Why people move: push and pull factors on migration maps

Grade 7 Social Studies Worksheet

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   The Great Migration (cards A to E; summaries in our words). Card A, a history summary: about 6 million Black Americans moved from the rural South to cities in the Northeast, Midwest and West between 1910 and 1970. Around 1900 about 90 percent of Black Americans lived in the South; by the end of the migration just over half did. Outside the South, the Black population grew from 740,000 in 1900 (8 percent) to 10.6 million in 1970 (47 percent). Card B, causes in the South: Jim Crow laws and segregation, which kept Black families from equal schools, jobs and voting; and the boll weevil, an insect that devastated cotton crops in the Deep South. Card C, causes in the North: factories short of workers during World War I recruited workers from the South, and wages in the North could be more than twice Southern wages. About 1.2 million European immigrants arrived in 1914, but only about 300,000 in 1915. Card D, a newspaper: the Chicago Defender, a paper read mainly by Black readers, urged people to move north, described the North as a "promised land" and printed job listings and train schedules. It named May 15, 1917 the "Great Northern Drive," with a goal of at least 110,000 people moving to Chicago. Card E, city growth: Detroit's Black population grew from about 6,000 in 1910 to about 120,000 in 1929. Pittsburgh's grew from about 25,600 in 1910 to about 37,700 in 1920.

2. 1.

   Card A: outside the South, the Black population grew from 740,000 in 1900 to 10.6 million in 1970. About how many times as large was it, Bo asks?

   • About 14 times as large: 10.6 million divided by 740,000
   • About 9.9 times as large, since 10.6 minus 0.74 is about 9.9
   • About 74 times as large, since 740,000 is a larger number than 10.6
   • About 10 times as large, since 10.6 million is near 10 million
3. 2.

   Which statement best uses cards B and C, Jun asks?

   • Jobs in the North were the one cause, so the South did not matter
   • Low wages in the North drew workers there from the South
   • The migration caused the boll weevil and the Jim Crow laws
   • Pushes in the South and pulls in the North worked together
4. 3.

   Card D comes from a newspaper that urged people to move north. What should a reader keep in mind, Kira asks?

   • The paper was written by the factories, so it cannot be about readers
   • A newspaper reports facts, so each claim in it is settled
   • A newspaper with a view cannot be used as evidence of any kind
   • The paper wanted people to move, so it may stress opportunity
5. 4.

   A student says, "Card D proves 110,000 people moved to Chicago on May 15, 1917." Which reply is best, Luz asks?

   • Not supported: card D gives a goal of at least 110,000, not a count
   • Supported: a newspaper would not print a number that was not true
   • Supported: card D names the number 110,000 and the exact date of the drive
   • Not supported: a newspaper cannot say anything about moves
6. 5.

   Which pair of cards best supports the idea that jobs pulled people north, Milo asks?

   • Cards C and E: worker shortages and higher wages fit fast city growth
   • Cards D and B, since both describe the migration as a mistake by those who left
   • Cards B and A, since both mention the South and the people who left it
   • Cards A and D, since a count and a newspaper agree
7. 6.

   A young worker leaving the South and a relative who stays each think about the move. How might they differ, Noah asks?

   • The one staying would not know about the move, since news did not travel beyond the town
   • The one leaving may weigh wages and fewer limits; the one staying, family and land
   • The one leaving would not think about family, since young workers do not
   • They would weigh the same facts the same way, since they are related
8. 7.

   Card A: about 90 percent of Black Americans lived in the South around 1900, and just over half by 1970. About how many points did the share fall, Pia asks?

   • About 140 points, found by combining the two shares into one
   • About 4 points, since the shares are both around 50
   • About 90 points, since the South was 90 percent
   • About 40 points: from about 90 percent to just over 50
9. 8.

   Card E: Pittsburgh's Black population grew from about 25,600 in 1910 to about 37,700 in 1920. By about what percent, Ren asks?

   • About 47 percent, since 12,100 is about 47 percent of 25,600
   • About 68 percent, since 25,600 is 68 percent of 37,700
   • About 32 percent, since 12,100 divided by 37,700 is about 32 percent
   • About 12,100 percent, the gain in people
10. 9.

    Suppose a new card F is one family's letter saying they stayed in the South because they owned land. What does it add to card A, Tala asks?

    • It shows that few people left the South
    • It disproves card A, since one family stayed
    • It changes nothing, since a letter from one family is not evidence about the migration
    • It shows that choices varied, but one letter does not change the counts
11. 10.

    Why do historians list push factors with pull factors when explaining the Great Migration, Zee asks?

    • Pull factors alone explain the move, but pushes make the list longer
    • Pull factors are facts and push factors are just opinions
    • People weigh reasons to leave and reasons to go; one kind tells half the story
    • Push factors came after the move, so they explain how people felt about it later