This program is based on an oral history conducted by the New Jersey Multi-Ethnic Oral History Project. The subject is a black woman who moved with her family from South Carolina to New Jersey in the 1920's when she was eight years old. The setting is the "Field to Factory" exhibit at the National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D. C. This popular exhibit chronicles the black migration from the South to the North from 1915 to 1940. An actress portrays this woman. As she moves throughout the exhibit, she tells of her experiences.
BACKGROUND: Emigration has always played a pivotal role in history in the United States. The industrial North relied heavily on immigrants for its labor force. For many years Irish, Germans, Italians, and Eastern Europeans filled this need. The advent of World War I severely limited the flow of these immigrants. The industrial North began to look to the South, especially for Negro labor. Segregation and other "Jim Crow" Laws limited their opportunities socially, politically and economically. The boll weevil and the ensuing agricultural depression of the 1920's adversely affected economic opportunities for most all southerners, black and white. Both blacks and whites, but blacks in particular, saw the North as a place where they could improve their lives.
It's suggested that this program is viewed after Agricultural Depression.
This program is based on an oral history conducted by the New Jersey Multi-Ethnic Oral History Project. The subject is a black woman who moved with her family from South Carolina to New Jersey in the 1920's when she was eight years old. The setting is the "Field to Factory" exhibit at the National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D. C. This popular exhibit chronicles the black migration from the South to the North from 1915 to 1940. An actress portrays this woman. As she moves throughout the exhibit, she tells of her experiences.
BACKGROUND: Emigration has always played a pivotal role in history in the United States. The industrial North relied heavily on immigrants for its labor force. For many years Irish, Germans, Italians, and Eastern Europeans filled this need. The advent of World War I severely limited the flow of these immigrants. The industrial North began to look to the South, especially for Negro labor. Segregation and other "Jim Crow" Laws limited their opportunities socially, politically and economically. The boll weevil and the ensuing agricultural depression of the 1920's adversely affected economic opportunities for most all southerners, black and white. Both blacks and whites, but blacks in particular, saw the North as a place where they could improve their lives.
It's suggested that this program is viewed after Agricultural Depression.
Standards
- 5.1.CE Examine push- and pull-factors related to immigration and expansion on urban and rural populations during the period.
- 8.4.CE Explain the causes and effects of World War I on South Carolina and the United States.
- This indicator was developed to encourage inquiry into the significant causes of World War I and the factors leading to U.S. involvement. This indicator was also developed to promote inquiry into the effects of the war, to include its impact on the homefront, migration patterns, and continued foreign policy debates.
- 8.4.P Summarize the economic changes that emerged in South Carolina and the U.S.
- 8.5.P Analyze the transformation of South Carolina’s economy from the Great Depression to its current economic diversification.
- This indicator was designed to promote inquiry into the devastation of the Great Depression and the impact of the New Deal on a largely agricultural South Carolina. This indicator was also designed to foster inquiry into the economic diversification between World War II and the present, to include tourism, global trade and industry, and the maintenance of military bases.
Resources
About Palmetto Special
This overview acquaints students and teachers with The Palmetto Special series and how to utilize the SC History content in the classroom.
View AssetAgricultural Depression | Palmetto Special
The opening and closing wraparounds take place by an old abandoned tenant farm house in Pickens County near Clemson University. Here the host establishes the location and story line. The Reenactment...
View AssetAndrew Pickens, the Wizard Owl | Palmetto Special
The television lesson includes a segment on each man designed to give an insight into his character. Andrew Pickens had been parolled by the British in Charleston when that city was captured in May...
View AssetBurning of Columbia | Palmetto Special
The host ties the reenactment together at various intervals in the story in various spots around Columbia that are particularly associated with Sherman's invasion, such as the area across the Congaree...
View AssetCarolina Indians | Palmetto Special
The lesson consists of the host and three students visiting Keowee-Toxaway State Park in Pickens County. The story of the Cherokee is told there through drawings and artifacts in a series of display...
View AssetCarolina Style | Palmetto Special
This lesson is a brief survey of the art, architecture, literature and theatre of South Carolina. It opens with a series of skits where "comedic characters" "put down" South Carolina's interest in...
View AssetCharles Town | Palmetto Special
A dramatic sequence is included in this wraparound. It is an analogy to the eight Lords Proprietors receiving the grant of Carolina from King Charles II. Five people gather for lunch to discuss a...
View AssetCharlesfort | Palmetto Special
This episode goes from Columbia to Parris Island in Beaufort County. Parris Island today is the home of a large Marine Corps training base. There is a monument there, similar in the design to one...
View AssetDenmark Vesey's Plot | Palmetto Special
The program begins with Vesey discussing the condition of slavery with an acquaintance who is a slave Later, at a meeting, details of the plot are worked out with co-conspirators including Peter Poyas...
View AssetDr. Ron McNair Speaking at USC Commencement | Palmetto Special
As Dr Ron McNair spoke at a University of South Carolina commencement exercise, he said, "the road between South Carolina and space flight is not a very simple one, nor is it one filled with...
View AssetFort Sumter | Palmetto Special
REENACTMENT: Four of the principals at Fort Sumter discuss in retrospect events that led to the "firing of the first shot of the Civil War." These people are: Major Robert Anderson; Commander of the...
View AssetFrancis Marion, the Swamp Fox | Palmetto Special
Francis Marion was involved in a number of skirmishes that caught the enemy off guard, forced them to reckon with him, thus allowing other patriot forces to conduct their missions with greater success...
View AssetGovernor Robert Johnson | Palmetto Special
REENACTMENT: The reenactment begins with Simpson, an aide to Governor Robert Johnson, lamenting the death of the Governor. Through flashbacks we see Simpson and Johnson at crucial times during the...
View AssetGullah Culture | The Palmetto Special
With bridges from the islands to the mainland, the advent of radio and television, and the simple passage of time, this unique culture and language has been eroding. Ron and Natalie Daise of Beaufort...
View AssetIndustrialization | Palmetto Special
The lesson begins at the Wilson Tennis Ball factory in Fountain Inn. Here we see a montage in the process of making tennis balls The host then mentions that there are many other products made in the...
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