Looking at How People Moved in America — 1920 to 1950

What Is This About?

This activity is about maps. The maps show where people lived in America a long time ago. We will look at three time periods:

• 1920–1930 — after a time called the Progressive Era
• 1930–1940 — during the Great Depression (a time when many people did not have jobs or money)
• 1940–1950 — during World War II

We will find out why people moved to new places during these times. We will also look at a newer map, from 2000–2010, to see how people move today.

What You Will Learn

• How to read and compare maps that show where people lived
• How big events in history made people move from place to place
• How people are still moving to new places today

Some Important Words

• Geographic mobility — this means people moving from one place to another
• Population density — this means how many people live in one small area, like one county

Tools You Will Use

You will use two map tools on a computer:

1. A map called "Before and After 1940: Change in Population Density"
2. A map called "Population Change by Decade, 1910–2010"

Let's Look at the Maps

Step 1: Look at 1920–1930.
Look at the first map. In your own words, tell what happened to population density during this time.
Example answer: Counties in the northeast had some of the biggest increases in people living there.

Step 2: Where did fewer people live?
Which parts of the country had fewer people, and which parts stayed mostly the same?
Example answer: Some parts of the South, like Georgia, and some places on the East Coast had fewer people. The northwest part of the country did not change much.

Many people moved from the countryside to cities during this time.

Step 3: Why did this happen?
Farms started using more machines instead of workers. Because of this, many people — including many African-American workers — moved from farms in the South to cities in the North and West to find jobs.

Step 4: Look at 1930–1940.
Now look at the second map. What changed this time? Was it different from before?
Example answer: This time, fewer people lived in the Great Plains, instead of the South and East.

Step 5: Why did this happen?
A few big things caused this:

• The Dust Bowl (huge dust storms) pushed people out of Texas and the Great Plains. Many moved to California and big cities.
• A bug called the boll weevil ruined cotton crops. This made farmers lose their farms, so they moved to cities to find work.
• The government started new programs (called the New Deal) to build things like the Hoover Dam. These programs gave people jobs, so people moved to where the jobs were.

Step 6: Look at 1940–1950.
Now look at the third map. Did people move more or less than before? Why do you think that happened?
Example answer: More people moved during this time. Many counties in the Northeast, Midwest, and West Coast had more people. This might be because people left the countryside to live in busier, bigger areas.

Step 7: Why did this happen?
This was during World War II. People moved to work in factories that made supplies for the war. Many women moved to take jobs that men used to have, since the men had gone to fight in the war.

Think About It

Step 8: Looking at all three time periods, what made people leave an area? What made people want to move to a new area?
Example answer: People left because farms needed fewer workers and times were hard. People moved to new places because of war jobs and growing factories.

Step 9: Now look at the newer map, "Population Change by Decade, 1910–2010." Press play and watch people move over time. What do you notice about 2000–2010?
Example answer: More people moved to the West and South.

Step 10: Based on what you saw, what do you think will happen to where people live 5 years from now? Write your own idea!