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Difficulty: MediumWorld War I: Mobilization and the Home Front

Read the excerpt below and answer the question that follows.

"Dear Sirs: I am writing you to let you know that I am a reader of the Chicago Defender and I am looking for a job in the North. I would like to get a position in some of the factories or on the railroads. The conditions here are very bad for our people. We have to work for almost nothing and we have no rights. If you can help me get a ticket to come North, I will pay it back out of my wages. I am a strong, sober man and willing to work at any honest labor."
— Letter from an African American laborer in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, to the *Chicago Defender*, May 1917

The migration of African Americans out of the South, as described in the letter, was most directly driven by which of the following factors during World War I?

  1. A
    A desire to support a national return to absolute isolationism and economic self-sufficiency.
  2. B
    The federal government's commitment to laissez-faire policies that deregulated Northern labor markets.
  3. The availability of industrial jobs in Northern cities created by wartime production needs.Answer
  4. D
    Social disruptions caused by military mobilization following the sinking of the USS Maine.

Answer

The availability of industrial jobs in Northern cities created by wartime production needs.
The availability of industrial jobs in Northern cities created by wartime production needs is correct because the expansion of industrial manufacturing to support the Allied war effort, coupled with the halt in European immigration, generated millions of manufacturing jobs in the North. This served as the major economic pull factor that launched the Great Migration of African Americans from the rural South.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the historical context of the letter.
The letter was written in May 1917, immediately following the United States' entry into World War I, highlighting a Southern African American laborer seeking employment in Northern factories.
This establishes the timeline of World War I mobilization and the beginning of the Great Migration.
2
Identify the primary economic pull factors during this period.
Wartime industrial expansion and the decline of European immigration created a severe labor shortage in Northern industrial cities.
This explains the strong economic incentives prompting Southern laborers to move North.
3
Select the option that matches these historical developments.
The option identifying wartime industrial job opportunities in Northern cities is correct, while other options refer to incorrect time periods or inaccurate economic philosophies.
This links the push/pull factors of the Great Migration directly to World War I mobilization.

Key Concept

World War I: Mobilization and the Home Front
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Topics

World War I: Mobilization and the Home Front

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