The Great Migration
Several decades after the conclusion of the Civil War, the African American population continued growing in the southeast states. Reconstruction, the decade after the Civil War had seen the resurgence of white supremacy and the reestablishment of segregationist policies against the blacks in the south (History.com, 2015). The combination of white supremacy and segregating the blacks from the whites forced many blacks to remain on the plantations working for paltry wages and unforgiving owners. In the early twentieth century, unable to make significant headway economically by working in the fields or through sharecropping, the African-American population began moving out of the south. The movement from the south to the …show more content…
Arriving quickly without having to stop off and earn additional monies to continue the journey was a benefit to both the migrant and the railroad. Early train fares started at $ 0.02 per mile and continued rising to $ 0.24 per mile (Inmotionaame.org, n.d.). A 500 mile train trip would cost anywhere from $ 10.00 to $ 120.00. Wages in the south averaged $ 2.50 per day; therefore one would have to work 4 days and save every bit of that wage to make the trip north. Deciding to wait a year or two would require saving 48 days of wages to make the trip. The promise of increased wages was a deciding factor for many to migrate north. The same individual that earned $ 2.50 a day in the south would earn $ 4.25 a day in the north, roughly a 60% increase. Arriving in the north and securing a steady job resulted in a weekly salary of $ 25.00 for a laborer and $ 35.00 for a Pullman porter (Inmotionaame.org, n.d.). Although the wages were higher in the north than in the south, the higher cost of food, clothing, and housing together with inflation made making ends meet difficult. Inmotionaame.org (n.d.) continues this thought saying “The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated that $ 43.00 was the weekly income necessary for a family of five to maintain an average standard of living” (para.
Several decades after the conclusion of the Civil War, the African American population continued growing in the southeast states. Reconstruction, the decade after the Civil War had seen the resurgence of white supremacy and the reestablishment of segregationist policies against the blacks in the south (History.com, 2015). The combination of white supremacy and segregating the blacks from the whites forced many blacks to remain on the plantations working for paltry wages and unforgiving owners. In the early twentieth century, unable to make significant headway economically by working in the fields or through sharecropping, the African-American population began moving out of the south. The movement from the south to the …show more content…
Arriving quickly without having to stop off and earn additional monies to continue the journey was a benefit to both the migrant and the railroad. Early train fares started at $ 0.02 per mile and continued rising to $ 0.24 per mile (Inmotionaame.org, n.d.). A 500 mile train trip would cost anywhere from $ 10.00 to $ 120.00. Wages in the south averaged $ 2.50 per day; therefore one would have to work 4 days and save every bit of that wage to make the trip north. Deciding to wait a year or two would require saving 48 days of wages to make the trip. The promise of increased wages was a deciding factor for many to migrate north. The same individual that earned $ 2.50 a day in the south would earn $ 4.25 a day in the north, roughly a 60% increase. Arriving in the north and securing a steady job resulted in a weekly salary of $ 25.00 for a laborer and $ 35.00 for a Pullman porter (Inmotionaame.org, n.d.). Although the wages were higher in the north than in the south, the higher cost of food, clothing, and housing together with inflation made making ends meet difficult. Inmotionaame.org (n.d.) continues this thought saying “The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated that $ 43.00 was the weekly income necessary for a family of five to maintain an average standard of living” (para.