For my map I decided to look at the birthplace of people as they have maybe traveled throughout the United States. Like we have seen in class there are some inconsistencies with the map/data. As you will see in each map, there is complete data missing. But first let's take a look at my map on North Carolina born citizens in 1880.
This map explores people that are born in North Carolina according to the 1880 census. It is clear that there are people that are living along the railroad line the are from North Carolina. But what I find interesting is how many people are going West and South. What is striking to me is that not many North Carolinians are living in central South Carolina in 1880. I believe that may be inaccurate based on data because it is the only Southeastern state that does not have North Carolinians all over. There is also a blurb in central Indiana where many North Carolinians are living in 1880. I am unsure as to why or how because there is not a connection with the railroad. According to the Indiana Historical Society (https://indianahistory.org/research/research-materials/early-black-settlements/early-black-settlements-by-county/, https://blog.history.in.gov/tag/early-black-settlements/), there is a migration of African Americans from North Carolina to Indiana post-Civil War. This could be in effort to runaway from the South and maintain freedom. It would be interesting to explore this more.
This is interesting information, but it is clear that there is a lacking of information from all of the states. It would have been interesting to see the migration West and North. There is no way that North Carolinians, specifically Black citizens, were not migrating to New York and Illinois (Chicago) in the post-Civil War era.
With the information above, it is clear that North Carolinians were migrating throughout the United States. What strikes me most is the migration to Indiana. With further research, I concluded that African American's were migrating away from the South post-Civil War. This was done to not only escape the racism in the South, but to maintain their freedom.
Tiana, I found your post very interesting! Having incomplete data is very frustrating. I think it makes sense that African American North Carolinians fled from political violence in the post-Reconstruction South. I wonder why central Indiana and apparently most of Arkansas experience such an influx of North Carolinians.
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