The Slow Drift North and West (Edexcel A-Level History): Revision Notes

The Slow Drift North and West

Introduction: The geography of black Americans at abolition

When slavery was abolished in 1865, the northern and western states of America were home to approximately 500,000 free black citizens. The vast majority of black Americans, however, remained in the South. Following the end of the Civil War, black Americans in the former Confederate states began to leave the region, seeking better lives in the North and West. This movement, however, was remarkably slow.

The scale and pace of migration, 1865-1917

Despite the migration that took place after 1865, the movement of black Americans out of the South remained limited for several decades. By 1910—a full 50 years after the Civil War—89 percent of black Americans still lived in the former Confederate states. Of these, 80 percent continued to live in rural areas. The cost of relocating proved prohibitive for many families, severely limiting the pace of migration.

This slow drift northward and westward marked the beginning of a longer process that would accelerate dramatically after the First World War. Between 1865 and 1917, the movement was characterised by individuals and families gradually seeking opportunities beyond the Old South, rather than a mass exodus.

Pre-Civil War context: Escape routes from slavery

Before the Civil War ended in 1865, some enslaved black Americans had managed to escape from bondage. They were aided by northern white Americans involved in the abolitionist movement—a campaign dedicated to ending slavery immediately and dismantling racial segregation and discrimination.

The abolitionist movement

In early 1831, William Lloyd Garrison in Boston began publishing a newspaper called the Liberator, which was supported largely by free black Americans who played a major role in the movement. By 1835, the movement had established hundreds of branches throughout the free states in the North. These branches distributed anti-slavery literature, sent agents to spread their message, and submitted petitions demanding that Congress withdraw all federal support for slavery. The movement received substantial moral and financial support from black American communities in the North.

The underground railroad

Escaping slavery before 1865 often involved travelling along what was known as the underground railroad. This dangerous journey required tremendous courage and relied on the assistance of people willing to risk their own safety to help others reach freedom.

Migration patterns and destinations after 1865

After slavery ended in 1865, the slow migration northward continued along similar routes. Black Americans tended to take the shortest route north from their homes in the South.

Key destinations

Northern cities became magnets for black migrants seeking better opportunities:

• Cincinnati: Located on the Ohio River, just north of the slave state of Kentucky, Cincinnati had 3,700 black Americans by 1877. Significantly, 70 percent of these residents had migrated from the South.

• Chicago: Attracted migrants from Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee. The South Side of Chicago became a distinctive black area.

• New York City: Drew migrants from the east coast states. Harlem in New York City developed into a distinctive black neighbourhood.

• Philadelphia, Detroit and Cleveland: All became popular destinations with sizeable black American communities by 1917.

Migration routes

The establishment of these migration routes created pathways that would be followed by many more migrants in subsequent decades, laying the groundwork for the larger movements to come.

Push factors: Why black Americans left the South

Several powerful factors pushed black Americans to leave the former Confederate states, despite the costs and difficulties involved.

Economic hardship

The South offered severely limited job opportunities for black Americans. Most remained trapped in low-paying agricultural work with little chance of advancement. This lack of economic opportunity drove many to seek better prospects elsewhere.

The boll weevil crisis

In 1914, a small insect called the boll weevil had a devastating effect on the cotton crop across the South. This agricultural disaster caused a major economic depression in the region, destroying livelihoods and pushing more black Americans to consider migration as a survival strategy.

Racial intimidation and violence

The KKK was temporarily suppressed by the federal government and went into decline following the end of Reconstruction in 1877, particularly after southern states introduced legal segregation. However, the organisation would be revived in 1915 and would continue to terrorise black Americans for decades.

Racial segregation laws

Southern state governments, dominated by white politicians, introduced racial segregation laws that enforced the separation of black and white Americans in public spaces, schools, transport and many aspects of daily life. These laws, combined with continued racial discrimination, made life in the South oppressive and limited opportunities for black Americans to improve their circumstances.

Pull factors: Why the North attracted black migrants

The North held powerful appeal for southern black Americans, despite the reality that racial prejudice existed there too.

The North as the 'promised land'

To many southern black Americans, the North represented freedom and opportunity—a 'promised land' where they could build better lives. This image was rooted in the North's role in ending slavery.

Abraham Lincoln's legacy

It was the northern president, Abraham Lincoln, who issued the Emancipation Proclamation that came into force on 1 January 1863, declaring enslaved people in Confederate states to be free. Lincoln also helped push through the Thirteenth Amendment to the US Constitution, which abolished slavery throughout the United States. This association between the North and liberation remained central in the minds of many southern black Americans, even decades after the Civil War ended.

Northern black newspapers

Northern black newspapers, such as the Chicago Defender, actively encouraged migration. They reinforced the image of the North as a land of opportunity by publishing advertisements from northern recruiters seeking workers for industrial jobs. These newspapers circulated in the South and provided migrants with information about opportunities and how to make the journey north.

Family networks

Family members who had already moved north played a crucial role in encouraging further migration. They wrote home to relatives in the South, highlighting the advantages of living and working in the North. These personal testimonies carried enormous weight and helped establish chain migration patterns, where families followed relatives who had already made the move.

Employment opportunities and employer incentives

Northern recruiters actively sought southern black American workers for several reasons:

• Black workers were often willing to work for lower wages than white workers
• Employers could use black workers as non-union labour to break strikes by white workers, as black Americans were forbidden from joining the vast majority of trade unions
• An example of this occurred during the 1911 strike on the Illinois Central Railroad, when black workers were brought in to replace striking white workers

While these employer motivations were exploitative, they nonetheless created employment opportunities that pulled black Americans northward.

Westward migration: The Kansas exodus of 1879

Migration was not solely a northward movement. In 1879, approximately 6,000 black Americans from the Old South migrated westward to Kansas, Missouri and Iowa. This movement was partly driven by an outbreak of yellow fever in the South, which added disease to the list of push factors.

This 1879 westward migration was a prelude to more extensive black American migration to the mid-western states that would occur in the early 20th century. It demonstrated that black Americans were willing to move in multiple directions to escape the oppressive conditions of the former Confederate states.

The impact of the First World War (1914)

In 1914, when the First World War broke out in Europe, the conflict had significant consequences for black American migration patterns. The war brought an abrupt halt to the flow of white European immigration across the Atlantic Ocean.

Historical interpretation: Combining push and pull factors

Historians emphasise that the slow migration north and west between 1865 and 1917 resulted from a combination of both push and pull factors working together. As life in the former southern slave states became more difficult—both economically and politically—migration to the North and West became increasingly attractive, despite the costs and challenges involved.

The movement was 'slow' because:

• Relocation was expensive and prohibitive for many black American families
• Most black Americans lived in rural poverty with limited resources
• Family and community ties kept people rooted in the South
• Fear of the unknown and attachment to familiar places held people back

However, the push factors (economic hardship, violence, segregation, agricultural disasters) gradually outweighed the pull of staying, while the pull factors (freedom, opportunity, family connections, employment) made the difficult decision to migrate more appealing over time.

Historical significance

This slow drift north and west between 1865 and 1917 was historically significant because:

• It began the process of transforming black Americans from a predominantly southern, rural population into a more geographically diverse, urban population
• It established migration routes and settlement patterns that would be followed during the Great Migration of 1915-1945
• It created distinctive black urban communities in northern cities like Harlem and the South Side of Chicago
• It demonstrated that black Americans would actively seek to improve their circumstances through migration when conditions became intolerable
• It shifted the geography of civil rights issues from being purely a southern concern to becoming a national issue