The Exoduster Movement (1879)

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Created by
Ben Harper

Cards (12)

  • After the Civil War there was lots of racism towards black people in the South
  • Many white people couldn't accept that slavery had ended
  • As a result, some black people moved to the West
  • Benjamin Singleton

    A former slave who helped hundreds of black people move to Kansas after he settled there in 1873
  • 40,000 people set off west after a rumour went round that the whole of Kansas had been given to ex-slaves to settle

    1879
  • Exodusters

    The people who took part in this large-scale migration
  • Why did the Exodusters migrate to the West?
    • Important individuals such as Benjamin Singleton and Henry Adams, who encouraged migration.
    • Better jobs in the West and the chance to build a new life.
    • Kansas had a reputation as an anti-slavery state.
    • The Homestead Act pulled people to the West with the promise of free land.
    • The Biblical story of the Exodus meant some migrants had faith in God to help them.
  • The Exodusters in Kansas were better off than they had been in the South, but were poorer than the white settlers. The movement ended as those in the South gradually heard about the reality in Kansas. After 1889 some black Americans moved out of Kansas in a second smaller wave of migration.
  • The impact of the Exoduster movement on the west:
    By 1880 there were over 40,000 black Americans in Kansas. Some new settlements were founded by black Americans.
  • The impact of the Exoduster movement on Black settlers:
    Black migrants were left with the poorest land because the best bits had already been taken. Many couldn’t afford the admin fee for claiming their homestead.
  • The impact of the Exoduster movement on Kansas government:
    The Kansas government set up an association to help black migrants suffering from yellow fever, and gave a small amount of temporary funding to get them started.
  • The impact of the Exoduster movement on white settlers:
    Most white settlers thought that the black migrants should go back to the South, and shouldn’t get any government help.