching, discrimination, segregation, denied human rights and lack of employment. They brought a culture constructed out of their own experiences of discrimination in the south, these cultural navigations gave birth to Jazz, America’s first authentic art form. An evolution of negro spirituals and work songs, ‘The

Currently, there is a dichotomy among archaeologists concerning the origin of modern humans. One main argument places emphasis on multi regional expansion of humans in which anatomically modern humans arose in multiple regions around the world. Another proposes that modern humans originated strictly from Africa before migrating to the rest of the world. While both theories have merit, archaeological evidence is in support of the Out of Africa model.

The Great Migration commenced between the mid eighteenth century and the nineteenth century and it involved the movement of six million African Americans from the rural Southern United States to the Urban West, Midwest and Northeast. Migration from one place to another can be voluntary or involuntary. Voluntary migration arises when individuals move from one place to another in search for greener pastures. Conversely, involuntary migration mostly arises as a result of acts of God such as floods, fire, landslides and famine among others. This research paper will focus on the history of the Great Migration and the significance of this migration on urbanization.

When the Great Migration began to sweep across America, Mississippi was one of the states that suffered the most losses of black citizens. The economy, while no longer being based off of slavery, still ran on the cheap labor of black people and the financial benefits that came with treating a large portion of the population as second-class citizens. For this reason, the government of Mississippi struggled to prevent African Americans from leaving the state, both by brute force and by law.

According to physical evidence, and theories, scholars have concluded upon a whole hypothesis. Based on their knowledge and belief, modern humans diverged from Homo sapiens between 200,000 and 150,000 years ago specifically in Africa, that between 125,000 and 60,000 years ago members of Homo sapiens left Africa, and that these