The Great Migration: why Black families moved north and what they found

Grade 11 Social Studies Worksheet - Building Confidence

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   Why families left the South, and how many moved (cards A to C). Card A, data from the US Census Bureau: the percent of all Black Americans who lived in the South, by census year: 1900, 90; 1910, 89; 1920, 85; 1930, 79; 1940, 77; 1950, 68; 1960, 60; 1970, 53 (rounded to whole percents). Card B, why families left, in our words: Black southerners left to escape Jim Crow laws, the loss of the vote and racial violence, and to find better pay, schools and freedom. In 1915 farm laborers in the South earned around 75 cents a day. When war broke out in Europe in 1914, immigration from Europe stopped and many white workers joined the military, so northern factories needed workers. Some factories sent labor agents south. The Chicago Defender, a Black newspaper started by Robert S. Abbott in 1905, printed notices of jobs and urged readers to come north. Card C, words for the migration, in our words: the Great Migration was the movement of about six million Black Americans out of the South to the North, the Midwest and the West, from the 1910s to the 1970s. A push factor is a reason that drives people away from a place. A pull factor is a reason that draws people to a new place. A restrictive covenant was a clause in a property deed that barred selling or renting a home to people of certain races.

2. 1.

   Which reading of card A is fair, Esme asks?

   • The share fell fastest from 1940 to 1950, so the movement outlasted the war
   • The share fell 37 points in total, so 37 percent of Black Americans left the South
   • The share fell fastest from 1920 to 1930, just after the war, so the war drove it
   • The share fell after 1910, so the war that began in 1914 started the movement
3. 2.

   A student says the fall in the South's share proves fewer Black Americans lived in the South. What is wrong with that, Jun asks?

   • A share can fall while the count rises, so card A cannot show how many left
   • The share fell just because people left, since no other change moves a share
   • A share cannot show where people lived, just how many of them moved
   • Nothing: a falling share means a falling count, since the total did not change
4. 3.

   A student says the war that began in 1914 alone explains the Great Migration. Which reply uses card A, Kira asks?

   • The share began to fall after 1910, so the war must have begun it
   • The share fell most from 1910 to 1920, which matches the war
   • The biggest fall, 1940 to 1950, came decades after the war began
   • The war's effect shows from 1920 to 1930, a 6-point fall that was strongest after it
5. 4.

   A student writes, "Black southerners left only to find better jobs." How strong is that claim given card B, Luz asks?

   • Weak: card B says families left for schools, not for work
   • Strong: card B puts pay first, and factory demand explains the timing
   • Strong: the movement grew when factories needed workers
   • Weak: card B names Jim Crow and the loss of the vote as well as pay
6. 5.

   Card C says about six million Black Americans left the South, from the 1910s to the 1970s. How should a reader take that number, Milo asks?

   • As the number who reached the North, since the card names where they went
   • As the number who left in the 1910s and 1920s, the first wave
   • As a net count, since a total across decades has to subtract returns
   • As a total across about sixty years, not the size of one wave
7. 6.

   Card C defines a restrictive covenant. Which of card B's hopes could a covenant limit most directly, Noah asks?

   • Factory jobs, since a covenant decided whom a factory would hire
   • Freedom, since it limited where a family could rent or buy a home
   • Better schools, since a covenant decided which school a child could use
   • Better pay, since a covenant set what a home cost
8. 7.

   Which question can cards A to C answer directly, Pia asks?

   • What share of Black Americans lived in the South in 1940
   • Whether the Defender caused families to leave, since its notices came before the moves
   • How many left the South in the 1940s, which the 1940 and 1950 shares give
   • Which state lost the most families, since the shares imply it
9. 8.

   Card B is a summary in our words. To learn why one migrant left, what would be better evidence, Ren asks?

   • A summary like card B, since historians read many letters to write it
   • A table of shares by census year, since it shows who moved
   • A letter or diary written by that migrant at the time
   • The six million total, since it covers each migrant's reasons
10. 9.

    Card B says many white workers joined the military in 1914 and after. How does that help explain the pull of northern factories, Tala asks?

    • It meant northern employers had chosen to hire Black workers, so labor agents followed
    • It left jobs open, and European immigration had stopped as well
    • It was the sole reason factories needed workers
    • It meant immigrants were hired in their place, so factories needed fewer Black workers
11. 10.

    Which conclusion do cards A to C support best, Zee asks?

    • The movement was small, since 53 percent still lived in the South in 1970
    • A large movement lasted decades, with reasons the cards do not rank
    • Pay drove it, since pay is the one reason card B measures at 75 cents a day
    • The movement was over by 1920, since the share fell just 4 points in the 1910s