MigrationDay 24

MigrationMigration occurs when a group of people move from one region or country to another.

Migration occurs for a number of reasons. Since the dawn of human evolution, humans have migrated across continents in search of food, shelter, safety, and a hospitable climate.

During America’s period of Industrial Revolution (1800s) when numerous factories were built, many people migrated from rural areas to cities to work in the factories.

To escape Jim Crow laws (which promoted segregation and discrimination in the South) many black citizens migrated to the North in search of jobs and a better life. This was known as the Great Migration (1910-1930).

Historic Migrations

People still move for the reasons previously named, but new reasons for human migration have emerged, including job relocation, military conflict, natural disasters, and overpopulation.

Modern Day Migration

Push Factors and Pull FactorsAll reasons for migration or immigration can be

classified as either a push factor or a pull factor.

• A push factor involves a force which drives people away from a place. (ex. war)

•A pull factor involves a force which draws them to a new location. (ex. jobs)

Since the settlement of the 13 colonies, more and more people have continued to immigrate to the U.S. from other countries. As the country became more and more populated, people began to move further and further west insearch of more land on which to settle.

By the mid 1800s., the U.S. had adopted the idea of “Manifest Destiny” or the idea that America was destined to settle from the Atlantic to the Pacific.

The westward migration was due in part to overpopulation in the east. Is overpopulation a push factor or a pull factor?

OVERPOPULATION IS A PUSH FACTOR

Manifest Destiny

As you watch this video clip, try to determine whether this migration was the result of a push factor or a pull factor.

1:13

Push Factors Pull FactorsWar or political conflict (ex. Early Germanic tribes, Turks, Goths, etc. during Middle Ages)

Availability of natural resources (ex. Mesopotamia and Nile River Valley)

Natural disasters (ex. Following Hurricane Katrina)

Trade

Climate Changes (ex. Ice Age Employment opportunities (ex. for either jobs or wages)

Land that is no longer fertile (ex. Dust Bowl during the Great Depression)

Fertile land (ex. pioneers settling in the Great Plains of the U.S.)

Social Conflicts (ex. Former slaves migrating north after the Civil War to escape Jim Crow laws)

Freedom (ex. early colonists seeking freedom of religion)

Examples of Push and Pull Factors

Effects of Migration/Immigration•Cultural diffusion – spreading of one culture

into another•Cultural adaptation – giving up one’s cultural

practices and adopting the cultural practices of another (ex. language, dress, diet)•Competition for jobs – more workers

competing for jobs; can cause wages to go down (law of supply and demand)•Ethnic conflict (between native group and

émigrés)

Let’s Review

What is the approximate population of the United

States?A) 3 millionB) 30 millionC) 300 millionD) 3 billion

What term is used to describe the movement of a group of people from one region to

another?A) migrationB) immigrationC) population distributionD) population shift

Which of the following is an example of a push factor for migration?

A) WarB) TradeC) FreedomD) Land

Which of the following is an example of a

pull factor for migration?

A) Natural disasterB) Climate changeC) Infertile landD) Employment