3.1 geography of civil rights

• despite the fact that slavery had been abolished in 1865 the establishment of the kkk and the rise of violence against black americans caused a northward movement of black americans
• as black people who had moved north wrote home to their familys a highlighting the benifits of living in the north. this caused a slow drift north
• as a result of the movement north northern cities like new york and chicago developed black communities
• many black americans could not afford to move north. even with efforts to raise funds through sharecropping black americans still held too much debt to make the move. this meant that by 1910 89% of black americans still lived in the south meaning that 1865 cant be seen as a turning point
• the first world war meant that there was an increase in demand for workers in the north causing a pull of black americans northward
• between 1916 400k black americans moved north to work in the factories to fufill war demands
• the first world war can be seen as the most significant turning point as it actually created the jobs in the north that allowed the move to be fiesable
• there was a move back to the old south in the 1960's and 1970's as a result of a decline of industry in the orth
• the pull back of americans to the south was increased due to the role of the family as 2/3rds of black americans who returned to the south returned to the birth place of their parents
• the move back was a significant turning point as it shows a change in the pattern of migration. however, due to the fact that 40% of black americans remained in the north this cant be seen as the most important turning point
• black americans experienced poor living conditions in the south due to the lingering racism as well as the crop failure in the south
• lack of jobs, racial intimidation, introduction of segregation and economic depression of 1914 caused by the boll weevil pushed black Americans to slowly drift west 1865-1917
• by 1865 there were already 1/2 million free black Americans in the north and west
• by 1917 89% of black Americans still lived in the former confederacy with 80% of these people living in rural areas
• the northern city of Cincinnati had 3,700 black Americans by 1877
• by 1917 New York, boson, and philidelphia all had sizeable black American population
• for many the north seemed like the promised land - the northern president Lincoln had passed the emancipation proclamation and the 13th amendment
• northern black newspapers reenforced the idea of the promised land with adverts
• northern recruiters saw black Americans as a pool of lower wage workers who could be used to break strikes held by white workers
• the outbreak of the First World War in 1914 brought a halt to white immigration creating a labour shortage and unemployment opportunities for black americans
• 1.6 black Americans left the south east in the great migration in order to live in northern cities
• in 1910 7 of the 8 million black Americans in the south lived in the cotton belt
• by 1925 nearly 1 million black Americans voluntarily moved noth
• black American population in northern states increased by 40% from 1910-30
• 400,000 black Americans left the old south from 1916-1918 in order to take advantage of the opportunities created by ww1
• it was true that better wages could be achieved in the north: a black man could earn $5 per day on a car assembly line or $2 a week as a sharecropper
• there was an economic boom in the 1920's caused by ww1 and a booming car industry
• Detroit became care manufacturing capitol of the world and the black population of Detroit rose form 6000 in 1910 to 120k in 1930
• agricultural industry suffered in the 1920's with demand from Europe falling as a result of the war
• the period 1929-41 saw the US fall into economic depression followed by a period of economic recovery known as the new deal
• in the new deal federal agencies created jobs and black Americans benefited from this
• WPA, CCC, and NYA allocated 10% of their budgets to black Americans (black Americans made up 10% of the population but 20% of the poor)
• the rise of the southern democrats meant that most black Americans were denied social security and excluded from unions
• the southern cotton industry slumped in 1914 as a result of the boll weevil who destroyed cotton crop
• the end of ww1 caused a fall in prices damaging agriculture: cotton fell rom 42 cents in 1920, to 10 cents in 1921, to 5 cents in 1932 causing poverty
• from 1890-1914 white dominated southern state governments introduced many laws to deny black Americans civil rights
• the 15th amendment gave black Americans the right to vote but poll tax, violence, and literacy tests damaged their access to this
• World War Two caused a change in pattern of migration with black Americans moving west to work in war industry such as aircraft manufacturing and shipping
• ww2 created 17 million new jobs
• average wages rose by 30% during ww2