Question

Thousands of African Americans moved to the Great Plains during the late nineteenth century. What was the primary reason the exodusters left the South?

a) To reunite with family members
b) To escape oppression and discrimination
c) To find employment in U.S. wartime industries
d) To escape drought conditions

Answer 1

The primary reason exodusters left the South was to escape oppression and discrimination, aiming for a better life in the Great Plains and northern states with hopes for greater freedom and economic opportunity.

Step-by-step explanation:

The primary reason the exodusters left the South was b) To escape oppression and discrimination. These Southern black migrants, known as Exodusters, sought homes in the Great Plains and northern border states such as Indiana yearning for the political, legal, and economic freedom that was denied to them post-Reconstruction. Approximately 20,000 migrants moved to Kansas and other regions, driven by the desire to find a better life, despite Southern and Northern opposition.Exodusters pooled their resources to embark on this journey, which often meant facing financial sacrifice and the challenges of an unknown new start. They were motivated not by a naive dream of easily acquired wealth, but from a deep desire to find a place where they could live and work with dignity, free from the oppressive conditions of the South.In many cases, the exodus was also a response to increasing cotton production costs and the failure of southern Black farmers to make a sustainable living, leading them to explore other means of social and economic freedom in the West.