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Difficulty: MediumThe Great Migration and Demographic Shifts

The following is an excerpt from a municipal ordinance passed in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1916:

'Be it ordained by the City Council of Jacksonville, that any person, firm, or corporation who shall recruit, entice, or solicit laborers to leave this city for employment outside the State of Florida shall first pay a license tax of $1,000 to the City Treasurer...'

Which of the following best explains how this ordinance relates to the demographic shifts of the Great Migration?

  1. A
    It indicates that Southern authorities attempted to resolve regional push factors, such as sharecropping debt, by encouraging Black laborers to seek employment in Northern cities.
  2. B
    It shows that the migration was driven exclusively by Southern push factors like racial terror, since the ordinance does not mention Northern economic opportunities.
  3. It illustrates the Southern response to Northern pull factors, as local authorities sought to restrict the flow of information and job offers from Northern industrial recruiters to Black workers.Answer
  4. D
    It demonstrates that Northern industrial pull factors, such as higher wages, were ineffective at attracting Black laborers without direct coercion from Southern local governments.

Answer

The correct answer states that the ordinance illustrates the Southern response to Northern pull factors, as local authorities sought to restrict the flow of information and job offers from Northern industrial recruiters to Black workers.
The ordinance imposing a high tax on labor recruiters represents a direct effort by Southern authorities to disrupt Northern pull factors, specifically the active recruitment campaigns and job offers from Northern factories. Southern landowners and politicians feared losing their cheap agricultural labor force and sought to legally restrict Black workers' access to information and opportunities in the North.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the historical context of the 1916 Jacksonville ordinance, noting that it imposes a steep $1,000 tax on recruiters trying to get laborers to leave the state.
The ordinance represents an effort to penalize and prevent the activities of external labor agents.
Understanding the legislative intent helps determine which demographic forces are being reacted to.
2
Identify the drivers of the Great Migration, distinguishing between Southern push factors (like disenfranchisement and racial violence) and Northern pull factors (like industrial jobs and active recruitment by labor agents).
Northern industrial recruitment represents a key pull factor drawing Black laborers northward.
Categorizing the demographic drivers is necessary to evaluate the relationship between the ordinance and the migration.
3
Evaluate how the ordinance attempts to block Northern recruiters (a pull factor) from accessing Southern Black labor, reflecting the concern of Southern employers over losing their low-wage workforce.
The ordinance acts as a legal barrier against Northern pull factors.
This links the historical source directly to the correct understanding of push/pull dynamics.

Key Concept

The interplay of Southern push factors and Northern pull factors in driving the Great Migration, and the Southern white resistance to the loss of Black agricultural labor.
Estimated Time:1m 30s
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Topics

The Great Migration and Demographic Shifts

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