The African American “Great Migration” and New European Immigration
About this episode
This episode explores the migration of African Americans and European immigrants to urban America, highlighting the challenges they faced and the factors influencing their movements.
For both African Americans migrating from the postwar South and immigrants arriving from southeastern Europe, a combination of “push” and “pull” factors influenced their migration to America’s urban centers. African Americans moved away from the racial violence and limited opportunities that existed in the rural South, seeking wages and steady work, as well as the opportunity to vote safely as free men; however, they quickly learned that racial discrimination and violence were not limited to the South. For European immigrants, famine and persecution led them to seek a new life in the United States, where, the stories said, the streets were paved in gold. Of course, in northeastern and midwestern cities, both groups found a more challenging welcome than they had anticipated. City residents blamed recent arrivals for the ills of the cities, from overcrowding to a rise in crime. Activist groups pushed for anti-immigration legislation, seeking to limit the waves of immigrants that sought a better future in the United States. All images referenced in this podcast can be found at…
People in this episode
Host: Miranda Casturo
Topics covered
- Great Migration
- European Immigration
- Racial Discrimination
- Urban Centers
- Push and Pull Factors
- Postwar South
- Immigration Legislation
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: OpenStax
Books & works: A Journey into Human History
Places: America, South, United States, northeastern and midwestern cities
More episodes of A Journey into Human History
- Political Corruption in Postbellum America
- Relief from the Chaos of Urban Life
- Urbanization and Its Challenges
- A New American Consumer Culture
- Building Industrial America on the Backs of Labor
- From Invention to Industrial Growth
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