Field to Factory | Palmetto Special

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

• 3-5 The student will demonstrate an understanding of the major developments in South Carolina in the late nineteenth and the twentieth century.
  • South Carolina experienced major economic, political, and social changes during the late nineteenth and the twentieth century. To understand the effects of these changes, the student will utilize the knowledge and skills set forth in the following ind...
    • 3-5.2 Explain the causes and impact of emigration from South Carolina and internal migration from rural areas to the cities, including discrimination and unemployment; poor sanitation and transportation services; and the lack of electricity and other m...
• 5.1.CE Examine push- and pull-factors related to immigration and expansion on urban and rural populations during the period.
• 8-5 The student will understand the impact of Reconstruction, industrialization, and Progressivism on society and politics in South Carolina in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
  • During the periods of Reconstruction, industrial expansion, and the Progressive movement, South Carolina searched for ways to revitalize its economy while maintaining its traditional society. To understand South Carolina’s experience as represen...
    • 8-5.7 Compare migration patterns of South Carolinians to such patterns throughout the United States, including the movement from rural to urban areas and the migration of African Americans from the South to the North, Midwest, and West.
• 8-6 The student will demonstrate an understanding of the role of South Carolina in the nation in the early twentieth century.
  • South Carolina’s response to national crises during the first half of the twentieth century brought it back into full participation in the national experience. To understand the state’s changed status, the student will utilize the knowledg...
    • 8-6.2 Explain the causes and effects of changes in South Carolina and the nation as a whole in the 1920s, including Prohibition, the destruction caused by the boll weevil, the rise of mass media, improvements in daily life, increases in tourism and rec...