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Difficulty: EasyThe Great Migration and Demographic Shifts

Read the following excerpt from a Southern newspaper editorial in 1916:

'The departure of Negro laborers is a serious threat to our agricultural economy. They are being drawn away to northern cities by advertisements of high wages in the manufacturing plants and the promise of better schools for their children.'

Based on the excerpt, which of the following represents a northern pull factor that contributed to the Great Migration?

  1. The availability of industrial employment and educational opportunities in Northern citiesAnswer
  2. B
    The widespread destruction of Southern cotton crops by the boll weevil
  3. C
    The rise of racial violence and Jim Crow segregation in the rural South
  4. D
    The legal expansion of the sharecropping system in Midwestern states

Answer

The availability of industrial employment and educational opportunities in Northern cities
The correct answer is the option stating that industrial employment and educational opportunities in Northern cities served as pull factors. The editorial explicitly notes that migrants were 'drawn away' by high wages in manufacturing plants and the promise of better schools, which represent positive attractions (pull factors) in the destination region.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Read the editorial excerpt to identify the specific reasons listed for the departure of Black laborers.
The text states that laborers were drawn to the North by advertisements of high wages in manufacturing plants and the promise of better schools.
To locate evidence directly from the primary source stimulus.
2
Classify the identified reasons using demographic concepts.
Industrial wages and educational opportunities in the destination region (the North) represent pull factors, which are positive attractions that draw migrants to a new place.
To apply the distinction between push factors (negative Southern conditions) and pull factors (positive Northern attractions).
3
Match the analyzed pull factors with the given options.
The option describing industrial employment and educational opportunities in Northern cities matches the analysis.
To select the correct response based on the primary source and historical definitions.

Key Concept

Distinguishing push and pull factors in the Great Migration
Estimated Time:45s
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Topics

The Great Migration and Demographic Shifts

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