Great Migration. This is the large-scale movement of Southern blacks to the cities of the North. Many blacks migrated to the North to escape the racial discrimination of the South and to find a better job. Blacks could make more in the factories than in the cotton fields. However, it should be noted that blacks would face racism in the North as they did in the South.
Women would also experience social change. Many women began working out of the house, taking over the jobs of the soldiers who went to war. Though the women didn’t receive equal pay, this shift to the work force would help people see women as a valuable part of our society. In 1920, women were given the right to vote through the 19th Amendment.
The last major social change during WWI was the Flu Epidemic of 1918, approximately ¼ of the U.S. population was affected. The economy suffered greatly as businesses were forced to shut down as people became ill with the mysterious virus. Doctors didn’t know how to treat it and about 500,000 Americans would die before it disappeared in 1919. This influenza virus was estimated to have killed approximately 30 million people worldwide.
