GEOGRAPHIC MOBILITY IN THE UNITED STATES — 1920–1950

TEACHER VERSION

Subject Level: High School History
Grade Level: 9–10
Time Needed: 45–60 minutes

What Students Will Learn:

• Students will look at maps that show how crowded different parts of the U.S. were in the early 1900s, and compare three different time periods.
• Students will figure out how big events during these times changed where people lived and how easily they could move.
• Students will look at newer information to see how people have moved around more recently.

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GEOGRAPHIC MOBILITY IN THE UNITED STATES — 1920–1950

TEACHER VERSION

What Students Will Do

Students will look at maps to see how population density (the number of people living in a certain area) changed in the United States over three time periods: 1920–1930 (right after the Progressive Era), 1930–1940 (the Great Depression), and 1940–1950 (World War II). Then, students will figure out what happened during each time period that probably caused people to move. Students will also look at a map from 2000–2010 to see how people have moved more recently.

Suggested Grade Level: 9–10
Time Needed: 45–60 minutes

What Students Will Learn:

• Students will study, compare, and understand maps that show U.S. population density during three periods in the early 1900s.
• Students will understand how events during these three periods changed the way people moved from place to place.
• Students will learn about newer patterns in how people move.

Topics Covered:

• Ways to show information in pictures and charts
• Moving from place to place
• The Great Depression
• Migration (moving to a new place to live)
• Population density
• The time right after the Progressive Era
• World War II

Skills Students Will Practice:

• Noticing how things change over time
• Comparing and finding differences
• Making guesses about what might happen next
• Reading and understanding maps

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Materials Needed

• The student version of this activity (3 pages)
• A computer with internet for each student

A teacher computer with internet and a projector is optional, in case the teacher wants to show the websites to the whole class.

Activity Tools

This activity uses these two online tools:

• Before and After 1940: Change in Population Density — www.census.gov/dataviz/visualizations/010
• Population Change by Decade, 1910–2010 — www.census.gov/dataviz/visualizations/049

For more background on the U.S. Census Bureau, teachers can read "Census Bureau 101 for Students" and hand it out to the class.

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Teacher Notes

Before the Activity

Students need to know these important words:

• Geographic mobility – how easily people can move from one place to another
• Population density – the number of people living in a certain area

Students should already know a little bit about:

• The changes in jobs, government, and everyday life that happened in the U.S. during the time after the Progressive Era, the Great Depression, and World War II

During the Activity

Teachers should walk around and check on students as they work.

After the Activity

Teachers should pick (or have students pick) an article where the writer argues that some particular reason is affecting where Americans live now, or where they might live in the future. One idea is a 2016 NPR article called "Do Americans Really Move To Canada Because Of Politics?"

Then teachers should ask students:

• What does the writer say or predict about where people will live? What could this mean for the future of the United States?
• According to the article, what reasons — including things that happened in the past — affect where people live now or in the future?
• Do you agree with the writer? Use what you learned in this activity to explain your answer, and compare it to the population changes that happened during the Progressive Era, the Great Depression, or World War II.

As a class, students should talk about what they learned. Teachers can ask:

• What did you learn?
• What are you still curious about?
• Why was this activity important? Why does this information matter?

Extra Idea

Teachers could have students read a part of, or watch a clip from, the book The Grapes of Wrath, which shows how people moved from place to place during the Great Depression.

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Student Activity

What You Will Learn:

• I will study, compare, and understand maps of U.S. population density from three periods in the early 1900s.
• I will understand how events during these three periods changed how people moved from place to place.
• I will learn about newer patterns in how people move.

1. Go to the "Before and After 1940: Change in Population Density" tool. This tool shows how crowded each county became or how empty it got, every ten years. Look at the 1920–1930 map. In your own words, describe the patterns you see in population density.

Sample answer: Counties in the northeastern states had some of the biggest increases in how crowded they became.

2. Which parts of the U.S. became less crowded, and which parts barely changed at all?

Sample answer: Some southern areas, near Georgia, and some spots on the East Coast became less crowded. The northwestern part of the country didn't change much.

(Teachers can point out that during this ten-year period, mostly country, or rural, areas became less crowded — because people were moving into cities.)

3. How could more factories and machines (called industrialization) explain the changes in population you just found?

As farming started using more machines instead of workers, many people who used to work on farms — including many African-Americans — moved from the South to the North and West to find jobs. These workers moved to northern cities to take advantage of new factory jobs.

4. Now look at the 1930–1940 map. Describe the patterns in your own words. Were they different from the 1920–1930 map?

Sample answer: The patterns changed — now the Great Plains became less crowded, instead of the South and East.

5. How might farming problems and money troubles have caused these population changes between 1930 and 1940?

Sample answer: During this time, the Dust Bowl (a period of terrible dust storms and ruined farmland) forced people to leave places from Texas all the way through the Great Plains. Many moved to places like California or to big cities. A crop-killing insect called the boll weevil also ruined farms, forcing farmers and sharecroppers to move to cities for work. Also, government programs from the New Deal — like building the Hoover Dam and starting the Civilian Conservation Corps — created jobs that made people move to find work.

6. Now look at the 1940–1950 map. Describe the patterns. Are they different from the other two maps? Why do you think that happened?

Sample answer: There was more movement during this ten-year period than in the other two. Many counties in the Northeast, Midwest, and along the West Coast became more crowded. This might be because people were leaving country areas and moving to busier, more crowded cities in the Northeast and Midwest.

7. How did preparing for war affect where people lived between 1940 and 1950?

Sample answer: During World War II, people moved to work in factories that made war supplies. Many women moved to new places to take jobs that men used to have, since the men were away fighting overseas.

8. Looking at all three time periods, what were the main reasons pushing people away from certain areas (push factors) and pulling people toward other areas (pull factors)?

Sample answer: Main push factors were tough times for farming and more machines replacing farm workers. Main pull factors were the need for war workers and growing factory jobs.

9. Now go to the "Population Change by Decade, 1910–2010" tool. Press play and watch how the population moved over the years. What patterns do you notice from 2000 to 2010?

Sample answer: The U.S. population moved toward the West and South.

10. Based on the patterns you saw, what changes in population do you think might happen five years from now?

Answers will vary — this is your own prediction!