"Dear Sir: ... I am writing you to let you know that I am still in the notion of coming north. ... I want to get a job in some of the large factories or steel mills. I am a helper and can do almost any kind of hard work. The war has made it so there are many openings for our people, and we want to escape the poor treatment and low wages here in the South."
— Letter from an African American migrant in Alabama to the Chicago Defender, 1917
Based on the letter, which of the following was a primary factor driving the demographic shift described by the author during World War I?
- AA desire to protest the war due to absolute US isolationism and neutrality in European affairs
- The expansion of industrial job opportunities in northern cities due to wartime productionAnswer
- CThe creation of federal New Deal programs that guaranteed employment for southern agricultural workers
- DThe outbreak of the Spanish-American War following the sinking of the Lusitania
Answer
The expansion of industrial job opportunities in northern cities due to wartime production
The correct answer is correct because wartime mobilization during World War I created a severe labor shortage in Northern industrial cities, leading to a massive expansion of factory and steel mill job opportunities. This demand drew hundreds of thousands of African Americans from the rural South to the urban North in search of economic opportunity and an escape from Jim Crow segregation, a movement known as the Great Migration.
Step-by-Step Solution
Key Concept
The Great Migration during World War I