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Python Data Analysis
Third Edition
Copyright © 2021 Packt Publishing

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form
or by any means, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations
embedded in critical articles or reviews.

Every effort has been made in the preparation of this book to ensure the accuracy of the information presented.
However, the information contained in this book is sold without warranty, either express or implied. Neither the
authors, nor Packt Publishing or its dealers and distributors, will be held liable for any damages caused or alleged to
have been caused directly or indirectly by this book.

Packt Publishing has endeavored to provide trademark information about all of the companies and products
mentioned in this book by the appropriate use of capitals. However, Packt Publishing cannot guarantee the accuracy
of this information.

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First published: October 2014

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 Contributors

About the authors

Avinash Navlani has over 8 years of experience working in data science and AI. Currently,
he is working as a senior data scientist, improving products and services for customers by
using advanced analytics, deploying big data analytical tools, creating and maintaining
models, and onboarding compelling new datasets. Previously, he was a university lecturer,
where he trained and educated people in data science subjects such as Python for analytics,
data mining, machine learning, database management, and NoSQL. Avinash has been
involved in research activities in data science and has been a keynote speaker at many
conferences in India.

Armando Fandango creates AI-empowered products by leveraging his expertise in deep

learning, machine learning, distributed computing, and computational methods and has
provided thought leadership roles as the chief data scientist and director at start-ups and
large enterprises. He has advised high-tech AI-based start-ups. Armando has authored
books such as Python Data Analysis - Second Edition and Mastering TensorFlow, Packt
Publishing. He has also published research in international journals and conferences.

Ivan Idris has an MSc in experimental physics. His graduation thesis had a strong
emphasis on applied computer science. After graduating, he worked for several companies
as a Java developer, data warehouse developer, and QA analyst. His main professional
interests are business intelligence, big data, and cloud computing. Ivan Idris enjoys writing
clean, testable code and interesting technical articles. Ivan Idris is the author of NumPy 1.5
Beginner's Guide and NumPy Cookbook by Packt Publishing. You can find more information
and a blog with a few NumPy examples at ivanidris.net.
About the reviewers
Greg Walters has been involved with computers and computer programming since 1972.
He is well versed in Visual Basic, Visual Basic .NET, Python, and SQL and is an
accomplished user of MySQL, SQLite, Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle, C++, Delphi,
Modula-2, Pascal, C, 80x86 Assembler, COBOL, and Fortran. He is a programming trainer
and has trained numerous people on many pieces of computer software, including MySQL,
Open Database Connectivity, Quattro Pro, Corel Draw!, Paradox, Microsoft Word, Excel,
DOS, Windows 3.11, Windows for Workgroups, Windows 95, Windows NT, Windows
2000, Windows XP, and Linux. He is semi-retired and has written over 100 articles for Full
Circle Magazine. He is also a musician and loves to cook. He is open to working as a
freelancer on various projects.

Alistair McMaster is currently employed as a Software Engineer and Quantitative

Strategist at a major financial services firm. He graduated from the University of
Cambridge in 2016 with a B.A. (Hons) in Natural Sciences specializing in Astrophysics. His
broader career interests include applications of data science to relationship networks and
supporting social causes.

Alistair is an active contributor to pandas and a strong advocate of open-source software. In

his spare time, he enjoys distance running, cycling, rock climbing, and walks with his
family and friends on weekends.

Packt is searching for authors like you

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and apply today. We have worked with thousands of developers and tech professionals,
just like you, to help them share their insight with the global tech community. You can
make a general application, apply for a specific hot topic that we are recruiting an author
for, or submit your own idea.
 Table of Contents
Preface 1

Section 1: Foundation for Data Analysis

Chapter 1: Getting Started with Python Libraries 7
Understanding data analysis 8
The standard process of data analysis 9
The KDD process 10
SEMMA 11
CRISP-DM 12
Comparing data analysis and data science 14
The roles of data analysts and data scientists 14
The skillsets of data analysts and data scientists 15
Installing Python 3 17
Python installation and setup on Windows 17
Python installation and setup on Linux 18
Python installation and setup on Mac OS X with a GUI installer 18
Python installation and setup on Mac OS X with brew 18
Software used in this book 19
Using IPython as a shell 20
Reading manual pages 23
Where to find help and references to Python data analysis libraries 24
Using JupyterLab 24
Using Jupyter Notebooks 26
Advanced features of Jupyter Notebooks 27
Keyboard shortcuts 28
Installing other kernels 29
Running shell commands 30
Extensions for Notebook 30
Summary 36
Chapter 2: NumPy and pandas 37
Technical requirements 38
Understanding NumPy arrays 38
Array features 41
Selecting array elements 42
NumPy array numerical data types 43
dtype objects 45
Data type character codes 46
Table of Contents

dtype constructors 47
dtype attributes 47
Manipulating array shapes 48
The stacking of NumPy arrays 50
Partitioning NumPy arrays 53
Changing the data type of NumPy arrays 55
Creating NumPy views and copies 56
Slicing NumPy arrays 58
Boolean and fancy indexing 60
Broadcasting arrays 61
Creating pandas DataFrames 63
Understanding pandas Series 65
Reading and querying the Quandl data 68
Describing pandas DataFrames 72
Grouping and joining pandas DataFrame 75
Working with missing values 79
Creating pivot tables 81
Dealing with dates 83
Summary 85
References 85
Chapter 3: Statistics 86
Technical requirements 87
Understanding attributes and their types 87
Types of attributes 87
Discrete and continuous attributes 89
Measuring central tendency 89
Mean 89
Mode 90
Median 91
Measuring dispersion 91
Skewness and kurtosis 95
Understanding relationships using covariance and correlation
coefficients 96
Pearson's correlation coefficient 97
Spearman's rank correlation coefficient 98
Kendall's rank correlation coefficient 98
Central limit theorem 98
Collecting samples 100
Performing parametric tests 101
Performing non-parametric tests 107
Summary 113
Chapter 4: Linear Algebra 114

[ ii ]
Table of Contents

Technical requirements 115

Fitting to polynomials with NumPy 115
Determinant 117
Finding the rank of a matrix 117
Matrix inverse using NumPy 118
Solving linear equations using NumPy 119
Decomposing a matrix using SVD 120
Eigenvectors and Eigenvalues using NumPy 122
Generating random numbers 123
Binomial distribution 124
Normal distribution 126
Testing normality of data using SciPy 127
Creating a masked array using the numpy.ma subpackage 131
Summary 133

Section 2: Exploratory Data Analysis and Data Cleaning

Chapter 5: Data Visualization 135

Technical requirements 135
Visualization using Matplotlib 136
Accessories for charts 137
Scatter plot 139
Line plot 140
Pie plot 142
Bar plot 143
Histogram plot 144
Bubble plot 146
pandas plotting 148
Advanced visualization using the Seaborn package 150
lm plots 151
Bar plots 154
Distribution plots 155
Box plots 156
KDE plots 157
Violin plots 158
Count plots 159
Joint plots 161
Heatmaps 162
Pair plots 164
Interactive visualization with Bokeh 166
Plotting a simple graph 166
Glyphs 168
Layouts 169

[ iii ]
Table of Contents

Nested layout using row and column layouts 173

Multiple plots 175
Interactions 177
Hide click policy 177
Mute click policy 179
Annotations 180
Hover tool 183
Widgets 184
Tab panel 185
Slider 186
Summary 189
Chapter 6: Retrieving, Processing, and Storing Data 190
Technical requirements 191
Reading and writing CSV files with NumPy 191
Reading and writing CSV files with pandas 192
Reading and writing data from Excel 194
Reading and writing data from JSON 195
Reading and writing data from HDF5 196
Reading and writing data from HTML tables 197
Reading and writing data from Parquet 198
Reading and writing data from a pickle pandas object 199
Lightweight access with sqllite3 200
Reading and writing data from MySQL 201
Inserting a whole DataFrame into the database 204
Reading and writing data from MongoDB 205
Reading and writing data from Cassandra 206
Reading and writing data from Redis 207
PonyORM 208
Summary 209
Chapter 7: Cleaning Messy Data 210
Technical requirements 211
Exploring data 211
Filtering data to weed out the noise 214
Column-wise filtration 215
Row-wise filtration 217
Handling missing values 220
Dropping missing values 221
Filling in a missing value 221
Handling outliers 223
Feature encoding techniques 226
One-hot encoding 226
Label encoding 228
Ordinal encoder 229

[ iv ]
Table of Contents

Feature scaling 230

Methods for feature scaling 231
Feature transformation 234
Feature splitting 235
Summary 236
Chapter 8: Signal Processing and Time Series 237
Technical requirements 238
The statsmodels modules 238
Moving averages 239
Window functions 242
Defining cointegration 244
STL decomposition 246
Autocorrelation 248
Autoregressive models 250
ARMA models 254
Generating periodic signals 257
Fourier analysis 259
Spectral analysis filtering 262
Summary 264

Section 3: Deep Dive into Machine Learning

Chapter 9: Supervised Learning - Regression Analysis 266
Technical requirements 267
Linear regression 267
Multiple linear regression 269
Understanding multicollinearity 269
Removing multicollinearity 270
Dummy variables 272
Developing a linear regression model 274
Evaluating regression model performance 276
R-squared 276
MSE 277
MAE 277
RMSE 278
Fitting polynomial regression 279
Regression models for classification 282
Logistic regression 282
Characteristics of the logistic regression model 284
Types of logistic regression algorithms 285
Advantages and disadvantages of logistic regression 285
Implementing logistic regression using scikit-learn 286
Summary 288

[v]
Table of Contents

Chapter 10: Supervised Learning - Classification Techniques 289

Technical requirements 290
Classification 290
Naive Bayes classification 292
Decision tree classification 296
KNN classification 299
SVM classification 302
Terminology 302
Splitting training and testing sets 305
Holdout 305
K-fold cross-validation 306
Bootstrap method 306
Evaluating the classification model performance 307
Confusion matrix 307
Accuracy 310
Precision 311
Recall 311
F-measure 311
ROC curve and AUC 312
Summary 315
Chapter 11: Unsupervised Learning - PCA and Clustering 316
Technical requirements 317
Unsupervised learning 317
Reducing the dimensionality of data 318
PCA 319
Performing PCA 320
Clustering 323
Finding the number of clusters 324
The elbow method 325
The silhouette method 327
Partitioning data using k-means clustering 329
Hierarchical clustering 332
DBSCAN clustering 336
Spectral clustering 338
Evaluating clustering performance 341
Internal performance evaluation 342
The Davies-Bouldin index 342
The silhouette coefficient 342
External performance evaluation 343
The Rand score 343
The Jaccard score 343
F-Measure or F1-score 344
The Fowlkes-Mallows score 344
Summary 347

[ vi ]
Table of Contents

Section 4: NLP, Image Analytics, and Parallel

Computing
Chapter 12: Analyzing Textual Data 349
Technical requirements 350
Installing NLTK and SpaCy 350
Text normalization 351
Tokenization 352
Removing stopwords 356
Stemming and lemmatization 358
POS tagging 360
Recognizing entities 361
Dependency parsing 362
Creating a word cloud 363
Bag of Words 365
TF-IDF 366
Sentiment analysis using text classification 367
Classification using BoW 368
Classification using TF-IDF 373
Text similarity 376
Jaccard similarity 377
Cosine similarity 378
Summary 379
Chapter 13: Analyzing Image Data 380
Technical requirements 381
Installing OpenCV 381
Understanding image data 382
Binary images 382
Grayscale images 383
Color images 383
Color models 384
Drawing on images 387
Writing on images 392
Resizing images 393
Flipping images 395
Changing the brightness 398
Blurring an image 399
Face detection 403
Summary 407
Chapter 14: Parallel Computing Using Dask 408
Parallel computing using Dask 409
Dask data types 410

[ vii ]
Table of Contents

Dask Arrays 411

Dask DataFrames 412
DataFrame Indexing 413
Filter data 416
Groupby 417
Converting a pandas DataFrame into a Dask DataFrame 418
Converting a Dask DataFrame into a pandas DataFrame 418
Dask Bags 419
Creating a Dask Bag using Python iterable items 419
Creating a Dask Bag using a text file 420
Storing a Dask Bag in a text file 421
Storing a Dask Bag in a DataFrame 421
Dask Delayed 422
Preprocessing data at scale 424
Feature scaling in Dask 424
Feature encoding in Dask 426
Machine learning at scale 428
Parallel computing using scikit-learn 429
Reimplementing ML algorithms for Dask 431
Logistic regression 431
Clustering 433
Summary 435
Other Books You May Enjoy 437
Index 440

[ viii ]
 Preface
Data analysis enables you to generate value from small and big data by discovering new
patterns and trends, and Python is one of the most popular tools for analyzing a wide
variety of data. With this book, you'll get up and running with using Python for data
analysis by exploring the different phases and methodologies used in data analysis, and
you'll learn how to use modern libraries from the Python ecosystem to create efficient data
pipelines.

Starting with the essential statistical and data analysis fundamentals using Python, you'll
perform complex data analysis and modeling, data manipulation, data cleaning, and data
visualization using easy-to-follow examples. You'll then learn how to conduct time series
analysis and signal processing using ARMA models. As you advance, you'll get to grips
with smart processing and data analytics using machine learning algorithms such as
regression, classification, Principal Component Analysis (PCA), and clustering. In the
concluding chapters, you'll work on real-world examples to analyze textual and image data
using natural language processing (NLP) and image analytics techniques, respectively.
Finally, the book will demonstrate parallel computing using Dask.

By the end of this data analysis book, you'll be equipped with the skills you need to prepare
data for analysis and create meaningful data visualizations in order to forecast values from
data.

Who this book is for

This book is for data analysts, business analysts, statisticians, and data scientists looking to
learn how to use Python for data analysis. Students and academic faculties will also find
this book useful for learning and teaching Python data analysis using a hands-on approach.
A basic understanding of math and a working knowledge of Python will help you get
started with this book.

What this book covers

Chapter 1, Getting Started with Python Libraries, explains the data analyst process and the
successful installation of Python libraries and Anaconda. Also, we will discuss Jupyter
Notebook and its advanced features.
Preface

Chapter 2, NumPy and Pandas, introduces NumPy and Pandas. This chapter provides a
basic overview of NumPy arrays, Pandas DataFrames, and their associated functions.

Chapter 3, Statistics, gives a quick overview of descriptive and inferential statistics.

Chapter 4, Linear Algebra, gives a quick overview of linear algebra and its associated
NumPy and SciPy functions.

Chapter 5, Data Visualization, introduces us to the matplotlib, seaborn, Pandas plotting, and
bokeh visualization libraries.

Chapter 6, Retrieving, Processing, and Storing Data, explains how to read and write various
data formats, such as CSV, Excel, JSON, HTML, and Parquet. Also, we will discuss how to
acquire data from relational and NoSQL databases.

Chapter 7, Cleaning Messy Data, explains how to preprocess raw data and perform feature
engineering.

Chapter 8, Signal Processing and Time Series, contains time series and signal processing
examples using sales, beer production, and sunspot cycle dataset. In this chapter, we will
mostly use NumPy, SciPy, and statsmodels.

Chapter 9, Supervised Learning – Regression Analysis, explains linear regression and logistic
regression in detail with suitable examples using the scikit-learn library.

Chapter 10, Supervised Learning – Classification Techniques, explains various classification

techniques, such as naive Bayes, decision tree, K-nearest neighbors, and SVM. Also, we will
discuss model performance evaluation measures.

Chapter 11, Unsupervised Learning – PCA and Clustering, gives a detailed discussion on
dimensionality reduction and clustering techniques. Also, we will evaluate the clustering
performance.

Chapter 12, Analyzing Textual Data, gives a quick overview of text preprocessing, feature
engineering, sentiment analysis, and text similarity. This chapter mostly uses the NLTK,
SpaCy, and scikit-learn libraries.

Chapter 13, Analyzing Image Data, gives a quick overview of image processing operations
using OpenCV. Also, we will discuss face detection.

Chapter 14, Parallel Computing Using Dask, explains how to perform data preprocessing
and machine learning modeling in parallel using Dask.

[2]
Preface

To get the most out of this book

The execution of the code examples provided in this book requires the installation of
Python 3.5 or newer on Mac OS X, Linux, or Microsoft Windows. In this book, we will
frequently use SciPy, NumPy, Pandas, scikit-learn, statsmodels, matplotlib, and seaborn.
Chapter 1, Getting Started with Python Libraries, provides instructions for the installation
and advanced tips so that you can work smoothly. Also, the process of installing specific
and additional libraries is explained in the respective chapters. Installation of Bokeh is
explained in Chapter 5, Data Visualization. Similarly, the installation of NLTK and SpaCy is
explained in Chapter 12, Analyzing Textual Data.

We can also install any library or package that you want to explore using the pip
command. We need to run the following command with admin privileges:
$ pip install <library name>

We can also install it from our Jupyter Notebook with ! (exclamation mark) before the pip
command:
!pip install <library name>

To uninstall a Python library or package installed with pip, use the following command:
$ pip uninstall <library name>

If you are using the digital version of this book, we advise you to type the code yourself
or access the code via the GitHub repository (link available in the next section). Doing so
will help you avoid any potential errors related to the copying and pasting of code.

Download the example code files

You can download the example code files for this book from GitHub at https:/​/​github.
com/​PacktPublishing/​Python-​Data-​Analysis-​Third-​Edition. In case there's an update to
the code, it will be updated on the existing GitHub repository.

We also have other code bundles from our rich catalog of books and videos available
at https:/​/​github.​com/​PacktPublishing/​. Check them out!

[3]
Another Random Scribd Document
with Unrelated Content
taken by strange Negroes who were compelled to live in hovels and
who were used to keep down wages."
In May, 1917, a strike followed demands which had been made upon
the Aluminum Ore Company by the "Aluminum Ore Employees'
Protective Association." These related to alleged injustices and
discriminations said to have been practiced against the employees.
The company failed to comply with these demands, and a thousand
white workers struck.
Closely related to this situation was a notice sent to the delegates of
the Central Trades Labor Union by the secretary of the Union, dated
May 23, which declared that the immigration of the southern Negro
had reached a point where "drastic action must be taken if we
intend to work and to live peaceably in this community." This notice
declared that these men were being used "to the detriment of our
white citizens by some of the capitalists and a few real estate
owners." It called a meeting to present to the mayor and city council
a demand for action to "retard this growing menace, and also devise
a way to get rid of a certain portion of those who are already here."
The notice read further: "This is not a protest against the Negro who
has long been a resident of East St. Louis, and is a law abiding
citizen."
This meeting was held on May 28 in the auditorium of the city hall
and was attended not only by the labor men but also by a large
number of other persons. The Congressional Committee refers to
one of the speakers at this meeting as "an attorney of some ability
and no character." The report of the Committee says that he virtually
advised the killing of Negroes and burning of their homes. The
report says further:
He was not authorized to speak for those who went there to protest
against the lawlessness which disgraced the city and the presence of
thousands of Negroes who it is claimed were taking the places of the
white workmen, but his inflammatory speech caused many of his
hearers to rush into the street and to resort to acts of violence.... He
was in full sympathy with the action of the mob. They followed his
 advice and the scenes of murder and arson that ensued were the
logical result of his utterances.

That night, May 28, following the meeting, a crowd of white people
assembled in front of the police station and clamored for Negro
prisoners. A rumor circulated through the crowd that a white man
had just been killed by Negroes, and parts of the crowd left, forming
a mob which severely beat a number of Negroes whom it met. The
situation was so serious that the mayor called for troops. The trouble
subsided, however. It is important to note that from this time until
the riot of July 1-2, no effort was made to strengthen the police
force nor were any other steps taken to control the situation.
In connection with the industrial phase of the situation, it should be
remembered that the war had cut off the normal supply of foreign
labor, and that not a few white workers had left East St. Louis for
other industrial centers. Most of the Negro migrants were unskilled
workers, and their competition was, therefore, with the unskilled
white workers. One witness before the Congressional Committee
expressed the view that the labor shortage in East St. Louis prior to
the riot certainly did not justify the great influx of Negroes, but it is
of record that most of the newcomers got profitable employment in
unskilled occupations.
The employers were fighting unions of any sort, whether of whites
or Negroes. Unions were seeking membership of Negroes as well as
whites in the hope that the use of Negroes as strike breakers might
be prevented. Whether union men or not, the white workers
resented the influx of Negro workers who might take their jobs. The
inevitable consequence was friction between whites and Negroes.
The Congressional Committee laid great stress upon corrupt politics
as the leading cause of the riots of July 2. It disclosed an almost
unbelievable combination of shameless corruption, tolerance of vice
and crime, maladministration, and debauchery of the courts. The
report says that East St. Louis for many years was a plague spot,
harboring within its borders "every offense in the calendar of crime"
and committing openly "every lapse in morals and public decency."
Politicians looted its treasury, gave away valuable franchises, and
elected plunderers to high office. Graft, collusion with crime and
vice, and desecration of office were openly and deliberately
practiced. Criminals were attracted and welcomed, and the good
people of the community were powerless. Owners of large
corporations and manufacturers pitted white against black labor,
giving no thought to their thousands of workmen living in hovels, the
victims of "poverty and disease, of long hours and incessant labor."
The mayor, continues the report, was a tool of dishonest politicians,
the electorate was "debauched," the police were a conscienceless
bunch of grafters, and the revenue of the city was largely derived
from saloons and dens of vice.
Several officials and politicians of high standing were singled out by
the Committee for especial condemnation as the "brains of the city's
corruption."
A great deal of the city's crime and vice was concentrated in what is
known as "Black Valley." This was the section in which the Negroes
lived, but much of the vice and crime was promoted and practiced
by vicious whites. There was much mixing of whites and Negroes in
the vilest practices.
Similar conditions existed in the town of Brooklyn near by, with
about 3,000 people, of whom only about fifty were white. Its dens of
iniquity were notorious and were the resort of many white people.
So openly operated were these resorts that the Congressional
Committee reported that in the Brooklyn high school "24 out of 25
girls who were in the graduating class went to the bad in the saloons
and dance halls and failed to receive their diplomas."
Not only were conditions of this sort demoralizing and degrading for
the decent Negroes, but the sanitary conditions were likewise
extremely bad. Some of the houses in the Negro districts had not
been painted for fifteen years and were in a state of great disrepair.
Their setting consisted largely of pools of stagnant water and beds
of weeds. At one period during the migration Negroes were coming
in so fast that even these miserable housing conditions were
inadequate, and some of them were forced to live in sheds. In one
instance sixty-nine newcomers were found living in one small house.
Whenever houses were vacated by white people and rented to
Negroes, the rental price was largely increased, sometimes doubled.
After reviewing the corruption in East St. Louis, the report of the
Congressional Committee discussed the riot. It described the
condition of affairs on the night of July 1, 1917, when the second
and most serious outbreak occurred. An automobile (some witnesses
said two) went through the Negro section of the city, its occupants
firing promiscuously into homes. This aroused fierce resentment
among the Negroes, who organized for defense and armed
themselves with guns. The ringing of the church bell, a prearranged
signal for assembling, drew a crowd of them, and they marched
through the streets ready to avenge the attack. A second automobile
filled with white men crossed their path. The Negroes cursed them,
commanded them to drive on, and fired a volley into the machine.
The occupants, however, were not the rioters but policemen and
reporters. One policeman was killed and another was so seriously
wounded that he died later.
Thousands viewed the riddled car standing before police
headquarters. The early editions of the newspapers gave full
accounts of the tragedy, and on July 2 the rioting began. Negro
mobs shot white men, and white men and boys, girls and women,
began to attack every Negro in sight. News spread rapidly and, as
excitement increased, unimaginable depredations and horrible
tortures were committed and viewed with "placid unconcern" by
hundreds. Negro men were stabbed, clubbed, and hanged from
telephone poles. Their homes were burned. Women and children
were not spared. An instance is given of a Negro child two years old
which was shot and thrown into a doorway of a burning building.
On the night of July 1, Mayor Mollman telephoned to the Adjutant
General of Illinois saying that the police were no longer able to
handle the situation and requesting that the militia be sent. Both the
police and the militia are severely censured by the Congressional
report for gross failure to do their duty. The police, says the report,
could have quelled the riot instantly, but instead they either "fled
into the safety of cowardly seclusion or listlessly watched the
depredations of the mob, passively and in many instances actively
sharing in the work."
In all, five companies of the Illinois National Guard were sent to East
St. Louis. Some of them arrived on the morning of July 2, the first at
8:40 a.m. These forces were in command of Colonel S. O. Tripp.
Concerning the conduct of the militia, the Congressional Committee
reported in strong terms, singling out Colonel Tripp for especial
condemnation. It said that he was a hindrance instead of a help to
the troops; that "he was ignorant of his duties, blind to his
responsibilities and deaf to every intelligent appeal that was made to
him."
The troops, in the estimation of the Committee, were poorly
officered and in only a few cases did their duty. The report states
that "they seemed moved by the same spirit of indifference or
cowardice that marked the conduct of the police force. As a rule
they fraternized with the mob, joked with them and made no serious
effort to restrain them."
Many instances are given of active participation and encouragement
of the mob in its murders, arson, and general destruction.
The only redeeming feature of the activities of the militia, according
to the Congressional Committee, was "the conduct, bravery, and skill
of the officer second in command, whose promptness and
determination prevented the mob from committing many more
atrocities."
By eight o'clock of the evening of July 2 there were seventeen
officers and 270 men on duty, and by July 4 the force had increased
to thirty-seven officers and 1,411 men. On the evening of July 2 the
fury of the mob had spent itself, and the riot subsided.
The behavior of the troops was condemned not only by the
Congressional Committee but by citizens generally, and a special
inquiry was made into their conduct by the Military and Naval
Department of the State of Illinois. Witnesses to dereliction on duty
on the part of the soldiers were examined and commanding officers
of troops were asked to testify and explain specific acts of violence
and neglect of duty. In all seventy-nine persons were examined.
Although the charges against the soldiers in a large number of cases
were serious and sufficient to warrant the criticism which they
received, identification of individuals guilty of these acts was difficult.
This probably accounts for the fact that only seven court-martials
resulted from the inquiry. The commanding officer, though severely
censured by the Congressional Committee, was exonerated by this
inquiry.
 CHAPTER III

THE MIGRATION OF NEGROES FROM THE SOUTH

I. INTRODUCTION

During the period 1916-18 approximately a half-million Negroes

suddenly moved from southern to northern states. This movement,
however, was not without a precedent. A similar migration occurred
in 1879, when Negroes moved from Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas,
Alabama, Tennessee, and North Carolina to Kansas. The origin of
this earlier movement, its causes, and manner resemble in many
respects the one which has so recently attracted public attention.
The migration of 1916-18 cannot be separated completely from the
steady, though inconspicuous, exodus from southern to northern
states that has been in progress since 1860, or, in fact, since the
operation of the "underground railway." In 1900 there were 911,025
Negroes living in the North, 10.3 per cent of the total Negro
population, which was then 8,883,994. Census figures for the period
1900-1910 show a net loss for southern states east of the Mississippi
of 595,703 Negroes. Of this number 366,880 are found in northern
states. Reliable estimates for the last decade place the increase of
northern Negro population around 500,000.
The 1910-20 increase of the Negro population of Chicago was from
44,103 to 109,594, or 148.5 per cent, with a corresponding increase
in the white population of 21 per cent, including foreign immigration.
According to the Census Bureau method of estimating natural
increase of population, the Negro population of Chicago unaffected
by the migration would be 58,056 in 1920, and the increase by
migration alone would be 51,538.
The relative 1910-20 increases in white and Negro population in
typical industrial cities of the Middle West, given in Table II, illustrate
the effect of the migration of southern Negroes.
The migration to Chicago.—Within a period of eighteen months in
1917-18 more than 50,000 Negroes came to Chicago according to
an estimate based on averages taken from actual count of daily
arrivals. All of those who came, however, did not stay. Chicago was a
re-routing point, and many immigrants went on to nearby cities and
towns. During the heaviest period, for example, a Detroit social
agency reported that hundreds of Negroes applying there for work
stated that they were from Chicago. The tendency appears to have
been to reach those fields offering the highest present wages and
permanent prospects.
TABLE II

Negroes Percentage of Negro Percentage of White

1910 1920 Increase, 1910-20 Increase, 1910-20

Cincinnati, 19,639 29,636 50.9 8.0

Ohio
Dayton, 4,842 9,029 86.5 28.0
Ohio
Toledo, Ohio 1,877 5,690 203.1 42.5
Fort Wayne, 572 1,476 158.0 34.3
Ind.
Canton, 291 1,349 363.6 71.7
Ohio
Gary, Ind. 383 5,299 1,283.6 205.1
Detroit, 5,741 41,532 623.4 106.9
Mich.
Chicago, Ill. 44,103 109,594 148.5 21.0

II. CAUSES OF THE MIGRATION

A series of circumstances acting together in an unusual combination

both provoked and made possible the migration of Negroes from the
South on a large scale. The causes of the movement fall into definite
divisions, even as stated by the migrants themselves. For example,
one of the most frequent causes mentioned by southern Negroes for
their change of home is the treatment accorded them in the South.
Yet this treatment of which they complain has been practiced since
their emancipation, and fifty years afterward more than nine-tenths
of the Negro population of the United States still remained in the
South. "Higher wages" was also commonly stated as a cause of the
movement, yet thousands came to the North and to Chicago who in
the South had been earning more in their professions and even in
skilled occupations than they expected to receive in the North. These
causes then divide into two main classes: (1) economic causes, (2)
sentimental causes. Each has a bearing on both North and South.
The following statements are based on reports prepared by
trustworthy agencies during the migration, on letters and statements
from migrants, Negroes and whites living in the South and the
North, and on family history obtained by the Commission's
investigators.

I. ECONOMIC CAUSES OF THE MIGRATION

A. THE SOUTH

Low wages.—Wages of Negroes in the South varied from 75 cents a

day on the farms to $1.75 a day in certain city jobs, in the period
just preceding 1914. The rise in living costs which followed the
outbreak of the war outstripped the rise in wages. In Alabama the
price paid for day labor in the twenty-one "black belt" counties
averaged 50 and 60 cents a day. It ranged from 40 cents, as a
minimum, to 75 cents, and, in a few instances, $1.00 was a
maximum for able-bodied male farm hands.[14]
A Negro minister, writing in the Montgomery (Alabama) Advertiser,
said:
The Negro farm hand gets for his compensation hardly more than the
mule he plows; that is, his board and shelter. Some mules fare better
than Negroes. This, too, in spite of the fact that the money received
 for farm products has advanced more than 100 per cent. The laborer
has not shared correspondingly in this advance.
High rents and low wages have driven the Negro off the farms. They
have no encouragement to work. Only here and there you will find a
tenant who is getting a square deal and the proper encouragement.

A white man, writing in the same paper, said:

There is an article in today's Advertiser headed "Exodus of the
Negroes to Be Probed." Why hunt for a cause when it's plain as the
noonday sun the Negro is leaving this country for higher wages? He
doesn't want to leave here but he knows if he stays here he will
starve. They have made no crops, they have nothing to eat, no
clothes, no shoes, and they can't get any work to do, and they are
leaving just as fast as they can get away.... If the Negro race could
get work at 50 cents per day he would stay here. He don't want to go.
He is easily satisfied and will live on half rations and will never
complain.

The Atlanta Independent, white, said:

If our white neighbors will treat the Negro kindly, recognizing his
rights as a man, advance his wages in proportion as the cost of living
advances, he will need no ordinance nor legislation to keep the Negro
here. The South is his natural home. He prefers to be here, he loves
its traditions, its ideals and its people. But he cannot stay here and
starve....
When meat was 15 cents a pound and flour $8 a barrel, the Negro
received from $4 to $8 a week. Now meat is 30 cents a pound and
flour $16 a barrel, and the Negro is receiving the same wages. He
cannot live on this and the white man cannot expect him to live in the
South and live on the starvation wages he is paying him, when the
fields and the factories in the North are offering him living wages.
 TYPICAL PLANTATION HOMES IN THE SOUTH OF
MIGRANTS TO CHICAGO

The boll weevil.—In 1915 and 1916 the boll weevil cotton pest so
ravaged sections of the South that thousands of farmers were
almost ruined. Cotton crops were lost, and the farmers were forced
to change from cotton to food products. The growing of cotton
requires about thirty times as many "hands" as food products. As a
result many Negroes were thrown out of employment. The damage
wrought by the boll weevil was augmented by destructive storms
and floods, which not only affected crops but made the living
conditions of Negroes more miserable.
Lack of capital.—The "credit system" is a very convenient and
common practice in many parts of the South. Money is borrowed for
upkeep until the selling season, when it is repaid in one lump sum.
The succession of short crops and the destruction due to the boll
weevil and storms occasioned heavy demands for capital to carry
labor through the fall and early winter until a new crop could be
started. There was a shortage of capital, and as a result there was
little opportunity for work. During this period many white persons
migrated from sections of the South most seriously affected.
"Unsatisfactory" living conditions.—The plantation cabins and
segregated sections in cities where municipal laxity made home
surroundings undesirable have been stated as another contributing
cause of the movement.
Lack of school facilities.—The desire to place their children in good
schools was a reason often given by migrants with families for
leaving the South. School facilities are described as lamentably poor
even by southern whites. Perhaps the most thorough statement of
these conditions is given in a Study of Negro Education by Thomas
Jesse Jones, made under the direction of the federal Bureau of
Education, and comparing provisions for white and Negro children in
fifteen southern states and the District of Columbia. He states:
In the South they [Negroes] form 29.8 per cent of the total
population, the proportion in Mississippi and South Carolina being
over 55 per cent and ranging in the "black belt" counties from 50 to
90 per cent of the total population. Almost 3,000,000 are engaged in
agricultural pursuits. They form 40.4 per cent of all persons engaged
in these pursuits in the Southern States.
Though the United States census shows a decrease in illiteracy, there
are still about 2,225,000 Negroes illiterate in the South, or over 33 per
cent of the Negro population ten years of age and over.

TABLE III
White Colored
Total population 23,682,352 8,906,879
Population six to fourteen years of age 4,889,762 2,023,108
Population six to fourteen[15] 3,552,431 1,852,181
Teachers' salaries in public schools $36,649,827 $5,860,876
Teachers' salaries per child six to fourteen $10.32 $2.89
 Per cent of illiteracy 7.7 33.3
Per cent rural 76.9 78.8

In the fifteen states and the District of Columbia for which salaries
by race could be obtained, the public school teachers received
$42,510,431 in salaries. Of this sum $36,649,827 was for the
teachers of 3,552,431 white children and $5,860,876 for teachers of
1,852,181 colored children. On a per capita basis, this is $10.32 for
each white child and $2.89 for each colored child.
TABLE IV
County Groups, Percentage
White School Negro School Per Capita for Per Capita for
of Negroes in the
Population Population White Negro
Population
Counties under 10 974,289 45,039 $ 7.96 $7.23
per cent
Counties 10 to 25 1,008,372 215,744 9.55 5.55
per cent
Counties 25 to 50 1,132,999 709,259 11.11 3.19
per cent
Counties 50 to 75 364,990 661,329 12.53 .77
per cent
Counties 75 per 40,003 207,900 22.22 1.78
cent and over

The supervisor of white elementary rural schools in one of the states

recently wrote concerning the Negro schools:
"I never visit one of these [Negro] schools without feeling that we are
wasting a large part of this money and are neglecting a great
opportunity. The Negro schoolhouses are miserable beyond all
description. They are usually without comfort, equipment, proper
lighting, or sanitation. Nearly all of the Negroes of school age in the
district are crowded into these miserable structures during the short
term which the school runs. Most of the teachers are absolutely
untrained and have been given certificates by the county board, not
because they have passed the examination, but because it is
necessary to have some kind of a Negro teacher. Among the Negro
rural schools which I have visited, I have found only one in which the
highest class knew the multiplication table."
A state superintendent writes:
"There has never been any serious attempt in this state to offer
adequate educational facilities for the colored race. The average
length of the term for the state is only four months; practically all of
the schools are taught in dilapidated churches, which, of course, are
not equipped with suitable desks, blackboards, and the other
essentials of a school; practically all of the teachers are incompetent,
possessing little or no education and having had no professional
training whatever, except a few weeks obtained in the summer
schools; the schools are generally overcrowded, some of them having
as many as 100 students to the teacher; no attempt is made to do
more than teach the children to read, write, and figure, and these
subjects are learned very imperfectly. There are six or eight industrial
supervisors financed in whole or in part by the Jeanes Fund; most of
these teachers are stimulating the Negro schools to do very good
work upon the practical things of life. A few wide-awake Negro
teachers not connected with the Jeanes Fund are doing the same
thing. It can probably be truthfully said that the Negro schools are
gradually improving, but they are still just about as poor and
inadequate as they can be."

Commenting on the cause of the migration, the Atlanta Constitution,

a prominent southern white paper, says:
While mob violence and the falsehood which has been built upon that
foundation constitutes, perhaps, a strong factor in the migration of
the Negroes, there is scarcely a doubt that the educational feature
enters into it. Negroes induced to go to the North undoubtedly believe
they can secure better educational facilities there for their children,
whether they really succeed in getting them or not.
Georgia, as well as other southern states, is undoubtedly behind in
the matter of Negro education, unfair in the matter of facilities, in the
quality of teachers and instructors, and in the pay of those expected
to impart proper instruction to Negro children.
We have proceeded upon the theory that education would, in his own
mind, at least, carry the Negro beyond his sphere; that it would give
him higher ideas of himself and make of him a poorer and less
satisfactory workman. That is nonsense....

B. THE NORTH
The cessation of immigration.—Prior to the war the yearly
immigration to the United States equaled approximately the total
Negro population of the North. Foreign labor filled the unskilled labor
field, and Negroes were held closely in domestic and personal-
service work. The cessation of immigration and the return of
thousands of aliens to their mother-country, together with the
opening of new industries and the extension of old ones, created a
much greater demand for American labor. Employers looked to the
South for Negroes and advertised for them.
High wages.—Wages for unskilled work in the North in 1916 and
1917 ranged from $3.00 to $8.00 a day. There were shorter hours of
work and opportunity for overtime and bonuses.
Living conditions.—Houses available for Negroes in the North,
though by northern standards classed as unsanitary and unfit for
habitation, afforded greater comforts than the rude cabins of the
plantation. For those who had owned homes in the South there was
the opportunity of selling them and applying the money to payment
for a good home in the North.
Identical school privileges.—Co-education of whites and Negroes in
northern schools made possible a higher grade of instruction for the
children of migrants.[16]

II. SENTIMENTAL CAUSES OF THE MIGRATION

The causes classed as sentimental include those which have

reference to the feelings of Negroes concerning their surroundings in
the South and their reactions to the social systems and practices of
certain sections of the South. Frequently these causes were given as
the source of an old discontent among Negroes concerning the
South. Frequently they took prominence over economic causes, and
they were held for the most part by a fairly high class of Negroes.
These causes are in part as follows:
Lack of protection from mob violence.—Between 1885 and 1918,
2,881 Negroes were lynched in the United States, more than 85 per
cent of these lynchings occurring in the South. In 1917, 2,500
Negroes were driven by force out of Dawson and Forsythe counties,
Georgia.[17]
The Chicago Urban League reported that numbers of migrants from
towns where lynchings had occurred registered for jobs in Chicago
very shortly after lynchings. Concerning mob violence and general
insecurity both whites and Negroes living in the South have had
much to say. Their statements at the time of the migration are here
quoted.
From the Atlanta Constitution (white), November 24, 1916:
Current dispatches from Albany, Georgia, in the center of the section
apparently most affected, and where efforts are being made to stop
the exodus by spreading correct information among the Negroes, say:
The heaviest migration of Negroes has been from those counties in
which there have been the worst outbreaks against Negroes. It is
developed by investigation that where there have been lynchings, the
Negroes have been most eager to believe what the emigration agents
have told them of plots for the removal or extermination of the race.
Comparatively few Negroes have left Dougherty County, which is
considered significant in view of the fact that this is one of the
counties in southwest Georgia in which a lynching has never occurred.
These statements are most significant. Mob law as we have known in
Georgia has furnished emigration agents with all the leverage they
want; it is a foundation upon which it is easy to build with a well
concocted lie or two, and they have not been slow to take advantage
of it.
This loss of her best labor is another penalty Georgia is paying for her
indifference and inactivity in suppressing mob law.

From the Southwestern Christian Advocate (Negro), April 26, 1917:

But why do they [the Negroes] go? We give a concrete answer: some
months ago Anthony Crawford, a highly respectable, honest and
industrious Negro, with a good farm and holdings estimated to be
 worth $300,000, was lynched in Abbeville, South Carolina. He was
guilty of no crime. He would not be cheated out of his cotton. That
was insolence. He must be taught a lesson. When the mob went for
him he defended himself. They overpowered him and brutally lynched
him. This murder was without excuse and was condemned in no
uncertain words by the Governor, other high officials and the press in
general of South Carolina. Officials pledged that the lynchers would be
punished. The case went to the grand jury. Mr. Crawford was lynched
in the daytime and dragged through the streets by unmasked men.
The names of the leaders were supposed to have been known, and
yet the grand jury, under oath, says that it could not find sufficient
evidence to warrant an indictment....
Is any one surprised that Negroes are leaving South Carolina by the
thousands? The wonder is that any of them remain. They will suffer in
the North. Some of them will die. But Anthony Crawford did not get a
chance to die in Abbeville, South Carolina. He was shamefully
murdered. Any place would be paradise compared with some sections
of the South where the Negroes receive such maltreatment.

From the Savannah (Georgia) Morning News (white), January 3,

1917:
Another cause is the feeling of insecurity. The lack of legal protection
in the country is a constant nightmare to the colored people who are
trying to accumulate a comfortable little home and farm. There is
scarcely a Negro mother in the country who does not live in dread
and fear that her husband or son may come in unfriendly contact with
some white person as to bring the lynchers or the arresting officers to
her door which may result in the wiping out of her entire family. It
must be acknowledged that this is a sad condition....
The Southern white man ought to be willing to give the Negro a man's
chance without regard to his race or color, give him at least the same
protection of law given to anyone else. If he will not do this, the
Negro must seek those North or West, who will give him better wages
and better treatment. I hope, however, that this will not be necessary.

Injustice in the courts.—An excerpt from one of the newspapers of

that period illustrates the basis of this cause:
While our very solvency is being sucked out from underneath we go
out about affairs as usual—our police officers raid poolrooms for
"loafing Negroes," bring in twelve, keep them in the barracks all night,
 and next morning find that many of them have steady, regular jobs,
valuable assets to their white employers, suddenly left and gone to
Cleveland, "where they don't arrest fifty niggers for what three of 'em
done" [Montgomery (Alabama) Advertiser (white), September 21,
1916].

Inferior transportation facilities.—This refers to "Jim Crow cars," a

partitioned section of one railway car, usually the baggage car, and
partitioned sections of railway waiting-rooms, poorly kept, bearing
signs, "For colored only." This dissatisfaction is expressed in part in
the following comment of a Negro presiding elder, writing in the
Macon (Georgia) Ledger, a white paper:
The petty offenses, which you mention, are far more numerous than
you are aware of, besides other unjust treatments enacted daily on
the streets, street cars and trains. Our women are inhumanly treated
by some conductors, both on the street cars and trains. White men
are often found in compartments for Negroes smoking, and if
anything is said against it they who speak are insulted, or the car is
purposely filled with big puffs of smoke and the conductor's reply is,
"He'll quit to-rectly." Recently a white man entered a trailer for
Negroes with two little dogs. One of the dogs went between the seats
and crouched by a woman; she pushed him from her and the white
man took both dogs and set them aside her and she was forced to
ride with them. This is one of the many, many acts of injustice which
often result in a row for which the Negro has to pay the penalty.
These things are driving the Negro from the South.

Other causes stated are (a) the deprivation of the right to vote, (b)
the "rough-handed" and unfair competition of "poor whites," (c)
persecution by petty officers of the law, and (d) the "persecution of
the Press."

III. BEGINNING AND SPREAD OF MIGRATION

The enormous proportions to which the exodus grew obscure its

beginning. Several experiments had been tried with southern labor
in the Northeast, particularly in the Connecticut tobacco fields and in
Pennsylvania. In Connecticut, Negro students from the southern
schools had been employed during summers with great success.
Early in 1916, industries in Pennsylvania imported many Negroes
from Georgia and Florida. During July one railroad company stated
that it had brought to Pennsylvania more than 13,000 Negroes. They
wrote back for their friends and families, and from the points to
which they had been brought they spread out into new and "labor
slack" territories. Once begun, this means of recruiting labor was
used by hard-pressed industries in other sections of the North. The
reports of high wages, of the unexpected welcome of the North, and
of unusually good treatment accorded Negroes spread throughout
the South from Georgia and Florida to Texas.
The stimuli of suggestion and hysteria gave the migration an almost
religious significance, and it became a mass movement. Letters,
rumors, Negro newspapers, gossip, and other forms of social control
operated to add volume and enthusiasm to the exodus. Songs and
poems of the period characterized the migration as the "Flight Out of
Egypt," "Bound for the Promised Land," "Going into Canaan," "The
Escape from Slavery," etc.
The first movement was from Southeast to Northeast, following main
lines of transportation. Soon, however, it became known that the
Middle West was similarly in need of men. Many industries
advertised for southern Negroes in Negro papers. The federal
Department of Labor for a period was instrumental in transporting
Negroes from the South to relieve the labor shortage in other
sections of the country, but discontinued such efforts when southern
congressmen pointed out that the South's labor supply was being
depleted. It was brought out in the East St. Louis riot inquiry that
plants there had advertised in Texas newspapers for Negro laborers.
Chicago was the logical destination of Negroes from Mississippi,
Arkansas, Alabama, Louisiana, and Texas, because of the more
direct railway lines, the way in which the city had become known in
these sections through its two great mail-order houses, the Stock
Yards, and the packing-plants with their numerous storage houses
scattered in various towns and cities of the South. It was rumored in
these sections that the Stock Yards needed 50,000 men; it was said
that temporary housing was being provided by these hard-pressed
industries. Many Negroes came to the city on free transportation,
but by far the greater numbers paid their own fare. Club rates
offered by the railroads brought the fare within reach of many who
ordinarily could not have brought their families or even come
themselves. The organization into clubs composed of from ten to
fifty persons from the same community had the effect, on the one
hand, of adding the stimulus of intimate persuasion to the
movement, and, on the other hand, of concentrating solid groups in
congested spots in Chicago.
A study of certain Negro periodicals shows a powerful influence on
southern Negroes already in a state of unsettlement over news of
the "opening up of the North."
The Chicago Defender became a "herald of glad tidings" to southern
Negroes. Several cities attempted to prevent its circulation among
their Negro population and confiscated the street- and store-sales
supplies as fast as they came. Negroes then relied upon subscription
copies delivered through the mails. There are reports of the
clandestine circulation of copies of the paper in bundles of
merchandise. A correspondent of the Defender wrote: "White people
are paying more attention to the race in order to keep them in the
South, but the Chicago Defender has emblazoned upon their minds
'Bound for the Promised Land.'"
In Gulfport, Mississippi, it was stated, a man was regarded
"intelligent" if he read the Defender, and in Laurel, Mississippi, it was
said that old men who had never known how to read, bought the
paper simply because it was regarded as precious.[18]
Articles and headlines carrying this special appeal which appeared in
the Defender are quoted:
Why Should the Negro Stay in the South?
WEST INDIANS LIVE NORTH
It is true the South is nice and warm, and may I add, so is China, and
we find Chinamen living in the North, East, and West. So is Japan, but
the Japanese are living everywhere.
SCHOOL BOARDS BAD
While in Arkansas a member of the school board in one of the cities of
that state (and it is said it is the rule throughout the South that a
Race woman teacher to hold her school must be on friendly terms
with some one of them) lived openly with a Race woman, and the
entire Race, men and women, were afraid to protest or stop their
children from going to school, because this school board member
would get up a mob and run them out of the state. They must
stomach this treatment.
FROZEN DEATH BETTER
To die from the bite of frost is far more glorious than that of the mob.
I beg of you, my brothers, to leave that benighted land. You are free
men. Show the world that you will not let false leaders lead you. Your
neck has been in the yoke. Will you continue to keep it there because
some "white folks Nigger" wants you to? Leave to all quarters of the
globe. Get out of the South. Your being there in the numbers you are
gives the southern politician too strong a hold on your progress.
TURN DEAF EAR
Turn a deaf ear to everybody. You see they are not lifting their laws to
help you, are they? Have they stopped their Jim Crow cars? Can you
buy a Pullman sleeper where you wish? Will they give you a square
deal in court yet? When a girl is sent to prison, she becomes the
mistress of the guards and others in authority, and women prisoners
are put on the streets to work, something they don't do to a white
woman. And your leaders will tell you the South is the best place for
you. Turn a deaf ear to the scoundrel, and let him stay. Above all, see
to it that that jumping-jack preacher is left at the South, for he means
you no good here at the North.
GOOD-BYE, DIXIE LAND
One of our dear southern friends informs an anxious public that "the
Negroes of the North seem to fit very well into their occupations and
locations, but the southern Negro will never make a success in the
North. He doesn't understand the methods there, the people and the
work are wholly unsuited to him. Give him a home in the South where
climatic conditions blend into his peculiar physical makeup, where he
 is understood and can understand, and let him have a master and you
have given him the ideal home." There is the solution of the problem
in a nutshell. This dear friend thinks that under a master back of the
sugar cane and cotton fields, we might really be worth something to
the world. How thoughtful to point out the way for our stumbling feet.
Those who live in the North presumably always lived there, and, like
Topsy, they "just growed" in that section, so naturally fit well into their
occupations. There is such a difference between the white man and
the black man of the South; the former can travel to the North Pole if
he chooses without being affected, the latter, "they say" will die of a
million dread diseases if he dares to leave Dixie land, and yet the
thousands who have migrated North in the past year look as well and
hearty as they ever did. Something is wrong in our friend's
calculations.
We hear again and again of our "peculiar physical makeup." Is there
something radically different about us that is not found in other
people? Why the constant fear of Negro supremacy if the white brain
is more active and intelligent than the brain found in the colored man?
A good lawyer never fears a poor one in a court battle—he knows that
he has him bested from the start. The fact that we have made good
wherever and whenever given an opportunity, we admit, is a little
disquieting, but it is a way we have, and is hard to get out of. Once
upon a time we permitted other people to think for us—today we are
thinking and acting for ourselves, with the result that our "friends" are
getting alarmed at our progress. We'd like to oblige these unselfish (?)
souls and remain slaves in the South, but to other sections of the
country we have said, as the song goes: "I hear you calling me," and
boarded the train singing, "Good-by to Dixie-Land."

News articles in the Defender kept alive the enthusiasm and fervor
of the exodus:
LEAVING FOR THE NORTH
Tampa, Fla., Jan. 19.—J. T. King, supposed to be a race leader, is
using his wits to get on the good side of the white people by calling a
meeting to urge our people not to migrate North. King has been
termed a "good nigger" by his pernicious activity on the emigration
question. Reports have been received here that all who have gone
North are at work and pleased with the splendid conditions in the
North. It is known here that in the North there is a scarcity of labor,
mills and factories are open to them. People are not paying any
 attention to King and are packing and ready to travel North to the
"promised land."
DETERMINED TO GO NORTH
Jackson, Miss., March 23.—Although the white police and sheriff and
others are using every effort to intimidate the citizens from going
North, even Dr. Redmond's speech was circulated around, this has not
deterred our people from leaving. Many have walked miles to take the
train for the North. There is a determination to leave and there is no
hand save death to keep them from it.
THOMAS LIKES THE NORTH
J. H. Thomas, Birmingham, Ala., Brownsville Colony, has been here
several weeks and is very much pleased with the North. He is working
at the Pullman shops, making twice as much as he did at home. Mr.
Thomas says the "exodus" will be greater later on in the year, that he
did not find four feet of snow or would freeze to death. He lives at
346 East Thirty-fifth St.
LEAVING FOR THE EAST
Huntsville, Ala., Jan. 19.—Fifteen families, all members of the Race,
left here today for Pittsburgh, Pa., where they will take positions as
butlers, and maids, getting sixty to seventy-five dollars per month,
against fifteen and twenty paid here. Most of them claim that they
have letters from their friends who went early and made good, saying
that there was plenty of work, and this field of labor is short, owing to
the vast amount of men having gone to Europe and not returned.
THEY'RE LEAVING MEMPHIS IN DROVES
Some are coming on the passenger,
Some are coming on the freight,
Others will be found walking,
For none have time to wait.

Other headlines read: "Thousands Leave Memphis"; "Still Planning to

Come North"; "Northbound Their Cry." These articles are especially
interesting for the impelling power of the suggestion of a great mass
movement.
Denunciation of the South.—The idea that the South is a bad place,
unfit for the habitation of Negroes, was "played up" and emphasized
by the Defender. Conditions most distasteful to Negroes were given
first prominence. In this it had a clear field, for the local southern
Negro papers dared not make such unrestrained utterances. Articles
of this type appeared:
EXODUS TO START
Forest City, Ark., Feb. 16.—David B. Smith (white) is on trial for life for
the brutal murder of a member of the Race, W. H. Winford, who
refused to be whipped like others. This white man had the habit of
making his "slave" submit to this sort of punishment and when
Winford refused to stand for it, he was whipped to death with a "black
snake" whip. The trial of Smith is attracting very little attention. As a
matter of fact, the white people here think nothing of it as the dead
man is a "nigger."
This very act, coupled with other recent outrages that have been
heaped upon our people, are causing thousands to leave, not waiting
for the great spring movement in May.

The Defender had a favorite columnist, W. Allison Sweeney. His

specialty was "breaking southerners and 'white folks' niggers on the
wheel." One of his articles in the issue of June 23, 1917, was
captioned: "A Chicago 'Nigger' Preacher, a 'Feeder,' of The 'Little
Hells,' Springs up to Hinder Our Brethren Coming North."
A passage from this article will illustrate the temper of his writings.
Aroused by what he calls a "white folks nigger," he remarks:
Such a creature has recently been called to my attention, and for the
same reason that an unchecked rat has been known to jeopardize the
life of a great ship, a mouse's nibble of a match to set a mansion
aflame, I've concluded to carve a
"Slice of liver or two"
from that bellowing ass, who, at this very moment no doubt,
somewhere in the South, is going up and down the land, telling the
natives why they should be content, as the Tribune, puts it, to
become "Russianized," to remain in that land—to them—of blight; of
murdered kin, deflowered womanhood, wrecked homes, strangled
 ambitions, make-believe schools, roving "gun parties," midnight
arrests, rifled virginity, trumped up charges, lonely graves, where owls
hoot, and where friends dare not go! Do you wonder at the thousands
leaving the land where every foot of ground marks a tragedy, leaving
the grave of their fathers and all that is dear, to seek their fortunes in
the North? And you who say that their going is to seek better wages
are insulting truth, dethroning reason, and consoling yourself with a
groundless allegation.

Retaliation.—In answer to the warnings of the South against the

rigors of the northern winters, articles of this nature appeared:
FREEZING TO DEATH IN THE SOUTH
So much has been said through the white papers in the South about
the members of the race freezing to death in the North. They freeze
to death down South when they don't take care of themselves. There
is no reason for any human staying in the Southland on this bugaboo
handed out by the white press, when the following clippings are taken
from the same journals:
AGED NEGRO FROZEN TO DEATH
Albany, Ga., Feb. 8.—Yesterday the dead body of Peter Crowder, an
old Negro, was found in an out-of-the-way spot where he had been
frozen to death during the recent cold snap [from the Macon
(Georgia) Telegraph].
DIES FROM EXPOSURE
Spartanburg, Feb. 6.—Marshall Jackson, a Negro man, who lived on
the farm of J. T. Harris near Campobello Sunday night froze to death
[from the South Carolina State].
NEGRO FROZEN TO DEATH IN FIRELESS GRETNA HUT
Coldest weather of the last four years claimed a victim Friday night,
when Archie Williams, a Negro, was frozen to death in his bed in a
little hut in the outskirts of Gretna [from the New Orleans Item, dated
Feb. 4th].
NEGRO WOMAN FROZEN TO DEATH MONDAY
Harriet Tolbert, an aged Negro woman, was frozen to death in her
home at 18 Garibaldi Street early Monday morning during the severe
cold [Atlanta (Ga.) Constitution, dated Feb. 6].
 If you can freeze to death in the North and be free, why freeze to
death in the South and be a slave, where your mother, sister, and
daughter are raped and burned at stake, where your father, brother
and son are treated with contempt and hung to a pole, riddled with
bullets at the least mention that he does not like the way he has been
treated?
Come North then, all of you folks, both good and bad. If you don't
behave yourself up here, the jails will certainly make you wish you
had. For the hard working man there is plenty of work—if you really
want it. The Defender says come.

Still in another mood:

DIED, BUT TOOK ONE WITH HIM
Alexandria, La., Sept. 29.—Joe Pace (white) a southern workman, who
had a way of bulldozing members of the Race employed by the
Elizabeth Lumber Company, met his match here last Saturday night.
Pace got into one of his moods and kicked a fellow named Israel.
Israel determined to get justice some way and knowing that the
courts were only for white men in this part of the country, he took a
shot at Pace and his aim was good.

Another type of article appeared. In keeping with the concept of the

South as a bad place for Negroes, their escape from it under
exceptional circumstances was given unique attention. Thus, there
were reported the following kind of cases.
Saved from the South
Lawyers Save Another from Being Taken South
Saved from the South
Charged with Murder, but His Release Is Secured by Habeas Corpus
New Scheme to Keep Race Men in Dixie Land

A piece of poetry which received widespread popularity appeared in

the Defender under the title "Bound for the Promise Land." Other
published poems expressing the same sentiment were: "Farewell,
We're Good and Gone"; "Northward Bound"; "The Land of Hope."
 Five young men were arraigned before Judge E. Schwartz for reading
poetry. The police claim they were inciting riot in the city and over
Georgia. Two of the men were sent to Brown farm for thirty days, a
place not fit for human beings. Tom Amaca was arrested for having
"Bound for the Promise Land," a poem published in the Defender
several months ago. J. N. Chislom and A. A. Walker were arrested
because they were said to be the instigators of the movement of the
race to the North, where work is plentiful and better treatment is
given.

The "Great Northern Drive."—The setting of definite dates was

another stimulus. The "Great Northern Drive" was scheduled to
begin May 15, 1917. This date, or the week following, corresponds
with the date of the heaviest arrivals in the North, the period of
greatest temporary congestion and awakening of the North to the
presence of the new arrivals. Letters to the Chicago Defender and to
social agencies in the North informed them of many Negroes who
were preparing to come in the "Great Drive." The following letter
tells its own story:

April 24th, 1917

Mr. R. S. Abbot
Sir: I have been reading the Defender for one year or more and last
February I read about the Great Northern Drive to take place May
15th on Thursday and now I can hear so many people speaking of an
excursion to the North on the 15th of May for $3.00. My husband is in
the North already working, and he wants us to come up in May, so I
want to know if it is true about the excursion. I am getting ready and
oh so many others also, and we want to know is that true so we can
be in the Drive. So please answer at once. We are getting ready.

Yours,
——

Usually the dates set were for Wednesday and Saturday nights,
following pay days.
It is probably no exaggeration to say that the Defender's policy
prompted thousands of restless Negroes to venture North, where
they were assured of its protection and championship of their cause.
Many migrants in Chicago attribute their presence in the North to the
Defender's encouraging pictures of relief from conditions at home
with which they became increasingly dissatisfied as they read.

A NEGRO FAMILY JUST ARRIVED IN CHICAGO FROM THE

RURAL SOUTH
 NEGRO CHURCH IN THE SOUTH

IV. THE ARRIVAL IN CHICAGO

At the time of the migration the great majority of Negroes in Chicago

lived in a limited area on the South Side, principally between
Twenty-second and Thirty-ninth streets, Wentworth Avenue and
State Street, and in scattered groups to Cottage Grove Avenue on
the east. State Street was the main thoroughfare. Prior to the influx
of southern Negroes, many houses stood vacant in the section west
of State Street, from which Negroes had moved when better houses
became available east of State Street. Into these old and frequently
almost uninhabitable houses the first newcomers moved. Because of
its proximity to the old vice area this district had an added
undesirability for old Chicagoans. The newcomers, however, were
unacquainted with its reputation and had no hesitancy about moving
in until better homes could be secured. As the number of arrivals
increased, a scarcity of houses followed, creating a problem of acute
congestion.
During the summer of 1917 the Chicago Urban League made a
canvass of real estate dealers supplying houses for Negroes, and
found that in a single day there were 664 Negro applicants for
houses, and only fifty houses available. In some instances as many
as ten persons were listed for a single house. This condition did not
continue long. There were counted thirty-six new neighborhoods,
formerly white, opening up to Negroes within three months.
At the same time rents increased from 5 to 30 and sometimes as
much as 50 per cent. A more detailed study of living conditions
among the early migrants in Chicago was made by the Chicago
School of Civics and Philanthropy. The inquiry included seventy-five
families of less than a year's residence. In the group were sixty
married couples, 128 children, eight women, nine married men with
families in the South. Of these migrants forty-five families came from
rural and thirty-two from urban localities. The greatest number,
twenty-nine, came from Alabama; twenty-five were from Mississippi,
eleven from Louisiana, five from Georgia, four from Arkansas, two
from Tennessee, and one from Florida. Forty-one of these seventy-
five families were each living in one room. These rooms were rented
by the week, thus making possible an easy change of home at the
first opportunity.
It was at this period that the greatest excitement over the "incoming
hordes of Negroes" prevailed.
A significant feature was the large number of young children found.
The age distribution of 128 children in these seventy-five families
was forty-seven under seven years, forty-one between seven and
fourteen years, and forty over fourteen years.
Most of these children were of school age and had come from
districts in the South which provided few school facilities. The
parents were unaccustomed to the requirements of northern schools
in matters of discipline, attendance, and scholarship. Considerable
difficulty was experienced by teachers, parents, and children in these
first stages of adjustment.

V. ADJUSTMENTS TO CHICAGO LIFE

Meeting actual conditions of life in Chicago brought its exaltations

and disillusionments to the migrants. These were reflected in the
schools, public amusement places, industry, and the street cars. The
Chicago Urban League, Negro churches, and Negro newspapers
assumed the task of making the migrants into "city folk." The
increase in church membership indicates prompt efforts to re-engage
in community life and establish agreeable and helpful associations. It
also reflects the persistence of religious life among the migrants.
This increase is shown in Table V.
TABLE V

Increase in Membership during migration period

Name of Church
Number Percentage
Salem 700 51
Olivet 5,543 80
South Park 2,425 1,872
St. Mark's 1,800 100
Hyde Park 95 131
Bethel 650 800
Walters 351 338

Adjustment to new conditions was taken up by the Urban League as

its principal work. Co-operating with the Travelers Aid Society, United
Charities, and other agencies of the city, it met the migrants at
stations and, as far as its facilities permitted, secured living quarters
and jobs for them. The churches took them into membership and
attempted to make them feel at home. Negro newspapers published
instructions on dress and conduct and had great influence in
smoothing down improprieties of manner which were likely to
provoke criticism and intolerance in the city.
Individual experiences of the migrants in this period of adjustment
were often interesting. The Commission made a special effort to
note these experiences for the light they throw upon the general
process. Much of the adjustment was a double process, including the
adjustment of rural southern Negroes to northern urban conditions.
It is to be remembered that over 70 per cent of the Negro
population of the South is rural. This means familiarity with rural
methods, simple machinery, and plain habits of living. Farmers and
plantation workers coming to Chicago had to learn new tasks. Skilled
craftsmen had to relearn their trades when they were thrown amid
the highly specialized processes of northern industries. Domestic
servants went into industry. Professional men who followed their
clientèle had to re-establish themselves in a new community. The
small business men could not compete with the Jewish merchants,
who practically monopolized the trade of Negroes near their
residential areas, or with the "Loop" stores.
Many Negroes sold their homes and brought their furniture with
them. Reinvesting in property frequently meant a loss; the furniture
brought was often found to be unsuited to the tiny apartments or
large, abandoned dwelling-houses they were able to rent or buy.
The change of home carried with it in many cases a change of
status. The leader in a small southern community, when he came to
Chicago, was immediately absorbed into the struggling mass of
unnoticed workers. School teachers, male and female, whose
positions in the South carried considerable prestige, had to go to
work in factories and plants because the disparity in educational
standards would not permit continuance of their profession in
Chicago.
These illustrations in Table VI, taken from family histories, show how
adjustment led to inferior occupation.
TABLE VI

Occupation on First Arrival in Occupation One or More

Occupation in South
Chicago Years Later
 Display man on Laborer Laborer in factory
furniture
Stone mason Laborer in coal yard Laborer in Stock
Yards
Proprietor of café Laborer Elevator man
Farmer Laborer in Stock Yards Laborer in Stock
Yards
Coal miner Porter in tailoring shop Janitor
Proprietor of boarding- Laborer Laborer in Stock
house Yards
Farmer Factory worker Factory worker
Barber Painter Janitor
Hotel waiter Waiter Porter in factory
Plasterer Laborer in Stock Yards Laborer in steel mill
Farmer Hostler Laborer in livery
stable
Clergyman Stationary fireman Laborer in Stock
Yards
Tinsmith Waiter Laborer
Farmer Laborer in cement Laborer in Stock
factory Yards
Blacksmith Barber Janitor
Office boy Porter Laborer in Stock
Yards

The following experiences of one or two families from the many

histories gathered, while not entirely typical of all the migrants,
contain features common to all:
The Thomas family.—Mr. Thomas, his wife and two children, a girl
nineteen and a boy seventeen, came to Chicago from Seals, Alabama,
in the spring of 1917. After a futile search, the family rented rooms for
the first week. This was expensive and inconvenient, and between
working hours all sought a house into which they could take their
furniture. They finally found a five-room flat on Federal Street. The
building had been considered uninhabitable and dangerous. Three of
the five rooms were almost totally dark. The plumbing was out of
order. There was no bath, and the toilet was outside of the house.
There was neither electricity nor gas, and the family used oil lamps.
The rent was $15 per month. Although the combined income of the
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