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Question

Difficulty: MediumWestward Expansion: Economic and Social Development

"We have found a home in Kansas, where we are not under the yoke of the landlord, and where our labor is our own. In the South, we worked from sunrise to sunset, only to find ourselves deeper in debt at the end of the year under the sharecropping system. Here, we can own our own land, build our own homes, and educate our children without fear of violence. The government's promise of cheap land has given us a new start."
—Adapted from a letter by an African American migrant in Kansas, 1879

Which of the following was a primary contributor to the migration pattern described in the excerpt?

  1. A
    The passage of federal laws aimed at protecting Native American tribal sovereignty and territorial claims in the Great Plains.
  2. The desire of African Americans to escape post-Reconstruction racial oppression and achieve economic independence through land ownership.Answer
  3. C
    The complete success of Reconstruction policies in securing civil rights and agricultural land for formerly enslaved people in the South.
  4. D
    The strict application of laissez-faire principles by the federal government, which refused to subsidize or encourage western settlement.

Answer

The desire of African Americans to escape post-Reconstruction racial oppression and achieve economic independence through land ownership.
The correct answer is correct because it identifies the push and pull factors that drove the Exoduster migration. Following the end of Reconstruction, African Americans in the South faced disenfranchisement, racial terror, and economic subjugation under sharecropping. Kansas represented an opportunity for safety and self-sufficiency, aided by the availability of cheap land under the Homestead Act.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the historical context of the stimulus.
The excerpt is from 1879, written by an African American migrant in Kansas describing their escape from southern sharecropping and debt, and mentioning the government's promise of cheap land.
Understanding the perspective, time period, and group (Exodusters) is necessary to evaluate the factors behind their migration.
2
Evaluate the options against the historical realities of the post-Reconstruction South and Westward expansion.
Reconstruction had ended (1877), leaving southern blacks subject to Jim Crow laws and sharecropping. The West offered opportunities via the Homestead Act of 1862.
This connects the push factors (southern sharecropping and violence) with the pull factors (cheap western land) of the Exoduster migration.
3
Identify the option that accurately describes this historical process and rule out options containing common misconceptions.
The option stating that African Americans desired to escape post-Reconstruction oppression and achieve economic independence is correct. Other options incorrectly state that Reconstruction succeeded, that federal policy protected tribal sovereignty, or that the federal government adhered strictly to laissez-faire.
This confirms the correct option by matching historical evidence and identifying the specific errors in the distractors.

Key Concept

The Exoduster migration and the push/pull factors of westward expansion for African Americans.
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Topics

Westward Expansion: Economic and Social Development

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