Which term describes the mass movement of African Americans from the rural South to Northern cities for jobs?

• A. The Red Scare
• B. The Great Migration
• C. Trail of Tears
• D. Transcontinental Railroad

Answer: (B)

The Great Migration describes the mass movement of African Americans from the rural South to Northern cities in search of jobs and better opportunities, beginning in the early 20th century and expanding especially during World War I. People left the South to escape Jim Crow oppression and poverty tied to agriculture, drawn north by factory jobs, higher wages, and the promise of greater social and political rights. This migration reshaped city demographics, helped fuel cultural movements like the Harlem Renaissance, and had lasting impacts on American society.

Other options refer to different events or ideas: the Red Scare is about anti-communist fear in the early 20th century; the Trail of Tears was the forced relocation of Native Americans in the 1830s; the Transcontinental Railroad was the 19th-century project linking the East and West coasts. None describe the large-scale move of African Americans from the rural South to Northern cities for work.