U.S. history concepts · AP U.S. History
Great Migration
Great Migration: The movement of millions of African Americans from the rural South to cities in the North and West during the twentieth century.
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What it means
Beginning around World War I, Black Southerners left in large numbers to escape segregation, violence and limited economic opportunity, drawn by industrial jobs. The migration reshaped cities such as Chicago, Detroit and New York and fueled cultural movements like the Harlem Renaissance.
Migrants still faced discrimination in housing and employment, and racial tensions in northern cities sometimes erupted into violence.
Example
Chicago's Black population grew rapidly during and after World War I as migrants took jobs in meatpacking and steel.
On the exam
The Great Migration appears in Period 7 questions about migration, cultural change and the roots of the civil rights movement.
Lessons and practice questions
Related terms
- Jim Crow lawsState and local laws, mainly in the South from the late nineteenth century into the 1960s, that enforced racial segregation and disenfranchised Black Americans.
- CausationExplaining the causes and effects of historical developments, including their relative importance and short- and long-term consequences.