Primary source material with lesson and classroom activities in which students analyze the causes and effects of the African American Great Migration to Chicago between 1915 and 1950.

This collection uses primary sources to explore the Great Migration of African Americans to the Northern and Midwestern states in the early 1900s. Set includes an overview, primary sources, links to related resources, and a teaching guide.

These seven letters to the Chicago "Defender," a black newspaper, offer accounts from individuals who chose to leave the South from 1916-1921 in search of better opportunities as a part of what is now known as the Great Migration.

Read about the reasons for the Great Migration of African Americans from the Deep Sourth to northern cities in the first few decades of the 20th century. After the Great Depression, the migration numbers increased again. Find out what...

[Free Registration/Login Required] Using primary sources, students will form their own conclusions as to why African-Americans moved north in large numbers during the early 1900's. Included in this lesson plan is a PowerPoint to use for...

The resources here, including letters, photographs, official documents, and maps, represent the exodus of African Americans from the South to the Great Plains in the late 1800s.

A comprehensive overview with many interesting facts and information about the movement of African Americans from the southern farmlands to the northern cities.

At the online home of the Winthrop Society find information on the early settlers of Massachusetts, the ships that brought them to America, the documents that the colonists lived by, and the Great Migration of Puritans to the New World.

A good look at the role of the church and religion in the history of African Americans. Find out the church's importance in the abolition movement and the civil rights movement.

This scholarly paper investigates the treatment of the federal government, sometimes ambivalent, sometimes hostile, during the presidential terms of Woodrow Wilson. See how Wilson's need for industrial workers and soldiers in the time...

Read about the shameful events and carnage in the targeting of African Americans in the East St. Louis Riot in 1917. This was truly a black mark in race relations in the United States.

An analysis of the reasons why blacks moved north around the time of World War I. An article by Emmett J. Scott (1873-1957), who for a time served as Booker T. Washington's personal secretary, is linked to this resource.

The journal kept by John Donelson during the journey by boats down the Tennessee River in 1779-80 is one of the great records of American migration. The most dramatic day of the journey was Wednesday, March 8, a day in which Donelson's...

A look at the migration of the African American people. The site includes images, texts, maps, and timeline.

The story of how Plymouth Colony came to be. Looks at the Puritan movement with its roots in England, the sailing of the Mayflower, and the progress of the settlers in their first years in New England. Describes their first encounters...

Read about the discoveries of the Spirit Lake Man and Wizard's Beach Man.

Tens of millions of years ago, plate tectonics set North and South America on an unavoidable collision course that would change the face of the Earth and spell life or death for thousands of species. Juan D. Carrillo explains the massive...

The Library of Congress surveys the migration of African Americans to out of the South after the Civil War. Features include statistics, maps, and reasons for the migration.

World War I brought turmoil to Chicago because of its large immigrant population, especially Germans. Read about how the war affected the politics and industry of Chicago both during and after the war.

This chapter from a book about East St. Louis relates the horror of the East St. Louis Massacre where maurading whites fired on African Americans and torched their homes. Read about the aftermath of the massacre and what happened to...

This lesson for high school students explores the race riot in Chicago in the summer of 1919. Students are asked to explain the reasons for the riot and address the questions in the lesson. Included are excerpts from 26 primary source...

An analysis of the 1919 Chicago race riot and a description of African American life in Chicago. One analysis is provided by Charles Johnson, editor of the Urban League's magazine Opportunity, describing the problems that beset black...

Provides an overview of the traditional culture and lifestyle of Croatian Americans. (Note: Content is not the most current.)

This article from the University of Illinois covers the work of Carl Sandburg as a reporter in Chicago during the riots of 1919.