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Okie Migration During The Great Depression
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Transcript
Extra Info:
Interregional Migration:
Sources
- Many were lured to California by relatives that already lived there and told them of the prosperous land. Once some knew the word spread amongst Okies causing chain migration.
- They left an artistic mark at this time with a novel based on the typical Okie family "The Grapes of Wrath" (1939) and folk song based on them too.
- They also left a mark on this region by leaving a sense of plain-folk Americanism, spirit of individualism and a sense of patriotism. They also infused this region with country music.
Okie Migration During The Great Depression
The Okies migrated from Oklahoma to California in search of new hope. Most of them traveled along Route 66 towards their last hope for economic opportunity. They migrated from the dusty, barren Great Plains to the Sunny West Coast. Some even used their last cents to make this journey.
Important Statement
- http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/O/OK008.html
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Okie
- http://www.livinghistoryfarm.org/farminginthe30s/water_06.html
The important thing about the Okie migration is how it affected the people in the dust bowl region because it changed the the economy of our nation drastically. During the 1930's great depression struck the United Sates as well the extreme dust storms that occurred in the Great Plains. Okies (natives to Oklahoma and surrounding states) were forced off their land as they had no farmland and most were economically unstable. As the Okies left their homeland in search for work they migrated towards California where they found very low paying jobs but jobs none the less.
Push and Pull Factors
The major factor that pushed Okies to emigrate from their lands was economic reasons. At this time the whole nation was going through the Great Depression so there really wasn't much money to go around. Most Okies were farmers at the time and with WW1 leaving Europe injured there was an even greater demand for crops that couldn't be imported. Tragedy struck when the Great Plains became the Dust Bowl causing extremely harsh dust storms that killed all farmland. Okies were left in total poverty without their land. Their only option was to immigrate to California. There were many pull factors that lured the Okies in. Here there could find jobs as migrant farm workers. Even though the pay was low they it was what they knew how to do and it was better than nothing. California was also fairly accessible through Route 66.
Gravity Model
Okies were likely to migrate to California because it was the closest place that wasn't affected by the dust storms. It was also a center of economic activity making it big according to Ravenstein's migration laws. There was not much distance between these two places and Route 66 made the distance even shorter.
Intervening Obstacles
During the Great Depression the economy had crashed which meant most families had little money to start with. When the dust storms occurred Okies were left with nothing. Still they had to find a way to collect the money they needed to travel to California which took some time. They also needed a form of transportation to travel about 2,500 miles. At this time gasoline wasn't cheap either. They needed to buy food that would last them the whole trip. It would take much time and money to gather all these resources. Time and money that none of these families had. When they finally arrived those who chose to live in Los Angeles encountered a "bum blockade" at the California borders which took 1 year to get permission to pass. These were the obstacles that prevented many from migrating to California.
Attitudes toward immigrants
During the 1930's the term Okie was used to described any poor white migrant from the southwest. When so many came to California they took the jobs of Hispanic laborers and since there were so many wages also dropped. Since they were paid so little they lived in filthy tents or on the poorest parts of towns. For all these reasons the term Okie quickly acquired its hateful taste. In Los Angeles these migrants were not wanted so the state government allowed the waiting period for being granted permission to enter to be extended to 3 years. Okies were not liked at all by anyone who lived in the California region before they did.
Destination:
Migration Map:
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200,000 immigrants
400,000 immigrants
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