Which factor contributed to the Great Migration of Georgia's poor tenant farmers into northern cities?

Which factor contributed to the Great Migration of Georgia's poor tenant farmers into northern cities?

• A. The building of major highways
• B. Boll weevil infestation decimating cotton crops
• C. The discovery of oil fields
• D. The introduction of steel mills

Answer: (B)

Economic hardship from crop failure pushed Georgia’s poor tenant farmers to leave rural areas for northern cities during the Great Migration. The boll weevil infestation decimated cotton crops, cutting incomes for sharecroppers and tenant farmers who depended on cotton for much of their livelihood. With harvests ruined and debt mounting, many sought steadier wages in northern factories, especially as demand for labor rose during wartime and in the years that followed. The other options don’t fit as directly: highways came much later and wouldn’t drive this rural-to-urban move; oil field discoveries aren’t tied to Georgia’s tenant farmers; and while northern steel mills did attract migrants, the immediate push was the collapse of cotton-based livelihoods caused by the boll weevil.

Economic hardship from crop failure pushed Georgia’s poor tenant farmers to leave rural areas for northern cities during the Great Migration. The boll weevil infestation decimated cotton crops, cutting incomes for sharecroppers and tenant farmers who depended on cotton for much of their livelihood. With harvests ruined and debt mounting, many sought steadier wages in northern factories, especially as demand for labor rose during wartime and in the years that followed. The other options don’t fit as directly: highways came much later and wouldn’t drive this rural-to-urban move; oil field discoveries aren’t tied to Georgia’s tenant farmers; and while northern steel mills did attract migrants, the immediate push was the collapse of cotton-based livelihoods caused by the boll weevil.