Demonstrating Their Freedom: The Post-Emancipation Migration of Black Americans

Why did newly freed slaves and their descendants wait a half century before migrating in large numbers to the superior economic opportunities in the North? Census lifetime migration data on both movers and stayers are examined intertemporally for both whites and blacks. Regression analysis reveals that before 1920 Southern blacks has a very strong affinity for the "Southern way of life." We hypothesize that changes in the relationship between actual and expected economic welfare over time lead to a decline in that affinity. Aside from regional affinity, black migrants responded strongly to economic stimuli, including wages, job opportunities, and information costs.

Keywords: migration, black migration, mobility, economic incentives to move, regional affinity

JEL Classification: J01, J11, J15, J61, J62, R11, R23

Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation

Vedder, Richard K. and Galloway, Lowell and Graves, Philip E. and Sexton, Robert L., Demonstrating Their Freedom: The Post-Emancipation Migration of Black Americans (1986). Research in Economic History, Vol. 10, pp. 213-239, 1986, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1920501