How the migration of Southern whites in the 20th century shaped America's landscape

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05/29/23
In the early part of the 20th century, the Great Migration saw millions of African Americans leave the South for urban areas in the North. Now a new study sheds light on another great migration. Between 1900 and 1940, about 5 million white Southerners also left the region, and the study shows how the political and cultural influence of this migration continues to be felt today. Michel Martin spoke to Samuel Bazzi, one of the authors of the study. He's also an associate professor at the University of California, San Diego


*The paper discussed in the interview

Spoiler: Abstract & Full paper

Abstract​

This article shows how the migration of millions of Southern whites in the twentieth century shaped the cultural and political landscape across the United States. Racially and religiously conservative, Southern white migrants created new electoral possibilities for a broad-based coalition with economic conservatives. With their considerable geographic scope, these migrants hastened partisan realignment and helped catalyze and bolster a New Right movement with national influence over the long run. More than just augmenting the conservative voter base outside the South, they influenced non-Southerners by building evangelical churches, diffusing right-wing media, and mixing through intermarriage and residential integration. Tracking non-Southern households, we show that exposure to Southern white neighbors increased adoption of conservative religious norms. Overall, our findings suggest that this mass migration blurred the North–South cultural divide and reshaped the geography of conservatism in the United States