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French: La Manche ...(Show more)

Geology

The contemporary English Channel probably is the result of a complex structural downfolding dating from about 40 million years ago, although signs of a downwarp tendency occur as early as 270 million years ago. The direct ancestor of the channel may well have been a sea occupying the downfold one to two million years ago, with a sea level 600 to 700 feet higher than the present level.

The withdrawal of water by the glaciers of the late Pleistocene Epoch (about 25,000 years ago), produced a sea level at least 300 feet lower than the present. Later the melting of the ice raised the sea level to its present mark, and the ecologically important land bridge across the Strait of Dover finally was submerged about 8,000 years ago.

Physiography

The seafloor dips fairly steeply near the coasts but is generally flat and remarkably shallow (especially in relation to nearby land elevations); its greatest depth, 565 feet (172 metres) in the Hurd Deep, is one of a group of anomalous deep, enclosed troughs in the bed of the western channel. The channel has been shaped by the effect upon its rock strata (with their varying degrees of hardness) of such forces as weathering and erosion (when much of the area was dry land), sea-level changes, and contemporary erosion and deposition by marine currents.

The floor of the western channel generally is 200 to 400 feet deep and is relatively flat and featureless, reflecting fairly uniform rock types, mostly limestone. Harder igneous rocks cause shoals to emerge-as in the case of the Scilly Isles and Channel Islands-and submerged cliffs and narrow depressions provide some additional variety.

In the central channel (150 to 200 feet deep), depths are fairly uniform over chalk outcrops, but alternations of clays and limestones give rise to an undulating terrain, with deeps reaching almost twice the average. A continuation of the Seine River valley system north of the Cotentin Peninsula of Normandy complicates the relief forms. Farther east again, the seafloor is smoother and the geology simpler. Depths range from 6 to 160 feet, with such elongated banks as the Varne and the Ridge greatly constricting shipping lanes.

Because the English Channel, unlike the Irish or North seas, lay beyond the action of Pleistocene glaciers, superficial deposits are either very thin (three feet or less) or entirely absent. They represent a complex reworking of deposits of various ages, and their distribution reflects tidal streams. Where the streams are strong, the seabed is bare except for pebbles; decreasing velocities give rise to sand and gravel ribbons and waves (the latter up to 40 feet thick) and to thick beds of fine-grained deposits in sheltered areas, notably the Gulf of Saint-Malo.

Hydrology

Tides in the English Channel generally are strong, especially in the Strait of Dover, and may be visualized as an oscillation (modified by Earth's rotation and configuration) about a north-south line through the centre of the channel-i.e., with a rise to the west accompanying a fall to the east. The central portion experiences semidiurnal (twice-daily) tides (helpful to shipping movements at Southampton, which has a double, or prolonged, high tide), and the Gulf of Saint-Malo experiences the greatest tidal range, 28 feet or more.

Surface temperatures range from 45 °F (7 °C) in February to 61 °F (16 °C) in September, although shallow coastal waters are warmer in summer. There is little temperature change with depth in the well-mixed eastern waters of the channel, but bottom-water temperatures fall to 41 °F (5 °C) in the west. Surface salinities decline eastward from slightly less than the Atlantic level of 35.5 parts per thousand; coastal salinity readings are further reduced by the influx of river water, especially from the larger French landmass. There is an overall water flow through the English Channel to the North Sea, with complete replacement taking about 500 days.

Climate

The weather over the English Channel is highly variable. Often, but especially from October to April, it is cloudy, chilly, and wet, with strong winds and poor visibility. At other times, it is fair and dry, with light winds and good visibility. During periods of unsettled weather, daytime high temperatures rise to about 54 °F (12 °C) in winter and 68 °F (20 °C) in summer. When the weather is clear, temperature extremes can range from a winter morning low of 23 °F (−5 °C) to more than 86 °F (30 °C) on a summer afternoon. Precipitation averages 28 to 39 inches (700 to 1,000 mm) per year. Gales may blow from any direction but most commonly come from the southwest or west.

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English Channel | Location, History, & Facts

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English Channel, narrow arm of the Atlantic Ocean separating the southern coast of England from the northern coast of France and tapering eastward to its junction with the North Sea at the Strait of Dover. Its location has given it immense significance over the centuries.

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The English Channel, also known as simply the Channel (or historically as the ), is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busiest shipping area in the world.

It is about 560 kilometres (300 nautical miles; 350 statute miles) long and varies in width from 240 km (130 nmi; 150 mi) at its widest to 34 km (18 nmi; 21 mi) at its narrowest in the Strait of Dover. It is the smallest of the shallow seas around the continental shelf of Europe, covering an area of some 75,000 square kilometres (22,000 square nautical miles; 29,000 square miles).

The Channel was a key factor in Britain becoming a naval superpower and has been utilised by Britain as a natural defence mechanism by which many would-be invasions, such as the Napoleonic Wars and those of Adolf Hitler in World War II, were halted.

The population around the English Channel is predominantly located on the English coast and the major languages spoken in this region are English and French.

The Strait of Dover between England and France is the narrowest part of the English Channel, which separates Great Britain from continental Europe, and marks the boundary between the Channel and the North Sea.

The name first appears in Roman sources as Oceanus Britannicus (or Mare Britannicum, meaning the British Ocean or British Sea). Variations of this term were used by influential writers such as Ptolemy, and remained popular with British and continental authors well into the modern era. Other Latin names for the sea include Oceanus Gallicus (the Gaulish Ocean) which was used by Isidore of Seville in the sixth century.

The term British Sea is still used by speakers of Cornish and Breton, with the sea known to them as Mor Bretannek in and Mor Breizh respectively. While it is likely that these names derive from the Latin term, it is possible that they predate the arrival of the Romans in the area. The modern Welsh is often given as Môr Udd (the Lord's/Prince's Sea); however, this name originally described both the Channel and the North Sea combined.

Anglo-Saxon texts make reference to the sea as Sūð-sǣ ('South Sea'), but this term fell out of favour, as later English authors followed the same conventions as their Latin and Norman contemporaries. One English name that did persist was the Narrow Seas, a collective term for the channel and North Sea. As England (followed by Great Britain and the United Kingdom) claimed sovereignty over the sea, a Royal Navy Admiral was appointed with maintaining duties in the two seas. The office was maintained until 1822, when several European nations (including the United Kingdom) adopted a three-mile limit to territorial waters.

Osborne House, the summer retreat of Queen Victoria on the Isle of Wight. Starting from the late 18th century, settlements on and around the English Channel coastline in England grew rapidly into thriving seaside resorts, bolstered by their association with royalty and the middle and upper classes.

The word channel was first recorded in Middle English in the 13th century and was borrowed from Old French chanel (a variant form of chenel 'canal'). By the middle of the fifteenth century, an Italian map based on Ptolemy's description named the sea as Britanicus Oceanus nunc Canalites Anglie (British Ocean but now English Channel). The map is possibly the first recorded use of the term English Channel and the description suggests the name had recently been adopted.

In the sixteenth century, Dutch maps referred to the sea as the Engelse Kanaal (English Channel) and by the 1590s, William Shakespeare used the word Channel in his history plays of Henry VI, suggesting that by that time, the name was popularly understood by English people.

By the eighteenth century, the name English Channel was in common usage in England. Following the Acts of Union 1707, this was replaced in official maps and documents with British Channel or British Sea for much of the next century. However, the term English Channel remained popular and was finally in official usage by the nineteenth century.

Map of the channel area with French nomenclature

The French name la Manche has been used since at least the 17th century. The name is usually said to refer to the sleeve (French: la manche) shape of the Channel. Folk etymology has derived it from a Celtic word meaning 'channel' that is also the source of the name for the Minch in Scotland, but this name is not attested before the 17th century, and French and British sources of that time are clear about its etymology. The name in French has been directly adapted in other languages as either a calque, such as Canale della Manica in Italian, or a direct borrowing, such as Canal de la Mancha in Spanish.

Map of the English Channel

The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the English Channel as follows:

The IHO defines the southwestern limit of the North Sea as "a line joining the Walde Lighthouse (France, 1°55'E) and Leathercoat Point (England, 51°10'N)". The Walde Lighthouse is 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) east of Calais (), and Leathercoat Point is at the north end of St Margaret's Bay, Kent, some 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) North-East of Dover ().

The Strait of Dover (French: Pas de Calais), at the Channel's eastern end, is its narrowest point, while its widest point lies between Lyme Bay and the Gulf of Saint Malo, near its midpoint. It is relatively shallow, with an average depth of about 120 m (390 ft) at its widest part, reducing to a depth of about 45 m (148 ft) between Dover and Calais. Eastwards from there the adjoining North Sea reduces to about 26 m (85 ft) in the Broad Fourteens where it lies over the watershed of the former land bridge between East Anglia and the Low Countries. It reaches a maximum depth of 180 m (590 ft) in the submerged valley of Hurd's Deep, 48 km (30 mi) west-northwest of Guernsey. The eastern region along the French coast between Cherbourg and the mouth of the Seine river at Le Havre is frequently referred to as the Bay of the Seine (French: Baie de Seine).

Three French river mouths. Top to bottom: the Somme, the Authie and the Canche

There are several major islands in the Channel, the most notable being the Isle of Wight off the English coast, and the Channel Islands, British Crown Dependencies off the coast of France. The coastline, particularly on the French shore, is deeply indented; several small islands close to the coastline, including Chausey and Mont Saint-Michel, are within French jurisdiction. The Cotentin Peninsula in France juts out into the Channel, whilst on the English side there is a small parallel strait known as the Solent between the Isle of Wight and the mainland. The Celtic Sea is to the west of the Channel.

The Channel acts as a funnel that amplifies the tidal range from less than a metre as observed at sea[clarification needed ] to more than 6 metres as observed in the Channel Islands, the west coast of the Cotentin Peninsula and the north coast of Brittany. The time difference of about six hours between high water at the eastern and western limits of the Channel is indicative of the tidal range being amplified further by resonance.

In the UK Shipping Forecast the Channel is divided into the following areas, from the east:

The Channel is of geologically recent origin, having been dry land for most of the Pleistocene period. Before the Devensian glaciation (the most recent glacial period, which ended around 10,000 years ago), Britain and Ireland were part of continental Europe, linked by an unbroken Weald-Artois anticline, a ridge that acted as a natural dam holding back a large freshwater pro-glacial lake in the Doggerland region, now submerged under the North Sea. During this period the North Sea and almost all of the British Isles were covered by ice. The lake was fed by meltwater from the Baltic and from the Caledonian and Scandinavian ice sheets that joined to the north, blocking its exit. The sea level was about 120 m (390 ft) lower than it is today. Then, between 450,000 and 180,000 years ago, at least two catastrophic glacial lake outburst floods breached the Weald-Artois anticline.

The first flood of 450 thousand years ago would have lasted for several months, releasing as much as one million cubic metres of water per second. The flood started with large but localised waterfalls over the ridge, which excavated depressions now known as the Fosses Dangeard. The flow eroded the retaining ridge, causing the rock dam to fail and releasing lake water into the Atlantic. After multiple episodes of changing sea level, during which the Fosses Dangeard were largely infilled by various layers of sediment, another catastrophic flood some 180,000 years ago carved a large bedrock-floored valley, the Lobourg Channel, some 500 m wide and 25 m deep, from the southern North Sea basin through the centre of the Straits of Dover and into the English Channel. It left streamlined islands, longitudinal erosional grooves, and other features characteristic of catastrophic megaflood events, still present on the sea floor and now revealed by high-resolution sonar. Through the scoured channel passed a river, the Channel River, which drained the combined Rhine and Thames westwards to the Atlantic.

The flooding destroyed the ridge that connected Britain to continental Europe, although a land connection across the southern North Sea would have existed intermittently at later times when periods of glaciation resulted in lowering of sea levels. At the end of the last glacial period, rising sea levels finally severed the last land connection.

As a busy shipping lane, the Channel experiences environmental problems following accidents involving ships with toxic cargo and oil spills. Indeed, over 40% of the UK incidents threatening pollution occur in or very near the Channel. One occurrence was the MSC Napoli, which on 18 January 2007 was beached with nearly 1700 tonnes of dangerous cargo in Lyme Bay, a protected World Heritage Site coastline. The ship had been damaged and was en route to Portland Harbour.

The English Channel, despite being a busy shipping lane, remains in part a haven for wildlife. Atlantic oceanic species are more common in the westernmost parts of the channel, particularly to the west of Start Point, Devon, but can sometimes be found further east towards Dorset and the Isle of Wight. Seal sightings are becoming more common along the English Channel, with both Grey Seal and Harbour Seal recorded frequently.

The Channel, which delayed human reoccupation of Great Britain for more than 100,000 years, has in historic times been both an easy entry for seafaring people and a key natural defence, halting invading armies while in conjunction with control of the North Sea allowing Britain to blockade the continent.[citation needed ] The most significant failed invasion threats came when the Dutch and Belgian ports were held by a major continental power, e.g. from the Spanish Armada in 1588, Napoleon during the Napoleonic Wars, and Nazi Germany during World War II. Successful invasions include the Roman conquest of Britain, the Norman Conquest in 1066 and the Glorious Revolution of 1688, while the concentration of excellent harbours in the Western Channel on Britain's south coast made possible the largest amphibious invasion in history, the Normandy Landings in 1944. Channel naval battles include the Battle of the Downs (1639), Battle of Dover (1652), the Battle of Portland (1653) and the Battle of La Hougue (1692).

In more peaceful times the Channel served as a link joining shared cultures and political structures, particularly the huge Angevin Empire from 1135 to 1217. For nearly a thousand years, the Channel also provided a link between the Modern Celtic regions and languages of Cornwall and Brittany. Brittany was founded by Britons who fled Cornwall and Devon after Anglo-Saxon encroachment. In Brittany, there is a region known as " Cornouaille" (Cornwall) in French and "Kernev" in Breton. In ancient times there was also a " Domnonia" (Devon) in Brittany as well.

In February 1684, ice formed on the sea in a belt 4.8 km (3.0 mi) wide off the coast of Kent and 3.2 km (2.0 mi) wide on the French side.

Remnants of a mesolithic boatyard have been found on the Isle of Wight. Wheat was traded across the Channel about 8,000 years ago. "... Sophisticated social networks linked the Neolithic front in southern Europe to the Mesolithic peoples of northern Europe." The Ferriby Boats, Hanson Log Boats and the later Dover Bronze Age Boat could carry a substantial cross-Channel cargo.

Diodorus Siculus and Pliny both suggest trade between the rebel Celtic tribes of Armorica and Iron Age Britain flourished. In 55 BC Julius Caesar invaded, claiming that the Britons had aided the Veneti against him the previous year. He was more successful in 54 BC, but Britain was not fully established as part of the Roman Empire until completion of the invasion by Aulus Plautius in 43 AD. A brisk and regular trade began between ports in Roman Gaul and those in Britain. This traffic continued until the end of Roman rule in Britain in 410 AD, after which the early Anglo-Saxons left less clear historical records.

In the power vacuum left by the retreating Romans, the Germanic Angles, Saxons, and Jutes began the next great migration across the North Sea. Having already been used as mercenaries in Britain by the Romans, many people from these tribes crossed during the Migration Period, conquering and perhaps displacing the native Celtic populations.

The attack on Lindisfarne in 793 is generally considered the beginning of the Viking Age. For the next 250 years the Scandinavian raiders of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark dominated the North Sea, raiding monasteries, homes, and towns along the coast and along the rivers that ran inland. According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle they began to settle in Britain in 851. They continued to settle in the British Isles and the continent until around 1050, with some raids recorded along the channel coast of England, including at Wareham, Portland, near Weymouth and along the river Teign in Devon.

The fiefdom of Normandy was created for the Viking leader Rollo (also known as Robert of Normandy). Rollo had besieged Paris but in 911 entered vassalage to the king of the West Franks Charles the Simple through the Treaty of St.-Claire-sur-Epte. In exchange for his homage and fealty, Rollo legally gained the territory he and his Viking allies had previously conquered. The name "Normandy" reflects Rollo's Viking (i.e. "Northman") origins.

The descendants of Rollo and his followers adopted the local Gallo-Romance language and intermarried with the area's inhabitants and became the Normans - a Norman French-speaking mixture of Scandinavians, Hiberno-Norse, Orcadians, Anglo-Danish, and indigenous Franks and Gauls.

Rollo's descendant William, Duke of Normandy became king of England in 1066 in the Norman Conquest beginning with the Battle of Hastings, while retaining the fiefdom of Normandy for himself and his descendants. In 1204, during the reign of King John, mainland Normandy was taken from England by France under Philip II, while insular Normandy (the Channel Islands) remained under English control. In 1259, Henry III of England recognised the legality of French possession of mainland Normandy under the Treaty of Paris. His successors, however, often fought to regain control of mainland Normandy.

With the rise of William the Conqueror the North Sea and Channel began to lose some of their importance. The new order oriented most of England and Scandinavia's trade south, toward the Mediterranean and the Orient.

Although the British surrendered claims to mainland Normandy and other French possessions in 1801, the monarch of the United Kingdom retains the title Duke of Normandy in respect to the Channel Islands. The Channel Islands (except for Chausey) are Crown Dependencies of the British Crown. Thus the Loyal toast in the Channel Islands is Le roi, notre Duc ("The King, our Duke"). The British monarch is understood to not be the Duke of Normandy in regards of the French region of Normandy described herein, by virtue of the Treaty of Paris of 1259, the surrender of French possessions in 1801, and the belief that the rights of succession to that title are subject to Salic Law which excludes inheritance through female heirs.

French Normandy was occupied by English forces during the Hundred Years' War in 1346-1360 and again in 1415-1450.

From the reign of Elizabeth I, English foreign policy concentrated on preventing invasion across the Channel by ensuring no major European power controlled the potential Dutch and Flemish invasion ports. Her climb to the pre-eminent sea power of the world began in 1588 as the attempted invasion of the Spanish Armada was defeated by the combination of outstanding naval tactics by the English and the Dutch under command of Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Nottingham with Sir Francis Drake second in command, and the following stormy weather. Over the centuries the Royal Navy slowly grew to be the most powerful in the world.

The building of the British Empire was possible only because the Royal Navy eventually managed to exercise unquestioned control over the seas around Europe, especially the Channel and the North Sea. During the Seven Years' War, France attempted to launch an invasion of Britain. To achieve this France needed to gain control of the Channel for several weeks, but was thwarted following the British naval victory at the Battle of Quiberon Bay in 1759 and was unsuccessful (The last French landing on English soil being in 1690 with a raid on Teignmouth, although the last French raid on British soil was a raid on Fishguard, Wales in 1797).

Another significant challenge to British domination of the seas came during the Napoleonic Wars. The Battle of Trafalgar took place off the coast of Spain against a combined French and Spanish fleet and was won by Admiral Horatio Nelson, ending Napoleon's plans for a cross-Channel invasion and securing British dominance of the seas for over a century.

The exceptional strategic importance of the Channel as a tool for blockading was recognised by the First Sea Lord Admiral Fisher in the years before World War I. "Five keys lock up the world! Singapore, the Cape, Alexandria, Gibraltar, Dover." However, on 25 July 1909 Louis Blériot made the first Channel crossing from Calais to Dover in an aeroplane. Blériot's crossing signalled a change in the function of the Channel as a barrier-moat for England against foreign enemies.

Because the Kaiserliche Marine surface fleet could not match the British Grand Fleet, the Germans developed submarine warfare, which was to become a far greater threat to Britain. The Dover Patrol, set up just before the war started, escorted cross-Channel troopships and prevented submarines from sailing in the Channel, obliging them to travel to the Atlantic via the much longer route around Scotland.

On land, the German army attempted to capture French Channel ports in the Race to the Sea but although the trenches are often said to have stretched "from the frontier of Switzerland to the English Channel", they reached the coast at the North Sea. Much of the British war effort in Flanders was a bloody but successful strategy to prevent the Germans reaching the Channel coast.

At the outset of the war, an attempt was made to block the path of U-boats through the Dover Strait with naval minefields. By February 1915, this had been augmented by a 25 kilometres (16 mi) stretch of light steel netting called the Dover Barrage, which it was hoped would ensnare submerged submarines. After initial success, the Germans learned how to pass through the barrage, aided by the unreliability of British mines. On 31 January 1917, the Germans resumed unrestricted submarine warfare leading to dire Admiralty predictions that submarines would defeat Britain by November, the most dangerous situation Britain faced in either world war.

The Battle of Passchendaele in 1917 was fought to reduce the threat by capturing the submarine bases on the Belgian coast, though it was the introduction of convoys and not capture of the bases that averted defeat. In April 1918 the Dover Patrol carried out the Zeebrugge Raid against the U-boat bases. During 1917, the Dover Barrage was re-sited with improved mines and more effective nets, aided by regular patrols by small warships equipped with powerful searchlights. A German attack on these vessels resulted in the Battle of Dover Strait in 1917. A much more ambitious attempt to improve the barrage, by installing eight massive concrete towers across the strait was called the Admiralty M-N Scheme but only two towers were nearing completion at the end of the war and the project was abandoned.

The naval blockade in the Channel and North Sea was one of the decisive factors in the German defeat in 1918.

During the Second World War, naval activity in the European theatre was primarily limited to the Atlantic. During the Battle of France in May 1940, the German forces succeeded in capturing both Boulogne and Calais, thereby threatening the line of retreat for the British Expeditionary Force. By a combination of hard fighting and German indecision, the port of Dunkirk was kept open allowing 338,000 Allied troops to be evacuated in Operation Dynamo. More than 11,000 were evacuated from Le Havre during Operation Cycle and a further 192,000 were evacuated from ports further down the coast in Operation Aerial in June 1940. The early stages of the Battle of Britain featured German air attacks on Channel shipping and ports; despite these early successes against shipping the Germans did not win the air supremacy necessary for Operation Sealion, the projected cross-Channel invasion.

The Channel subsequently became the stage for an intensive coastal war, featuring submarines, minesweepers, and Fast Attack Craft.

The narrow waters of the Channel were considered too dangerous for major warships until the Normandy Landings with the exception, for the German Kriegsmarine, of the Channel Dash (Operation Cerberus) in February 1942, and this required the support of the Luftwaffe in Operation Thunderbolt.

150 mm Second World War German gun emplacement in Normandy

As part of the Atlantic Wall, between 1940 and 1945 the occupying German forces and the Organisation Todt constructed fortifications round the coasts of the Channel Islands, such as this observation tower at Les Landes, Jersey.

Dieppe was the site of an ill-fated Dieppe Raid by Canadian and British armed forces. More successful was the later Operation Overlord ( D-Day), a massive invasion of German-occupied France by Allied troops. Caen, Cherbourg, Carentan, Falaise and other Norman towns endured many casualties in the fight for the province, which continued until the closing of the so-called Falaise gap between Chambois and Montormel, then liberation of Le Havre.

The Channel Islands were the only part of the British Commonwealth occupied by Germany (excepting the part of Egypt occupied by the Afrika Korps at the time of the Second Battle of El Alamein, which was a protectorate and not part of the Commonwealth). The German occupation of 1940-1945 was harsh, with some island residents being taken for slave labour on the Continent; native Jews sent to concentration camps; partisan resistance and retribution; accusations of collaboration; and slave labour (primarily Russians and eastern Europeans) being brought to the islands to build fortifications. The Royal Navy blockaded the islands from time to time, particularly following the liberation of mainland Normandy in 1944. Intense negotiations resulted in some Red Cross humanitarian aid, but there was considerable hunger and privation during the occupation, particularly in the final months, when the population was close to starvation. The German troops on the islands surrendered on 9 May 1945, a day after the final surrender in mainland Europe.

English Channel migrant crossings (2018-present)

Arrivals by month each year on small boats via the English Channel

There is significant public concern in the UK about illegal immigrants coming on small boats from France. Since 2018, the English Channel has seen a major increase in number of crossing.

The English Channel coast is far more densely populated on the English shore. The most significant towns and cities along both the English and French sides of the Channel (each with more than 20,000 inhabitants, ranked in descending order; populations are the urban area populations from the 1999 French census, 2001 UK census, and 2001 Jersey census) are as follows:

Brighton-Worthing-Littlehampton: 461,181 inhabitants, made up of:

Portsmouth: 442,252, including

Bournemouth & Poole: 383,713

Southampton: 304,400

Plymouth: 258,700

Torbay (Torquay): 129,702

Hastings-Bexhill: 126,386

Exeter: 119,600

Eastbourne: 106,562

Bognor Regis: 62,141

Folkestone-Hythe: 60,039

Weymouth: 56,043

Dover: 39,078

Walmer-Deal: 35,941

Exmouth: 32,972

Falmouth-Penryn: 28,801

Ryde: 22,806

St Austell: 22,658

Seaford: 21,851

Falmouth: 21,635

Penzance: 20,255

Le Havre: 248,547 inhabitants

Calais: 104,852

Saint-Malo: 50,675

Lannion-Perros-Guirec: 48,990

Saint-Brieuc: 45,879

Boulogne-sur-Mer: 42,537

Cherbourg: 42,318

Dieppe: 42,202

Morlaix: 35,996

Dinard: 25,006

Étaples-Le Touquet-Paris-Plage: 23,994

Fécamp: 22,717

Eu-Le Tréport: 22,019

Trouville-sur-Mer-Deauville: 20,406

Kelham's Dictionary of the Norman or Old French Language (1779), defining Law French, a language historically used in English law courts

The two dominant cultures are English on the north shore of the Channel, French on the south. However, there are also a number of minority languages that are or were found on the shores and islands of the English Channel, which are listed here, with the Channel's name in the specific language following them.

Celtic Languages

Breton: Mor Breizh, Sea of Brittany

Irish: Muir nIocht, Merciful Sea

Germanic languages

English

Dutch: het Kanaal, the Channel. (Dutch previously had a larger range, and extended into parts of modern-day France as French Flemish.)

Romance languages

Norman, including the Channel Island vernaculars:

Most other languages tend towards variants of the French and English forms, but notably Welsh has Môr Udd.

The Channel has traffic on both the UK-Europe and North Sea-Atlantic routes, and is the world's busiest seaway, with over 500 ships per day. Following an accident in January 1971 and a series of disastrous collisions with wreckage in February, the Dover TSS, the world's first radar-controlled traffic separation scheme, was set up by the International Maritime Organization. The scheme mandates that vessels travelling north must use the French side, travelling south the English side. There is a separation zone between the two lanes.

In December 2002 the MV Tricolor, carrying £30m of luxury cars, sank 32 km (20 mi) northwest of Dunkirk after collision in fog with the container ship Kariba. The cargo ship Nicola ran into the wreckage the next day. There was no loss of life.

The beach of Le Havre and a part of the rebuilt city

The shore-based long-range traffic control system was updated in 2003 and there is a series of traffic separation systems in operation. Though the system is inherently incapable of reaching the levels of safety obtained from aviation systems such as the traffic collision avoidance system, it has reduced accidents to one or two per year.

Marine GPS systems allow ships to be preprogrammed to follow navigational channels accurately and automatically, further avoiding risk of running aground, but following the fatal collision between Dutch Aquamarine and Ash in October 2001, Britain's Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) issued a safety bulletin saying it believed that in these most unusual circumstances GPS use had actually contributed to the collision. The ships were maintaining a very precise automated course, one directly behind the other, rather than making use of the full width of the traffic lanes as a human navigator would.

A combination of radar difficulties in monitoring areas near cliffs, a failure of a CCTV system, incorrect operation of the anchor, the inability of the crew to follow standard procedures of using a GPS to provide early warning of the ship dragging the anchor and reluctance to admit the mistake and start the engine led to the MV Willy running aground in Cawsand Bay, Cornwall, in January 2002. The MAIB report makes it clear that the harbour controllers were informed of impending disaster by shore observers before the crew were themselves aware. The village of Kingsand was evacuated for three days because of the risk of explosion, and the ship was stranded for 11 days.

The ferry routes crossing the English Channel, include (have included):-

Many travellers cross beneath the Channel using the Channel Tunnel, first proposed in the early 19th century and finally opened in 1994, connecting the UK and France by rail. It is now routine to travel between Paris or Brussels and London on the Eurostar train. Freight trains also use the tunnel. Cars, coaches and lorries are carried on Eurotunnel Shuttle trains between Folkestone and Calais.

The coastal resorts of the Channel, such as Brighton and Deauville, inaugurated an era of aristocratic tourism in the early 19th century. Short trips across the Channel for leisure purposes are often referred to as Channel Hopping.

The Rampion Wind Farm is an offshore wind farm located in the Channel, off the coast of West Sussex. Other offshore wind farms planned on the French side of the Channel.

As one of the narrowest and most well-known international waterways lacking dangerous currents, the Channel has been the first objective of numerous innovative sea, air, and human powered crossing technologies. Pre-historic people sailed from the mainland to England for millennia. At the end of the last Ice Age, lower sea levels even permitted walking across.

March 1816

The French paddle steamer Élise (ex Scottish-built Margery or Margory) was the first steamer to cross the Channel.

9 May 1816

Paddle steamer Defiance, Captain William Wager, was the first steamer to cross the Channel to Holland

10 June 1821

Paddle steamer Rob Roy, first passenger ferry to cross channel

The steamer was purchased subsequently by the French postal administration and renamed Henri IV.

June 1843

First ferry connection through Folkestone-Boulogne

Commanding officer Captain Hayward

17 March 1864

Race between a twin-screw steamer and a paddle steamer carrying mail. This race proved the superiority of screw over paddle.

The Atalanta Twin-Screw Steamer and the Dover Mail-Packet Empress

The Atalanta newly built by Messrs. J. and W. Dudgeon, of Cubitt Town Yard, Millwall, made the trip from to Dover to Calais in 77 minutes; the Empress, owned by the London, Chatham, and Dover Railway Company took 107 minutes.

25 July 1959

Hovercraft crossing (Calais to Dover, 2 hours 3 minutes)

Sir Christopher Cockerell was on board

1960s

First crossing by water ski.

The Varne Boat Club ran an annual cross-channel ski race from the 1960s onwards. The race was from the Varne club in Greatstone on Sea to Cap Gris Nez / Boulogne (latter years) and back. Many waterskiers have made this return crossing non-stop since this time.[citation needed ] Youngest known waterskier to cross the Channel was John Clements aged 10, from the Varne Boat Club on 22 August 1974 who crossed from Littlestone to Boulogne and back without falling.[citation needed ]

22 August 1972

First solo hovercraft crossing (same route as SR-N1; 2 hours 20 minutes)

Nigel Beale (UK)

1974

Coracle (13 and a half hours)

Bernard Thomas (UK)

As part of a publicity stunt, the journey was undertaken to demonstrate how the Bull Boats of the Mandan Indians of North Dakota could have been copied from Welsh coracles introduced by Prince Madog in the 12th century.

August 1984

First crossing by Pedalo (8hrs 6mins)

Ric and Steve Cooper (UK)

Charity event organized by Littlehampton Rotaract to raise funds for Leukaemia Research, the RNLI, and other charities in memory of Angie Jones.

14 September 1995

Fastest crossing by hovercraft, 22 minutes by Princess Anne

MCH SR-N4 MkIII

Craft was designed as a ferry

1997

First vessel to complete a solar-powered crossing using photovoltaic cells

SB Collinda

-

14 June 2004

New record time for crossing in amphibious vehicle (the Gibbs Aquada, three-seater open-top sports car)

Richard Branson (UK)

Completed crossing in 1 hour 40 minutes 6 seconds - previous record was 6 hours.[citation needed ]

26 July 2006

New record time for crossing in hydrofoil car (the Rinspeed Splash, two-seater open-top sports car)

Frank M. Rinderknecht (Switzerland)

Completed crossing in 3 hours 14 minutes

25 September 2006

First crossing on a towed inflatable object (not a powered inflatable boat)

Stephen Preston (UK)

Completed crossing in 180 min

July 2007

BBC Top Gear presenters "drive" to France in amphibious cars

Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, James May (UK)

Completed the crossing in a 1996 Nissan D21 pick-up (the "Nissank"), fitted with a Honda outboard engine.

20 August 2011

First Crossing by Sea Scooters

A four-man relay team from Scarborough, North Yorkshire, headed by Heath Samples, crossed from Shakespeare Beach to Wissant.[citation needed ]

It took 12 hours 26 minutes 39 seconds and set a new Guinness World Record.

Pierre Andriel crossed the English Channel aboard the , ex the Scottish p.s. "Margery" in March 1816, one of the earliest seagoing voyages by steam ship.

The paddle steamer Defiance, Captain William Wager, was the first steamer to cross the Channel to Holland, arriving there on 9 May 1816.

On 10 June 1821, English-built paddle steamer Rob Roy was the first passenger ferry to cross channel. The steamer was purchased subsequently by the French postal administration and renamed Henri IV and put into regular passenger service a year later. It was able to make the journey across the Straits of Dover in around three hours.

In June 1843, because of difficulties with Dover harbour, the South Eastern Railway company developed the Boulogne-sur-Mer- Folkestone route as an alternative to Calais-Dover. The first ferry crossed under the command of Captain Hayward.

In 1974 a Welsh coracle piloted by Bernard Thomas of Llechryd crossed the English Channel to France in 13 hours. The journey was undertaken to demonstrate how the Bull Boats of the Mandan Indians of North Dakota could have been copied from coracles introduced by Prince Madog in the 12th century.

The Mountbatten class hovercraft (MCH) entered commercial service in August 1968, initially between Dover and Boulogne but later also Ramsgate ( Pegwell Bay) to Calais. The journey time Dover to Boulogne was roughly 35 minutes, with six trips per day at peak times. The fastest crossing of the English Channel by a commercial car-carrying hovercraft was 22 minutes, recorded by the Princess Anne MCH SR-N4 Mk3 on 14 September 1995,

The first aircraft to cross the Channel was a balloon in 1785, piloted by Jean Pierre François Blanchard (France) and John Jeffries (US).

Louis Blériot (France) piloted the first airplane to cross in 1909.

On 26 September 2008, Swiss Yves Rossy aka Jetman became the first person to cross the English Channel with a Jet Powered Wing, He jumped from a Pilatus Porter over Calais, France, Rossy crossed the English Channel where he deployed his parachute and landed in Dover

The first flying car to have crossed the English Channel is a Pégase designed by the French company Vaylon on 14 June 2017. It was piloted by a Franco-Italian pilot Bruno Vezzoli. This crossing was carried out as part of the first road and air trip from Paris to London in a flying car. Pegase is a 2 seats road approved dune buggy and a powered paraglider. The takeoff was at 8:03 a.m. from Ambleteuse in the North of France and landing was at East Studdal, near Dover. The flight was completed in 1 hour and 15 minutes for a total distance covered of 72.5 km (45.0 mi) including 33.3 km (20.7 mi) over the English Channel at an altitude of 1,240 metres (4,070 ft) .

On 12 June 1979, the first human-powered aircraft to cross the English Channel was the Gossamer Albatross, built by American aeronautical engineer Dr. Paul B. MacCready's company AeroVironment, and piloted by Bryan Allen. The 35.7 km (22.2 mi) crossing was completed in 2 hours and 49 minutes.

On 4 August 2019, Frenchman Franky Zapata became the first person to cross the English Channel on a jet-powered Flyboard Air. The board was powered by a kerosene-filled backpack. Zapata made the 35.4 km (22.0 mi) journey in 22 minutes, having landed on a boat half-way across to refuel.

The sport of Channel swimming traces its origins to the latter part of the 19th century when Captain Matthew Webb made the first observed and unassisted swim across the Strait of Dover, swimming from England to France on 24-25 August 1875 in 21 hours 45 minutes.

Up to 1927, fewer than ten swimmers (including the first woman, Gertrude Ederle in 1926) had managed to successfully swim the English Channel, and many dubious claims had been made. The Channel Swimming Association (CSA) was founded to authenticate and ratify swimmers' claims to have swum the Channel and to verify crossing times. The CSA was dissolved in 1999 and was succeeded by two separate organisations: CSA Ltd (CSA) and the Channel Swimming and Piloting Federation (CSPF), both observe and authenticate cross-Channel swims in the Strait of Dover. The Channel Crossing Association was also set up to cater for unorthodox crossings.

The team with the most Channel swims to its credit is the Serpentine Swimming Club in London, followed by the international Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team.

As of 2023, 1,881 people had completed 2,428 verified solo crossings under the rules of the CSA and the CSPF. This includes 24 two-way crossings and three three-way crossings.[citation needed ]

The Strait of Dover is the busiest stretch of water in the world. It is governed by International Law as described in Unorthodox Crossing of the Dover Strait Traffic Separation Scheme. It states: "[In] exceptional cases the French Maritime Authorities may grant authority for unorthodox craft to cross French territorial waters within the Traffic Separation Scheme when these craft set off from the British coast, on condition that the request for authorisation is sent to them with the opinion of the British Maritime Authorities."

The fastest verified swim of the Channel was by the Australian Trent Grimsey on 8 September 2012, in 6 hours 55 minutes, beating the previous record set in 2007 by Bulgarian swimmer Petar Stoychev.

There may have been some unreported swims of the Channel, by people intent on entering Britain in circumvention of immigration controls. A failed attempt to cross the Channel by two Syrian refugees in October 2014 came to light when their bodies were discovered on the shores of the North Sea in Norway and the Netherlands.

On 16 September 1965, two Amphicars crossed from Dover to Calais.

PLUTO was war-time fuel delivery project of "pipelines under the ocean" from England to France. Though plagued with technical difficulties during the Battle of Normandy, the pipelines delivered about 8% of the fuel requirements of the allied forces between D-Day and VE-Day.

1. "English Channel". The Columbia Encyclopedia, 2004.

2. ^ Morieux, Renaud (2008). Une mer pour deux royaumes : La Manche, une mer franco-anglaise (in French). Presses Universitaires de Rennes.

3. ^ "Map of Great Britain, ca. 1450". The unveiling of Britain. British Library. 26 March 2009. Archived from the original on 3 November 2013. This may also be the first map to name the English Channel: "britanicus oceanus nunc canalites Anglie"

4. "Limits of Oceans and Seas, 3rd edition + corrections" (PDF). International Hydrographic Organization. 1971. pp. 42 [corrections to page 13] and 6. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 March 2016.

5. ^ Thompson, LuAnne. "Tide Dynamics - Dynamic Theory of Tides" (PDF). University of Washington. Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 March 2016.

6. ^ Gupta, Sanjeev; Jenny S. Collier, Andy Palmer-Felgate & Graeme Potter; Palmer-Felgate, Andy; Potter, Graeme (2007). "Catastrophic flooding origin of shelf valley systems in the English Channel". . 448 (7151): 342-345. Bibcode:2007Natur.448..342G. doi:10.1038/nature06018. PMID 17637667. S2CID 4408290.

7. Schwarzschild, Bertram (September 2007). "Sonar mapping suggests that the English Channel was created by two megafloods" (PDF). Physics Today. 60 (9): 24-27. Bibcode:2007PhT....60i..24S. doi:10.1063/1.2784673. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 October 2011.

8. ^ Gupta, Sanjeev; Collier, Jenny S.; Garcia-Moreno, David; Oggioni, Francesca; Trentesaux, Alain; Vanneste, Kris; De Batist, Marc; Camelbeeck, Thierry; Potter, Graeme; Van Vliet-Lanoë, Brigitte; Arthur, John C. R. (2017). "Two-stage opening of the Dover Strait and the origin of island Britain". Nature Communications. 8: 15101. Bibcode:2017NatCo...815101G. doi:10.1038/ncomms15101. PMC . PMID 28375202.

9. ^ Gupta, Sanjeev; Collier, Jenny S.; Palmer-Felgate, Andy; Potter, Graeme (2007). "Catastrophic flooding origin of shelf valley systems in the English Channel". Nature. 448 (7151): 342-345. Bibcode:2007Natur.448..342G. doi:10.1038/nature06018. PMID 17637667. S2CID 4408290.

10. ^ "Annual Survey of Reported Discharges" (PDF). Maritime and Coastguard Agency. 2006. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 November 2009.

11. ^ Smith, Oliver; Momber, Garry; Bates, Richard; Garwood, Paul (27 February 2015). "Sedimentary DNA from a submerged site reveals wheat in the British Isles 8000 years ago". Science. 347 (6225): 998-1001. Bibcode:2015Sci...347..998S. doi:10.1126/science.1261278. hdl:. PMID 25722413. S2CID 1167101.

12. ^ Grant, Robert M. (2002). U-Boats Destroyed: The Effect of Anti-Submarine Warfare 1914-1918. Periscope Publishing Ltd. pp. 74-75. ISBN 978-1-904381-00-6.

13. ^ "Black Jack (Quarterly Magazine Southampton Branch World Ship Society) Issue No: 152 Autumn 2009: (p.6) SHOREHAM TOWERS - One of the Admiralty's greatest engineering secrets, Reproduced from Engineering & Technology IET Magazine May 2009" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 May 2013.

14. ^ Operation Aerial, the evacuation from north western France, 15-25 June 1940 Archived 16 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Historyofwar.org. Retrieved on 29 July 2013.

15. ^ "Chartlets published by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency". Archived from the original on 7 October 2010.

16. ^ "Report on the Investigation of the grounding of MV Willy" (PDF). Marine Accident Investigation Branch. October 2002. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 April 2009.

17. ^ "A very short-lived service in 1982. | THE SEAJET | CROSS CHANNEL FERRIES | SHIPS & BOATS | PORT AND HARBOUR | Our Newhaven".

18. ^ "Chapter 4: Sea Level Rise and Implications for Low-Lying Islands, Coasts and Communities - Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate".

19. ^ "Patterson, W, "Coastal Catastrophe" (paleoclimate research document), University of Saskatchewan" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 April 2008.

20. Dawson, Charles (February 1998). "P. S. Defiance, the first steamer to Holland, 9 May 1816". The Mariner's Mirror. The Society for Nautical Research. 84 (1): 84.

21. ^ Verifiable in Hovercraft Club of Great Britain Records and Archives

22. ^ "1996 Nissan Truck [D21] in "Top Gear, 2002-2010"". IMCDb.org. Archived from the original on 5 December 2010.

23. ^ Channel ferries & ferry ports Archived 7 January 2009 at the Wayback Machine theotherside.co.uk, accessed 28 December 2018

24. ^ John, Gilbert (5 April 2008). "'Coracle king' to hang up paddle". BBC News. BBC. Archived from the original on 10 January 2015.

25. "^ Blanchard, Jean-Pierre-François Archived 3 December 2022 at the Wayback Machine." Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved 17 October 2009.

26. ^ Autocar article entitled Cars Ahoy published 10 December 1965

27. ^ The European & American Electric Type-Printing Telegraph Company Archived 6 December 2012 at the Wayback Machine distantwriting.co.uk, retrieved 14 August 2019.

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The English Channel, also known as simply the Channel (or historically as the ), is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end.

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Famous Film Star Aids Canada's Victory Loan Drive (1941)

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The government of Austria-Hungary knew from the early days of the First World War that it could not count on advances from its principal banking institutions to meet the growing costs of the war. Instead, it implemented a war finance policy modeled upon that of Germany: in November 1914, the first funded loan was issued.

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Akhilesh Yadav Meets Mayawati, No Congress In UP Grand Alliance: Sources

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War of the Grand Alliance | European History, Causes & Consequences

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War of the Grand Alliance, (1689–97), the third major war of Louis XIV of France, in which his expansionist plans were blocked by an alliance led by England, the United Provinces of the Netherlands, and the Austrian Habsburgs. The deeper issue underlying the war was the balance of power between the

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Grand Alliance (World War II) - Wikipedia

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The Grand Alliance, also known as The Big Three, was a military alliance consisting of the three major Allies of World War II: the Soviet Union, the United States, and the United Kingdom. It is often called the "Strange Alliance" because it united the world's greatest capitalist state, the greatest communist state and the greatest colonial power.

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World War II[b] or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis. Nearly all of the world’s countries participated, with many nations mobilising all resources in pursuit of total war. Tanks and aircraft played major roles, enabling the strategic bombing of cities and delivery of the first and only nuclear weapons ever used in war. World War II is the deadliest conflict in history, causing the death of 70 to 85 million people, more than half of whom were civilians. Millions died in genocides, including the Holocaust, and by massacres, starvation, and disease. After the Allied victory, Germany, Austria, Japan, and Korea were occupied, and German and Japanese leaders were tried for war crimes.

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Great Migration, in U.S. history, the widespread migration of African Americans in the 20th century from rural communities in the South to large cities in the North and West. At the turn of the 20th century, the vast majority of black Americans lived in the Southern states. From 1916 to 1970, during this Great Migration, it is estimated that some six million black Southerners relocated to urban areas in the North and West.

The massive stream of European emigration to the United States, which had begun in the late 19th century and waned during World War I, slowed to a trickle with immigration reform in the 1920s. As a result, urban industries were faced with labour shortages. A huge internal population shift among African Americans addressed these shortfalls, particularly during the World Wars, when defense industries required more unskilled labour. Although the Great Migration slowed during the Great Depression, it surged again after World War II, when rates of migration were high for several decades.

The "push" factors for the exodus were poor economic conditions in the South-exacerbated by the limitations of sharecropping, farm failures, and crop damage from the boll weevil-as well as ongoing racial oppression in the form of Jim Crow laws. "Pull" factors included encouraging reports of good wages and living conditions that spread by word of mouth and that appeared in African American newspapers. With advertisements for housing and employment and firsthand stories of newfound success in the North, the Chicago Defender, for example, became one of the leading promoters of the Great Migration. In addition to Chicago, other cities that absorbed large numbers of migrants include Detroit, Michigan; Cleveland, Ohio; and New York City.

Seeking better civil and economic opportunities, many blacks were not wholly able to escape racism by migrating to the North, where African Americans were segregated into ghettos and urban life introduced new obstacles. Newly arriving migrants even encountered social challenges from the black establishment in the North, which tended to look down on the "country" manners of the newcomers.

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Great Migration | Definition, History, & Facts

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Great Migration, in U.S. history, the widespread migration of African Americans in the 20th century from rural communities in the South to large cities in the North and West. It is estimated that from 1916 to 1970 some six million black Southerners relocated as part of the Great Migration.

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The Great Migration was the relocation of more than 6 million Black Americans from the rural South to the cities of the North, Midwest and West from about 1916 to 1970. Driven from their homes by unsatisfactory economic opportunities and harsh segregationist laws, many Black Americans headed north, where they took advantage of the need for industrial workers that arose during the First World War. During the Great Migration, Black people began to build a new place for themselves in public life, actively confronting racial prejudice as well as economic, political and social challenges to create a Black urban culture that would exert enormous influence in the decades to come.
WATCH: Black History Shorts on HISTORY Vault
What Caused the Great Migration?

After the Civil War and the Reconstruction era, racial inequality persisted across the South during the 1870s, and the segregationist policies known as " Jim Crow" soon became the law of the land.

Black Southerners were still forced to make their living working the land due to Black codes and the sharecropping system, which offered little in the way of economic opportunity, especially after crop damage resulting from a regional boll weevil infestation in the 1890s and early 1900s.

And while the Ku Klux Klan had been officially dissolved in 1869, the KKK continued underground after that, and intimidation, violence and lynching of Black southerners were not uncommon practices in the Jim Crow South.

Did you know? Around 1916, when the Great Migration began, a factory wage in the urban North was typically three times more than what Black people could expect to make working the land in the rural South.

READ MORE: How the Black Codes Limited African American Progress After the Civil War
The Great Migration Begins

When World War I broke out in Europe in 1914, industrialized urban areas in the North, Midwest and West faced a shortage of industrial laborers, as the war put an end to the steady tide of European immigration to the United States.

With war production kicking into high gear, recruiters enticed Black Americans to come north, to the dismay of white Southerners. Black newspapers-particularly the widely read Chicago Defender -published advertisements touting the opportunities available in the cities of the North and West, along with first-person accounts of success.
WATCH: Yohuru Williams on the Great Migration
Life for Migrants in the City

By the end of 1919, some scholars estimate that 1 million Black people had left the South, usually traveling by train, boat or bus; a smaller number had automobiles or even horse-drawn carts.

In the decade between 1910 and 1920, the Black population of major Northern cities grew by large percentages, including New York City (66 percent), Chicago (148 percent), Philadelphia (500 percent) and Detroit (611 percent).

Many new arrivals found jobs in factories, slaughterhouses and foundries, where working conditions were arduous and sometimes dangerous. Female migrants had a harder time finding work, spurring heated competition for domestic labor positions.

Aside from competition for employment, there was also competition for living space in increasingly crowded cities. While segregation was not legalized in the North (as it was in the South), racism and prejudice were nonetheless widespread.

After the U.S. Supreme Court declared racially based housing ordinances unconstitutional in 1917, some residential neighborhoods enacted covenants requiring white property owners to agree not to sell to Black people; these would remain legal until the Court struck them down in 1948.

Rising rents in segregated areas, plus a resurgence of KKK activity after 1915, worsened Black and white relations across the country. The summer of 1919 began the greatest period of interracial strife in U.S. history at that time, including a disturbing wave of race riots.

The most serious was the Chicago Race Riot of 1919 -it lasted 13 days and left 38 people dead, 537 injured and 1,000 Black families without homes.
READ MORE: How a New Deal Housing Program Enforced Segregation
Impact of the Great Migration

As a result of housing tensions, many Black residents ended up creating their own cities within big cities, fostering the growth of a new, urban, Black culture. The most prominent example was Harlem in New York City, a formerly all-white neighborhood that by the 1920s housed some 200,000 Black people.

The Black experience during the Great Migration became an important theme in the artistic movement known first as the New Negro Movement and later as the Harlem Renaissance, which would have an enormous impact on the culture of the era.

The Great Migration also began a new era of increasing political activism among Black Americans, who after being disenfranchised in the South found a new place for themselves in public life in the cities of the North and West. The civil rights movement directly benefited from this activism.

Black migration slowed considerably in the 1930s, when the country sank into the Great Depression, but picked up again with the coming of World War II and the need for wartime production. But returning Black soldiers found that the GI Bill didn't always promise the same postwar benefits for all.

By the 1970s, when the Great Migration ended, its demographic impact was unmistakable: Whereas in 1900, nine out of every 10 Black Americans lived in the South, and three out of every four lived on farms, by 1970 the South was home to only half of the country's Black population, with only 20 percent living in the region's rural areas. The Great Migration was famously captured in Isabel Wilkerson's The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration.

Sources

The Great Migration (1910-1970). National Archives.
The Long-Lasting Legacy of the Great Migration. Smithsonian Magazine.
Great Migration: The African-American Exodus North. NPR: Fresh Air.
READ MORE: Black History Milestones: A Timeline

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Great Migration: Definition, Causes & Impact | HISTORY

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The Great Migration was the movement of more than 6 million Black Americans from the South to the cities of the North, Midwest and West from about 1916 to 1970.

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The Great Migration, sometimes known as the Great Northward Migration or the Black Migration, was the movement of six million African Americans out of the rural Southern United States to the urban Northeast, Midwest, and West between 1910 and 1970. It was caused primarily by the poor economic conditions for African American people, as well as the prevalent racial segregation and discrimination in the Southern states where Jim Crow laws were upheld. In particular, continued lynchings motivated a portion of the migrants, as African Americans searched for social reprieve. The historic change brought by the migration was amplified because the migrants, for the most part, moved to the then-largest cities in the United States ( New York City, Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Cleveland, and Washington, D.C.) at a time when those cities had a central cultural, social, political, and economic influence over the United States. There, African Americans established influential communities of their own. Despite the loss of leaving their homes in the South, and all the barriers faced by the migrants in their new homes, the migration was an act of individual and collective agency, which changed the course of American history, a "declaration of independence" written by their actions.

From the earliest U.S. population statistics in 1780 until 1910, more than 90% of the African American population lived in the American South, making up the majority of the population in three Southern states, viz. Louisiana (until about 1890), South Carolina (until the 1920s), and Mississippi (until the 1930s). But by the end of the Great Migration, just over half of the African-American population lived in the South, while a little less than half lived in the North and West. Moreover, the African-American population had become highly urbanized. In 1900, only one-fifth of African Americans in the South were living in urban areas. By 1960, half of the African Americans in the South lived in urban areas, and by 1970, more than 80% of African Americans nationwide lived in cities. In 1991, Nicholas Lemann wrote:

The Great Migration was one of the largest and most rapid mass internal movements in history-perhaps the greatest not caused by the immediate threat of execution or starvation. In sheer numbers, it outranks the migration of any other ethnic group- Italians or Irish or Jews or Poles -to the United States. For Black people, the migration meant leaving what had always been their economic and social base in America and finding a new one.

Some historians differentiate between a first Great Migration (1910-40), which saw about 1.6 million people move from mostly rural areas in the South to northern industrial cities, and a Second Great Migration (1940-70), which began after the Great Depression and brought at least five million people-including many townspeople with urban skills-to the North and West.

Since the Civil Rights Movement, the trend has reversed, with more African-Americans moving to the South, albeit far more slowly. Dubbed the New Great Migration, these moves were generally spurred by the economic difficulties of cities in the Northeastern and Midwestern United States, growth of jobs in the " New South" and its lower cost of living, family and kinship ties, and lessening discrimination at the hands of white people.

The primary factors for migration among southern African Americans were segregation, indentured servitude, convict leasing, an increase in the spread of racist ideology, widespread lynching (nearly 3,500 African Americans were lynched between 1882 and 1968), and lack of social and economic opportunities in the South. Some factors pulled migrants to the north, such as labor shortages in northern factories brought about by World War I, resulting in thousands of jobs in steel mills, railroads, meatpacking plants, and the automobile industry. The pull of jobs in the north was strengthened by the efforts of labor agents sent by northern businessmen to recruit southern workers. Northern companies offered special incentives to encourage Black workers to relocate, including free transportation and low-cost housing.

During World War I, there was a decline in European immigrants, which caused Northern factories to feel the impact of a low supply of workers. Around 1.2 million European immigrants arrived during 1914 while only 300,000 arrived the next year. The enlistment of workers into the military had also affected the labor supply. This created a wartime opportunity in the North for African Americans, as the Northern industry sought a new labor supply in the South.

There were many advantages for Northern jobs compared to Southern jobs including wages that could be double or more. Sharecropping, agricultural depression, the widespread infestation of the boll weevil, and flooding also provided motives for African Americans to move into the Northern Cities. The lack of political power, representation, and social opportunities due to a culture regulated by Jim Crow laws also motivated African Americans to migrate Northward.

First Great Migration (1910-1940)

When the Emancipation Proclamation was signed in 1863, less than eight percent of the African American population lived in the Northeastern or Midwestern United States. This began to change over the next decade; by 1880, migration was underway to Kansas. The U.S. Senate ordered an investigation into it. In 1900, about 90 percent of Black Americans still lived in Southern states.

Between 1910 and 1930, the African-American population increased by about forty percent in Northern states as a result of the migration, mostly in the major cities. The cities of Philadelphia, Detroit, Chicago, Cleveland, Baltimore, and New York City had some of the biggest increases in the early part of the twentieth century. Tens of thousands of Black workers were recruited for industrial jobs, such as positions related to the expansion of the Pennsylvania Railroad. Because changes were concentrated in cities, which had also attracted millions of new or recent European immigrants, tensions rose as the people competed for jobs and scarce housing. Tensions were often most severe between ethnic Irish, defending their recently gained positions and territory, and recent immigrants and Black people.[citation needed ]

With the migration of African Americans Northward and the mixing of White and Black workers in factories, the tension was building, largely driven by White workers. The AFL, the American Federation of Labor, advocated the separation between European Americans and African Americans in the workplace. There were non-violent protests such as walk-outs in protest of having Blacks and Whites working together. As tension was building due to advocating for segregation in the workplace, violence soon erupted.

In 1917, the East St Louis Illinois Riot, known for one of the bloodiest workplace riots, had between 40 and 200 killed and over 6000 African Americans displaced from their homes. The NAACP, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, responded to the violence with a march known as the Silent March. Over 10,000 African American men and women demonstrated in Harlem, New York. Conflicts continued post World War I, as African Americans continued to face conflicts and tension while the African American labor activism continued.

In the late summer and autumn of 1919, racial tensions became violent and came to be known as the Red Summer. This period of time was defined by violence and prolonged rioting between Black and White Americans in major United States cities. The reasons for this violence vary. Cities that were affected by the violence included Washington D.C., Chicago, Omaha, Knoxville, Tennessee, and Elaine, Arkansas, a small rural town 70 miles (110 km) southwest of Memphis.

The race riots peaked in Chicago, with the most violence and death occurring there during the riots. The authors of The Negro in Chicago; a study of race relations and a race riot, an official report from 1922 on race relations in Chicago, came to the conclusion that there were many factors that led to the violent outbursts in Chicago. Principally, many Black workers had assumed the jobs of white men who went to go fight in World War I. As the war ended in 1918, many men returned home to find out their jobs had been taken by Black men who were willing to work for far less.

By the time the rioting and violence had subsided in Chicago, 38 people had lost their lives, with 500 more injured. Additionally, $250,000 worth of property was destroyed, and over a thousand persons were left homeless. In other cities across the nation many more had been affected by the violence of the Red Summer. The Red Summer enlightened many to the growing racial tension in America. The violence in these major cities prefaced the soon to follow Harlem Renaissance, an African-American cultural revolution, in the 1920s. Racial violence appeared again in Chicago in the 1940s and in Detroit as well as other cities in the Northeast as racial tensions over housing and employment discrimination grew.

James Gregory calculates decade-by-decade migration volumes in his book The Southern Diaspora. Black migration picked up from the start of the new century, with 204,000 leaving in the first decade. The pace accelerated with the outbreak of World War I and continued through the 1920s. By 1930, there were 1.3 million former southerners living in other regions.

The Great Depression wiped out job opportunities in the northern industrial belt, especially for African Americans, and caused a sharp reduction in migration. In the 1930s and 1940s, increasing mechanization of agriculture virtually brought the institution of sharecropping that had existed since the Civil War to an end in the United States causing many landless Black farmers to be forced off of the land.

As a result, approximately 1.4 million Black southerners moved north or west in the 1940s, followed by 1.1 million in the 1950s, and another 2.4 million people in the 1960s and early 1970s. By the late 1970s, as deindustrialization and the Rust Belt crisis took hold, the Great Migration came to an end. But, in a reflection of changing economics, as well as the end of Jim Crow laws in the 1960s and improving race relations in the South, in the 1980s and early 1990s, more Black Americans were heading South than leaving that region.

African Americans moved from the 14 states of the South, especially Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, and Georgia.

Second Great Migration (mid 1940s-1970)

The Great Depression of the 1930s resulted in reduced migration because of decreased opportunities. With the defense buildup for World War II and with the post-war economic prosperity, migration was revived, with larger numbers of Black Americans leaving the South through the 1960s. This wave of migration often resulted in overcrowding of urban areas due to exclusionary housing policies meant to keep African American families out of developing suburbs. For example, in the New York and northern New Jersey suburbs 67,000 mortgages were insured by the G.I. Bill, but fewer than 100 were taken out by non-whites.

Big cities were the principal destinations of southerners throughout the two phases of the Great Migration. In the first phase, eight major cities attracted two-thirds of the migrants: New York and Chicago, followed in order by Philadelphia, St. Louis, Denver, Detroit, Kansas City, Pittsburgh, and Indianapolis. The Second great Black migration increased the populations of these cities while adding others as destinations, including the Western states. Western cities such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland, Phoenix, Seattle, and Portland also managed to attract African Americans in large numbers.

There were clear migratory patterns that linked particular states and cities in the South to corresponding destinations in the North and West. Almost half of those who migrated from Mississippi during the first Great Migration, for example, ended up in Chicago, while those from Virginia tended to move to Philadelphia. For the most part, these patterns were related to geography (i.e. longitude), with the closest cities attracting the most migrants (such as Los Angeles and San Francisco receiving a disproportionate number of migrants from Texas and Louisiana). When multiple destinations were equidistant, chain migration played a larger role, with migrants following the path set by those before them.

African Americans from the South also migrated to industrialized Southern cities, in addition to northward and westward to war-boom cities. There was an increase in Louisville's defense industries, making it a vital part of America's effort into World War II and Louisville's economy. Industries ranged from producing synthetic rubber, smokeless powders, artillery shells, and vehicle parts. Many industries also converted to creating products for the war effort, such as Ford Motor Company converting its plant to produce military jeeps. The company Hillerich & Bradsby initially made baseball bats and then converted their production into making gunstocks.

During the war, there was a shortage of workers in the defense industry. African Americans took the opportunity to fill in the industries' missing jobs during the war, around 4.3 million intrastate migration and 2.1 million interstate migration in the Southern states. The defense industry in Louisville reached a peak of roughly over 80,000 employment. At first, job availability was not open for African Americans, but the growing need for jobs in the defense industry and the Fair Employment Practices Committee sign by Franklin D. Roosevelt, the Southern industries began to accept African Americans into the workplace.

Migration patterns reflected network ties. Black Americans tended to go to locations in the North where other Black Americans had previously migrated. Per a 2021 study, "when one randomly chosen African American moved from a Southern birth town to a destination county, then 1.9 additional Black migrants made the same move on average."

Graph showing the percentage of the African-American population living in the American South, 1790-2010

The Great Migration shown by changes in the African-American share of populations of major U.S. cities, 1910-40 and 1940-70

Racially motivated murders per decade from 1865 to 1965.

After moving from the racist environment of the south to the northern states, African Americans were inspired to be creative in different ways. The Great Migration resulted in the Harlem Renaissance, which was also fueled by immigrants from the Caribbean, and the Chicago Black Renaissance. In her book The Warmth of Other Suns, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Isabel Wilkerson discusses the migration of "six million Black Southerners [moving] out of the terror of Jim Crow to an uncertain existence in the North and Midwest."

The struggle of African-American migrants to adapt to Northern cities was the subject of Jacob Lawrence's Migration Series of paintings, created when he was a young man in New York. Exhibited in 1941 at the Museum of Modern Art, Lawrence's Series attracted wide attention; he was quickly perceived as one of the most important African-American artists of the time.

The Great Migration had effects on music as well as other cultural subjects. Many blues singers migrated from the Mississippi Delta to Chicago to escape racial discrimination. Muddy Waters, Chester Burnett, and Buddy Guy are among the most well-known blues artists who migrated to Chicago. Great Delta-born pianist Eddie Boyd told Living Blues magazine, "I thought of coming to Chicago where I could get away from some of that racism and where I would have an opportunity to, well, do something with my talent.... It wasn't peaches and cream [in Chicago], man, but it was a hell of a lot better than down there where I was born."

The Great Migration drained off much of the rural Black population of the South, and for a time, froze or reduced African-American population growth in parts of the region. The migration changed the demographics in a number of states; there were decades of Black population decline, especially across the Deep South " black belt" where cotton had been the main cash crop - but had been devastated by the arrival of the boll weevil. In 1910, African Americans constituted the majority of the population of South Carolina and Mississippi, and more than 40 percent in Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana and Texas; by 1970, only in Mississippi did the African-American population constitute more than 30 percent of the state's total. "The disappearance of the 'black belt' was one of the striking effects" of the Great Migration, James Gregory wrote.

In Mississippi, the Black American population decreased from about 56% of the population in 1910 to about 37% by 1970, remaining the majority only in some Delta counties. In Georgia, Black Americans decreased from about 45% of the population in 1910 to about 26% by 1970. In South Carolina, the Black population decreased from about 55% of the population in 1910 to about 30% by 1970.

The growing Black presence outside the South changed the dynamics and demographics of numerous cities in the Northeast, Midwest, and West. In 1900, only 740,000 African Americans lived outside the South, just 8 percent of the nation's total Black population. By 1970, more than 10.6 million African Americans lived outside the South, 47 percent of the nation's total.

Because the migrants concentrated in the big cities of the north and west, their influence was magnified in those places. Cities that had been virtually all white at the start of the century became centers of Black culture and politics by mid-century. Residential segregation and redlining led to concentrations of Black people in certain areas. The northern "Black metropolises" developed an important infrastructure of newspapers, businesses, jazz clubs, churches, and political organizations that provided the staging ground for new forms of racial politics and new forms of Black culture.

As a result of the Great Migration, the first large urban Black communities developed in northern cities beyond New York, Boston, Baltimore, Washington D.C., and Philadelphia, which had Black communities even before the Civil War, and attracted migrants after the war. It is conservatively estimated that 400,000 African Americans left the South in 1916 through 1918 to take advantage of a labor shortage in industrial cities during the First World War.

In 1910, the African-American population of Detroit was 6,000. The Great Migration, along with immigrants from southern and eastern Europe as well as their descendants, rapidly turned the city into the country's fourth-largest. By the start of the Great Depression in 1929, the city's African-American population had increased to 120,000.

In 1900-01, Chicago had a total population of 1,754,473. By 1920, the city had added more than 1 million residents. During the second wave of the Great Migration (1940-60), the African-American population in the city grew from 278,000 to 813,000.

The flow of African Americans to Ohio, particularly to Cleveland, changed the demographics of the state and its primary industrial city. Before the Great Migration, an estimated 1.1% to 1.6% of Cleveland's population was African American. By 1920, 4.3% of Cleveland's population was African American. The number of African Americans in Cleveland continued to rise over the next 20 years of the Great Migration.

Other northeastern and midwestern industrial cities, such as Philadelphia, New York City, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, and Omaha, also had dramatic increases in their African-American populations. By the 1920s, New York's Harlem became a center of Black cultural life, influenced by the American migrants as well as new immigrants from the Caribbean area.

Second-tier industrial cities that were destinations for numerous Black migrants were Buffalo, Rochester, Boston, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Kansas City, Columbus, Cincinnati, Grand Rapids and Indianapolis, and smaller industrial cities such as Chester, Gary, Dayton, Erie, Toledo, Youngstown, Peoria, Muskegon, Newark, Flint, Saginaw, New Haven, and Albany. People tended to take the cheapest rail ticket possible and go to areas where they had relatives and friends.

For example, many people from Mississippi moved directly north by train to Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Louis, from Alabama to Cleveland and Detroit, from Georgia and South Carolina to New York City, Baltimore, Washington D.C. and Philadelphia, and in the second migration, from Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi to Oakland, Los Angeles, Portland, Phoenix, Denver, and Seattle.[citation needed ]

Educated African Americans were better able to obtain jobs after the Great Migration, eventually gaining a measure of class mobility, but the migrants encountered significant forms of discrimination. Because so many people migrated in a short period of time, the African-American migrants were often resented by the urban European-American working class (many of whom were recent immigrants themselves); fearing their ability to negotiate rates of pay or secure employment, the ethnic whites felt threatened by the influx of new labor competition. Sometimes those who were most fearful or resentful were the last immigrants of the 19th and new immigrants of the 20th century.[citation needed ]

African Americans made substantial gains in industrial employment, particularly in the steel, automobile, shipbuilding, and meatpacking industries. Between 1910 and 1920, the number of Black workers employed in industry nearly doubled from 500,000 to 901,000. After the Great Depression, more advances took place after workers in the steel and meatpacking industries organized into labor unions in the 1930s and 1940s, under the interracial Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO). The unions ended the segregation of many jobs, and African Americans began to advance into more skilled jobs and supervisory positions previously informally reserved for whites.

Between 1940 and 1960, the number of Black people in managerial and administrative occupations doubled, along with the number of Black people in white-collar occupations, while the number of Black agricultural workers in 1960 fell to one-fourth of what it was in 1940. Also, between 1936 and 1959, Black income relative to white income more than doubled in various skilled trades. Despite employment discrimination, Black people had higher labor force participation rates than whites in every U.S. Census from 1890 to 1950. As a result of these advancements, the percentage of Black families living below the poverty line declined from 87 percent in 1940 to 47 percent by 1960 and to 30 percent by 1970.

Populations increased so rapidly among both African-American migrants and new European immigrants that there were housing shortages in most major cities. With fewer resources, the newer groups were forced to compete for the oldest, most run-down housing. Ethnic groups created territories which they defended against change. Discrimination often restricted African Americans to crowded neighborhoods. The more established populations of cities tended to move to newer housing as it was developing in the outskirts. Mortgage discrimination and redlining in inner city areas limited the newer African-American migrants' ability to determine their own housing, or obtain a fair price. In the long term, the National Housing Act of 1934 contributed to limiting the availability of loans to urban areas, particularly those areas inhabited by African Americans.

Migrants going to Albany, New York found poor living conditions and employment opportunities, but also higher wages and better schools and social services. Local organizations such as the Albany Inter-Racial Council and churches, helped them, but de facto segregation and discrimination remained well into the late 20th century.

Migrants going to Pittsburgh and surrounding mill towns in western Pennsylvania between 1890 and 1930 faced racial discrimination and limited economic opportunities. The Black population in Pittsburgh jumped from 6,000 in 1880 to 27,000 in 1910. Many took highly paid, skilled jobs in the steel mills. Pittsburgh's Black population increased to 37,700 in 1920 (6.4% of the total) while the Black element in Homestead, Rankin, Braddock, and others nearly doubled. They succeeded in building effective community responses that enabled the survival of new communities. Historian Joe Trotter explains the decision process:

Although African-Americans often expressed their views of the Great Migration in biblical terms and received encouragement from northern Black newspapers, railroad companies, and industrial labor agents, they also drew upon family and friendship networks to help in the move to Western Pennsylvania. They formed migration clubs, pooled their money, bought tickets at reduced rates, and often moved ingroups. Before they made the decision to move, they gathered information and debated the pros and cons of the process....In barbershops, poolrooms, and grocery stores, in churches, lodge halls, and clubhouses, and in private homes, Black people who lived in the South discussed, debated, and decided what was good and what was bad about moving to the urban North.

In cities such as Newark, New York and Chicago, African Americans became increasingly integrated into society. As they lived and worked more closely with European Americans, the divide became increasingly indefinite. This period marked the transition for many African Americans from lifestyles as rural farmers to urban industrial workers.

This migration gave birth to a cultural boom in cities such as Chicago and New York. In Chicago for instance, the neighborhood of Bronzeville became known as the "Black Metropolis". From 1924 to 1929, the "Black Metropolis" was at the peak of its golden years. Many of the community's entrepreneurs were Black during this period. "The foundation of the first African American YMCA took place in Bronzeville, and worked to help incoming migrants find jobs in the city of Chicago."

The "Black Belt" geographical and racial isolation of this community, bordered to the north and east by whites, and to the south and west by industrial sites and ethnic immigrant neighborhoods, made it a site for the study of the development of an urban Black community. For urbanized people, eating proper foods in a sanitary, civilized setting such as the home or a restaurant was a social ritual that indicated one's level of respectability. The people native to Chicago had pride in the high level of integration in Chicago restaurants, which they attributed to their unassailable manners and refined tastes.

Since African-American migrants retained many Southern cultural and linguistic traits, such cultural differences created a sense of "otherness" in terms of their reception by others who were already living in the cities. Stereotypes ascribed to Black people during this period and ensuing generations often derived from African-American migrants' rural cultural traditions, which were maintained in stark contrast to the urban environments in which the people resided.

The beginning of the Great Migration exposed a paradox in race relations in the American South at that time. Although Black people were treated with extreme hostility and subjected to legal discrimination, the southern economy was deeply dependent on them as an abundant supply of cheap labor, and Black workers were seen as the most critical factor in the economic development of the South. One South Carolina politician summed up the dilemma: "Politically speaking, there are far too many negroes, but from an industrial standpoint there is room for many more."

When the Great Migration started in the 1910s, white southern elites seemed to be unconcerned, and industrialists and cotton planters saw it as a positive, as it was siphoning off surplus industrial and agricultural labor. As the migration picked up, however, southern elites began to panic, fearing that a prolonged Black exodus would bankrupt the South, and newspaper editorials warned of the danger. White employers eventually took notice and began expressing their fears. White southerners soon began trying to stem the flow in order to prevent the hemorrhaging of their labor supply, and some even began attempting to address the poor living standards and racial oppression experienced by Southern Black people in order to induce them to stay.

As a result, southern employers increased their wages to match those on offer in the North, and some individual employers even opposed the worst excesses of Jim Crow laws. When the measures failed to stem the tide, white southerners, in concert with federal officials who feared the rise of Black nationalism, co-operated in attempting to coerce Black people to stay in the South. The Southern Metal Trades Association urged decisive action to stop Black migration, and some employers undertook serious efforts against it.

The largest southern steel manufacturer refused to cash checks sent to finance Black migration, efforts were made to restrict bus and train access for Black Americans, agents were stationed in northern cities to report on wage levels, unionization, and the rise of Black nationalism, and newspapers were pressured to divert more coverage to negative aspects of Black life in the North. A series of local and federal directives were put into place with the goal of restricting Black mobility, including local vagrancy ordinances, "work or fight" laws demanding all males either be employed or serve in the army, and conscription orders. Intimidation and beatings were also used to terrorize Black people into staying. These intimidation tactics were described by Secretary of Labor William B. Wilson as interfering with "the natural right of workers to move from place to place at their own discretion".

During the wave of migration that took place in the 1940s, white southerners were less concerned, as mechanization of agriculture in the late 1930s had resulted in another labor surplus so southern planters put up less resistance.

Black Americans were not the only group to leave the South for Northern industrial opportunities. Large numbers of poor whites from Appalachia and the Upland South made the journey to the Midwest and Northeast after World War Two, a phenomenon known as the Hillbilly Highway.

The Great Migration is a backdrop of the 2013 film , as the Forest Whitaker character Cecil Gaines moves from a plantation in Georgia to become a butler at the White House. The Great Migration also served as part of August Wilson's inspiration for The Piano Lesson.

State

Region

1900

1910

1920

1930

1940

1950

1960

1970

1980

Change in the Black Percentage of the Total Population Between 1900 and 1980

United States

N/A

11.6%

10.7%

9.9%

9.7%

9.8%

10.0%

10.5%

11.1%

11.7%

+0.1%

A map of the black percentage of the U.S. population by each state/territory in 1900.
Black = 35.0+%
Brown = 20.0-34.9%
Red = 10.0-19.9%
Orange = 5.0-9.9%
Light orange = 1.0-4.9%
Gray = 0.9% or less
Magenta = No data available

A map of the black percentage of the U.S. population by each state/territory in 1990.
Black = 35.0+%
Brown = 20.0-34.9%
Red = 10.0-19.9%
Orange = 5.0-9.9%
Light orange = 1.0-4.9%
Gray = 0.9% or less
Pink = No data available

A map showing the change in the total Black population (in percent) between 1900 and 1990 by U.S. state.
Light purple = Population decline
Very light green = Population growth of 0.1-9.9%
Light green = Population growth of 10.0-99.9%
Green = Population growth of 100.0-999.9%
Dark green = Population growth of 1,000.0-9,999.9%
Very dark green (or Black) = Population growth of 10,000.0% or more
Gray = No data available

After the political and civil gains of the Civil Rights Movement, in the 1970s, migration began to increase again. It moved in a different direction, as Black people who were searching for economic opportunity traveled to new regions of the South.

Carl Zimmer, "Tales of African-American History Found in DNA", New York Times, May 27, 2016

Arnesen, Eric (2002). Black Protest and the Great Migration: A Brief History with Documents. Bedford: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0312391293.

Baldwin, Davarian L. Chicago's New Negroes: Modernity, the Great Migration, & Black Urban Life (Univ of North Carolina Press, 2007)

Collins, William J. (November 13, 2020). "The Great Migration of Black Americans from the US South: A Guide and Interpretation". Explorations in Economic History

DeSantis, Alan D. "Selling the American dream myth to black southerners: The Chicago Defender and the Great Migration of 1915-1919." Western Journal of Communication (1998) 62#4 pp: 474-511. online

Dove, Rita (1986). Thomas and Beulah. Carnegie Mellon University Press. ISBN 0887480217.

Grossman, James R. (1991). Land of Hope: Chicago, Black Southerners, and the Great Migration. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0226309959.

Holley, Donald. The Second Great Emancipation: The Mechanical Cotton Picker, Black Migration, and How They Shaped the Modern South (University of Arkansas Press, 2000)

Lemann, Nicholas (1991). The Promised Land: The Great Black Migration and How It Changed America. Vintage Press. ISBN 0679733477.

Marks, Carole. Farewell - We're Good and Gone: the great Black migration (Indiana Univ Press, 1989)

Reich, Steven A. ed. The Great Black Migration: A Historical Encyclopedia of the American Mosaic (2014), one-volume abridged version of 2006 three volume set; Topical entries plus primary sources

Rodgers, Lawrence Richard. Canaan Bound: The African-American Great Migration Novel (University of Illinois Press, 1997)

Sernett, Milton (1997). Bound for the Promised Land: African Americans' Religion and the Great Migration. Duke University Press. ISBN 0822319934.

Scott, Emmett J. (1920). Negro Migration during the War.

Sugrue, Thomas J. (2008). Sweet Land of Liberty: The Forgotten Struggle for Civil Rights in the North. Random House. ISBN 978-0812970388.

Tolnay, Stewart E. "The African American" Great Migration" and Beyond." Annual Review of Sociology (2003): 209-232. in JSTOR

Tolnay, Stewart E. "The great migration and changes in the northern black family, 1940 to 1990." Social Forces (1997) 75#4 pp: 1213-1238.

Trotter, Joe William, ed. The Great Migration in historical perspective: New dimensions of race, class, and gender (Indiana University Press, 1991)

Wilkerson, Isabel (2010). The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration. Random House. ISBN 978-0679604075. OCLC 741763572.

"The Great Migration". Digital Public Library of America.

Schomburg Center's In Motion: The African-American Migration Experience Archived February 26, 2011, at the Wayback Machine

Up from the Bottoms: The Search for the American Dream, (DVD on the Great Migration)

George King, "Goin' to Chicago and African American 'Great Migrations'", Southern Spaces, December 2, 2010.

West Chester University, Goin' North: Stories from the First Great Migration to Philadelphia.

Story about the migration in the 1950 radio drama "The Birth of a League", in Destination Freedom

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Great Migration (African American) - Wikipedia

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The Great Migration, sometimes known as the Great Northward Migration or the Black Migration, was the movement of six million African Americans out of the rural Southern United States to the urban Northeast, Midwest, and West between 1910 and 1970.

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Holocaust, Hebrew Shoʾah ("Catastrophe"), Yiddish and Hebrew Ḥurban ("Destruction"), the systematic state-sponsored killing of six million Jewish men, women, and children and millions of others by Nazi Germany and its collaborators during World War II. The Germans called this "the final solution to the Jewish question." Yiddish-speaking Jews and survivors in the years immediately following their liberation called the murder of the Jews the Ḥurban, the word used to describe the destruction of the First Temple in Jerusalem by the Babylonians in 586 bce and the destruction of the Second Temple by the Romans in 70 ce. Shoʾah ("Catastrophe") is the term preferred by Israelis and the French, most especially after Claude Lanzmann's masterful 1985 motion picture documentary of that title. It is also preferred by people who speak Hebrew and by those who want to be more particular about the Jewish experience or who are uncomfortable with the religious connotations of the word Holocaust. Less universal and more particular, Shoʾah emphasizes the annihilation of the Jews, not the totality of Nazi victims. More particular terms also were used by Raul Hilberg, who called his pioneering work The Destruction of the European Jews, and Lucy S. Dawidowicz, who entitled her book on the Holocaust The War Against the Jews. In part she showed how Germany fought two wars simultaneously: World War II and the racial war against the Jews. The Allies fought only the World War. The word Holocaust is derived from the Greek holokauston, a translation of the Hebrew word ʿolah, meaning a burnt sacrifice offered whole to God. This word was chosen because in the ultimate manifestation of the Nazi killing program-the extermination camps -the bodies of the victims were consumed whole in crematoria and open fires.

Even before the Nazis came to power in Germany in 1933, they had made no secret of their anti-Semitism. As early as 1919 Adolf Hitler had written, "Rational anti-Semitism, however, must lead to systematic legal opposition....Its final objective must unswervingly be the removal of the Jews altogether." In Mein Kampf ("My Struggle"; 1925-27), Hitler further developed the idea of the Jews as an evil race struggling for world domination. Nazi anti-Semitism was rooted in religious anti-Semitism and enhanced by political anti-Semitism. To this the Nazis added a further dimension: racial anti-Semitism. Nazi racial ideology characterized the Jews as Untermenschen (German: "subhumans"). The Nazis portrayed the Jews as a race and not as a religious group. Religious anti-Semitism could be resolved by conversion, political anti-Semitism by expulsion. Ultimately, the logic of Nazi racial anti-Semitism led to annihilation.

Hitler's worldview revolved around two concepts: territorial expansion (that is, greater Lebensraum-"living space"-for the German people) and racial supremacy. After World War I the Allies denied Germany colonies in Africa, so Hitler sought to expand German territory and secure food and resources-scarce during World War I-in Europe itself. Hitler viewed the Jews as racial polluters, a cancer on German society in what has been termed by Holocaust survivor and historian Saul Friedländer "redemptive anti-Semitism," focused on redeeming Germany from its ills and ridding it of a cancer on the body politic. Historian Timothy Snyder characterized the struggle as even more elemental, as "zoological," and "ecological," a struggle of the species. Hitler opposed Jews for the values they brought into the world. Social justice and compassionate assistance to the weak stood in the way of what he perceived as the natural order, in which the powerful exercise unrestrained power. In Hitler's view, such restraint on the exercise of power would inevitably lead to the weakening, even the defeat, of the master race.

When Hitler came to power legally on January 30, 1933, as the head of a coalition government, his first objective was to consolidate power and to eliminate political opposition. The assault against the Jews began on April 1 with a boycott of Jewish businesses. A week later the Nazis dismissed Jews from the civil service, and by the end of the month the participation of Jews in German schools was restricted by a quota. On May 10 thousands of Nazi students, together with many professors, stormed university libraries and bookstores in 30 cities throughout Germany to remove tens of thousands of books written by non- Aryans and those opposed to Nazi ideology. The books were tossed into bonfires in an effort to cleanse German culture of "un-Germanic" writings. A century earlier Heinrich Heine -a German poet of Jewish origin-had said, "Where one burns books, one will, in the end, burn people." In Nazi Germany the time between the burning of Jewish books and the burning of Jews was eight years.

As discrimination against Jews increased, German law required a legal definition of a Jew and an Aryan. Promulgated at the annual Nazi Party rally in Nürnberg on September 15, 1935, the Nürnberg Laws-the Law for the Protection of German Blood and German Honour and the Law of the Reich Citizen-became the centrepiece of anti-Jewish legislation and a precedent for defining and categorizing Jews in all German-controlled lands. Marriage and sexual relations between Jews and citizens of "German or kindred blood" were prohibited. Only "racial" Germans were entitled to civil and political rights. Jews were reduced to subjects of the state. The Nürnberg Laws formally divided Germans and Jews, yet neither the word German nor the word Jew was defined. That task was left to the bureaucracy. Two basic categories were established in November: Jews, those with at least three Jewish grandparents; and Mischlinge ("mongrels," or "mixed breeds"), people with one or two Jewish grandparents. Thus, the definition of a Jew was primarily based not on the identity an individual affirmed or the religion he or she practiced but on his or her ancestry. Categorization was the first stage of destruction.

Responding with alarm to Hitler's rise, the Jewish community sought to defend their rights as Germans. For those Jews who felt themselves fully German and who had patriotically fought in World War I, the Nazification of German society was especially painful. Zionist activity intensified. "Wear it with pride," journalist Robert Weltsch wrote in 1933 of the Jewish identity the Nazis had so stigmatized. Religious philosopher Martin Buber led an effort at Jewish adult education, preparing the community for the long journey ahead. Rabbi Leo Baeck circulated a prayer for Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement) in 1935 that instructed Jews on how to behave: "We bow down before God; we stand erect before man." Yet while few, if any, could foresee its eventual outcome, the Jewish condition was increasingly perilous and was expected to worsen.

By the late 1930s there was a desperate search for countries of refuge. Those who could obtain visas and qualify under stringent quotas emigrated to the United States. Many went to Palestine, where the small Jewish community was willing to receive refugees. Still others sought refuge in neighbouring European countries. Most countries, however, were unwilling to receive large numbers of refugees.

Responding to domestic pressures to act on behalf of Jewish refugees, U.S. Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt convened, but did not attend, the Évian Conference on resettlement, in Évian-les-Bains, France, in July 1938. In his invitation to government leaders, Roosevelt specified that they would not have to change laws or spend government funds; only philanthropic funds would be used for resettlement. Britain was assured that Palestine would not be on the agenda. The result was that little was attempted and less accomplished.

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Holocaust | Definition, Concentration Camps, History, & Facts

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Holocaust, the systematic state-sponsored killing of six million Jewish men, women, and children and millions of others by Nazi Germany and its collaborators during World War II. Today the Holocaust is viewed as the emblematic manifestation of absolute evil. Learn more about the Holocaust in this article.

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Historical Anti-Semitism

Anti-Semitism in Europe did not begin with Adolf Hitler. Though use of the term itself dates only to the 1870s, there is evidence of hostility toward Jews long before the Holocaust-even as far back as the ancient world, when Roman authorities destroyed the Jewish temple in Jerusalem and forced Jews to leave Palestine.

The Enlightenment, during the 17th and 18th centuries, emphasized religious tolerance, and in the 19th century Napoleon Bonaparte and other European rulers enacted legislation that ended long-standing restrictions on Jews. Anti-Semitic feeling endured, however, in many cases taking on a racial character rather than a religious one.

Did you know? Even in the early 21st century, the legacy of the Holocaust endures. Swiss government and banking institutions have in recent years acknowledged their complicity with the Nazis and established funds to aid Holocaust survivors and other victims of human rights abuses, genocide or other catastrophes.

Hitler's Rise to Power

The roots of Adolf Hitler's particularly virulent brand of anti-Semitism are unclear. Born in Austria in 1889, he served in the German army during World War I. Like many anti-Semites in Germany, he blamed the Jews for the country's defeat in 1918.

Soon after World War I ended, Hitler joined the National German Workers' Party, which became the National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP), known to English speakers as the Nazis. While imprisoned for treason for his role in the Beer Hall Putsch of 1923, Hitler wrote the memoir and propaganda tract " Mein Kampf " (or "my struggle"), in which he predicted a general European war that would result in "the extermination of the Jewish race in Germany."

Hitler was obsessed with the idea of the superiority of the "pure" German race, which he called "Aryan," and with the need for "Lebensraum," or living space, for that race to expand. In the decade after he was released from prison, Hitler took advantage of the weakness of his rivals to enhance his party's status and rise from obscurity to power.

On January 30, 1933, he was named chancellor of Germany. After the death of President Paul von Hindenburg in 1934, Hitler anointed himself Fuhrer, becoming Germany's supreme ruler.

Concentration Camps

The twin goals of racial purity and territorial expansion were the core of Hitler's worldview, and from 1933 onward they would combine to form the driving force behind his foreign and domestic policy.

At first, the Nazis reserved their harshest persecution for political opponents such as Communists or Social Democrats. The first official concentration camp opened at Dachau (near Munich) in March 1933, and many of the first prisoners sent there were Communists.

Like the network of concentration camps that followed, becoming the killing grounds of the Holocaust, Dachau was under the control of Heinrich Himmler, head of the elite Nazi guard, the Schutzstaffel (SS) and later chief of the German police.

By July 1933, German concentration camps ( Konzentrationslager in German, or KZ) held some 27,000 people in "protective custody." Huge Nazi rallies and symbolic acts such as the public burning of books by Jews, Communists, liberals and foreigners helped drive home the desired message of party strength and unity.

In 1933, Jews in Germany numbered around 525,000-just one percent of the total German population. During the next six years, Nazis undertook an "Aryanization" of Germany, dismissing non-Aryans from civil service, liquidating Jewish-owned businesses and stripping Jewish lawyers and doctors of their clients.

Nuremberg Laws

Under the Nuremberg Laws of 1935, anyone with three or four Jewish grandparents was considered a Jew, while those with two Jewish grandparents were designated Mischlinge (half-breeds).

Under the Nuremberg Laws, Jews became routine targets for stigmatization and persecution. This culminated in Kristallnacht, or the "Night of Broken Glass" in November 1938, when German synagogues were burned and windows in Jewish home and shops were smashed; some 100 Jews were killed and thousands more arrested.

From 1933 to 1939, hundreds of thousands of Jews who were able to leave Germany did, while those who remained lived in a constant state of uncertainty and fear.

Euthanasia Program

In September 1939, Germany invaded the western half of Poland, starting World War II. German police soon forced tens of thousands of Polish Jews from their homes and into ghettoes, giving their confiscated properties to ethnic Germans (non-Jews outside Germany who identified as German), Germans from the Reich or Polish gentiles.

Surrounded by high walls and barbed wire, the Jewish ghettoes in Poland functioned like captive city-states, governed by Jewish Councils. In addition to widespread unemployment, poverty and hunger, overpopulation and poor sanitation made the ghettoes breeding grounds for disease such as typhus.

Meanwhile, beginning in the fall of 1939, Nazi officials selected around 70,000 Germans institutionalized for mental illness or physical disabilities to be gassed to death in the so-called Euthanasia Program.

After prominent German religious leaders protested, Hitler put an end to the program in August 1941, though killings of the disabled continued in secrecy, and by 1945 some 275,000 people deemed handicapped from all over Europe had been killed. In hindsight, it seems clear that the Euthanasia Program functioned as a pilot for the Holocaust.

'Final Solution'

Throughout the spring and summer of 1940, the German army expanded Hitler's empire in Europe, conquering Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and France. Beginning in 1941, Jews from all over the continent, as well as hundreds of thousands of European Romani people, were transported to Polish ghettoes.

The German invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941 marked a new level of brutality in warfare. Mobile killing units of Himmler's SS called Einsatzgruppen would murder more than 500,000 Soviet Jews and others (usually by shooting) over the course of the German occupation.

A memorandum dated July 31, 1941, from Hitler's top commander Hermann Goering to Reinhard Heydrich, chief of the SD (the security service of the SS), referred to the need for an Endlösung ( Final Solution) to "the Jewish question."

Yellow Stars

Beginning in September 1941, every person designated as a Jew in German-held territory was marked with a yellow, six-pointed star, making them open targets. Tens of thousands were soon being deported to the Polish ghettoes and German-occupied cities in the USSR.

Since June 1941, experiments with mass killing methods had been ongoing at the concentration camp of Auschwitz, near Krakow, Poland. That August, 500 officials gassed 500 Soviet POWs to death with the pesticide Zyklon-B. The SS soon placed a huge order for the gas with a German pest-control firm, an ominous indicator of the coming Holocaust.

Holocaust Death Camps

Beginning in late 1941, the Germans began mass transports from the ghettoes in Poland to the concentration camps, starting with those people viewed as the least useful: the sick, old and weak and the very young.

The first mass gassings began at the camp of Belzec, near Lublin, on March 17, 1942. Five more mass killing centers were built at camps in occupied Poland, including Chelmno, Sobibor, Treblinka, Majdanek and the largest of all, Auschwitz.

From 1942 to 1945, Jews were deported to the camps from all over Europe, including German-controlled territory as well as those countries allied with Germany. The heaviest deportations took place during the summer and fall of 1942, when more than 300,000 people were deported from the Warsaw ghetto alone.

Warsaw Ghetto Uprising

Amid the deportations, disease and constant hunger, incarcerated people in the Warsaw Ghetto rose up in armed revolt.

The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising from April 19-May 16, 1943, ended in the death of 7,000 Jews, with 50,000 survivors sent to extermination camps. But the resistance fighters had held off the Nazis for almost a month, and their revolt inspired revolts at camps and ghettos across German-occupied Europe.

Though the Nazis tried to keep operation of the camps secret, the scale of the killing made this virtually impossible. Eyewitnesses brought reports of Nazi atrocities in Poland to the Allied governments, who were harshly criticized after the war for their failure to respond, or to publicize news of the mass slaughter.

This lack of action was likely mostly due to the Allied focus on winning the war at hand, but was also partly a result of the general incomprehension with which news of the Holocaust was met and the denial and disbelief that such atrocities could be occurring on such a scale.

'Angel of Death'

At Auschwitz alone, more than 2 million people were murdered in a process resembling a large-scale industrial operation. A large population of Jewish and non-Jewish inmates worked in the labor camp there; though only Jews were gassed, thousands of others died of starvation or disease.

In 1943, eugenics advocate Josef Mengele arrived in Auschwitz to begin his infamous experiments on Jewish prisoners. His special area of focus was conducting medical experiments on twins, injecting them with everything from petrol to chloroform under the guise of giving them medical treatment. His actions earned him the nickname "the Angel of Death."

Nazi Rule Ends

By the spring of 1945, German leadership was dissolving amid internal dissent, with Goering and Himmler both seeking to distance themselves from Hitler and take power.

In his last will and political testament, dictated in a German bunker that April 29, Hitler blamed the war on "International Jewry and its helpers" and urged the German leaders and people to follow "the strict observance of the racial laws and with merciless resistance against the universal poisoners of all peoples"-the Jews.

The following day, Hitler died by suicide. Germany's formal surrender in World War II came barely a week later, on May 8, 1945.

German forces had begun evacuating many of the death camps in the fall of 1944, sending inmates under guard to march further from the advancing enemy's front line. These so-called "death marches" continued all the way up to the German surrender, resulting in the deaths of some 250,000 to 375,000 people.

In his classic book Survival in Auschwitz, the Italian-Jewish author Primo Levi described his own state of mind, as well as that of his fellow inmates in Auschwitz on the day before Soviet troops liberated the camp in January 1945: "We lay in a world of death and phantoms. The last trace of civilization had vanished around and inside us. The work of bestial degradation, begun by the victorious Germans, had been carried to conclusion by the Germans in defeat."

Legacy of the Holocaust

The wounds of the Holocaust-known in Hebrew as "Shoah," or catastrophe-were slow to heal. Survivors of the camps found it nearly impossible to return home, as in many cases they had lost their entire family and been denounced by their non-Jewish neighbors. As a result, the late 1940s saw an unprecedented number of refugees, POWs and other displaced populations moving across Europe.

In an effort to punish the villains of the Holocaust, the Allies held the Nuremberg Trials of 1945-46, which brought Nazi atrocities to horrifying light. Increasing pressure on the Allied powers to create a homeland for Jewish survivors of the Holocaust would lead to a mandate for the creation of Israel in 1948.

Over the decades that followed, ordinary Germans struggled with the Holocaust's bitter legacy, as survivors and the families of victims sought restitution of wealth and property confiscated during the Nazi years.

Beginning in 1953, the German government made payments to individual Jews and to the Jewish people as a way of acknowledging the German people's responsibility for the crimes committed in their name.
Sources
The Holocaust. The National WWII Museum.
What Was The Holocaust? Imperial War Museums.
Introduction to the Holocaust. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
Holocaust Remembrance. Council of Europe.
Outreach Programme on the Holocaust. United Nations.

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Holocaust: Definition, Remembrance & Meaning - HISTORY

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The Holocaust was the persecution and murder of millions of Jews, Romani people, political dissidents and homosexuals by the German Nazi regime from 1933-1945.

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This article is about the state-sponsored genocide of European Jews during World War II. For all peoples persecuted during this era, see Holocaust victims.

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Pearl Harbor: The Last Word - The Survivors Share | History

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Japan and the Path to War

The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise, but Japan and the United States had been edging toward war for decades.

The United States was particularly unhappy with Japan's increasingly belligerent attitude toward China. The Japanese government believed that the only way to solve its economic and demographic problems was to expand into its neighbor's territory and take over its import market.

To this end, Japan declared war on China in 1937, resulting in the Nanking Massacre and other atrocities.

American officials responded to this aggression with a battery of economic sanctions and trade embargoes. They reasoned that without access to money and goods, and especially essential supplies like oil, Japan would have to rein in its expansionism.

Instead, the sanctions made the Japanese more determined to stand their ground. During months of negotiations between Tokyo and Washington, D.C., neither side would budge. It seemed that war was all but inevitable.

Where Is Pearl Harbor?

Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, is located near the center of the Pacific Ocean, roughly 2,000 miles from the U.S. mainland and about 4,000 miles from Japan. No one believed that the Japanese would start a war with an attack on the distant islands of Hawaii.

Additionally, American intelligence officials were confident that any Japanese attack would take place in one of the (relatively) nearby European colonies in the South Pacific: the Dutch East Indies, Singapore or Indochina.

Because American military leaders were not expecting an attack so close to home, the naval facilities at Pearl Harbor were relatively undefended. Almost the entire Pacific Fleet was moored around Ford Island in the harbor, and hundreds of airplanes were squeezed onto adjacent airfields.

To the Japanese, Pearl Harbor was an irresistibly easy target.

USS Arizona

The Japanese plan was simple: Destroy the Pacific Fleet. That way, the Americans would not be able to fight back as Japan's armed forces spread across the South Pacific. On December 7, after months of planning and practice, the Japanese launched their attack.

At about 8 a.m., Japanese planes filled the sky over Pearl Harbor. Bombs and bullets rained onto the vessels moored below. At 8:10, a 1,800-pound bomb smashed through the deck of the battleship USS Arizona and landed in her forward ammunition magazine. The ship exploded and sank with more than 1,000 men trapped inside.

Next, torpedoes pierced the shell of the battleship USS Oklahoma. With 400 sailors aboard, the Oklahoma lost her balance, rolled onto her side and slipped underwater.

Less than two hours later, the surprise attack was over, and every battleship in Pearl Harbor- USS Arizona, USS Oklahoma, USS California, USS West Virginia, USS Utah, USS Maryland, USS Pennsylvania, USS Tennessee and USS Nevada-had sustained significant damage. (All but USS Arizona and USS Utah were eventually salvaged and repaired.)

Impact of the Pearl Harbor Attack

In all, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor crippled or destroyed nearly 20 American ships and more than 300 airplanes. Dry docks and airfields were likewise destroyed. Most importantly, more than 2,000 people died.

But the Japanese had failed to cripple the Pacific Fleet. By the 1940s, battleships were no longer the most important naval vessel: Aircraft carriers were, and as it happened, all of the Pacific Fleet's carriers were away from the base on December 7. (Some had returned to the mainland and others were delivering planes to troops on Midway and Wake Islands.)

Moreover, the Pearl Harbor assault had left the base's most vital onshore facilities-oil storage depots, repair shops, shipyards and submarine docks-intact. As a result, the U.S. Navy was able to rebound relatively quickly from the attack.

How Many People Died in Pearl Harbor?

The attack on Pearl Harbor killed 2,403 U.S. personnel, including sailors, soldiers and civilians. Additionally, 1,178 people were wounded. 129 Japanese soldiers were killed.

Half of the dead at Pearl Harbor were on the USS Arizona. Today the sunken battleship serves as a memorial to all Americans who died in the attack.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt addressed a joint session of the U.S. Congress on December 8, the day after the crushing attack on Pearl Harbor.

"Yesterday, December 7, 1941-a date which will live in infamy-the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan."

He went on to say, "No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory. I believe I interpret the will of the Congress and of the people when I assert that we will not only defend ourselves to the uttermost, but will make very certain that this form of treachery shall never endanger us again."

America Enters World War II

After the Pearl Harbor attack, and for the first time during years of discussion and debate, the American people were united in their determination to go to war.

The Japanese had wanted to goad the United States into an agreement to lift the economic sanctions against them; instead, they had pushed their adversary into a global conflict that ultimately resulted in Japan's first occupation by a foreign power.

Did you know? The single vote against Congress's declaration of war against Japan came from Representative Jeannette Rankin of Montana. Rankin was a pacifist who had also voted against the American entrance into World War I. "As a woman," she said, "I can't go to war, and I refuse to send anyone else."

On December 8, Congress approved Roosevelt's declaration of war on Japan. Three days later, Japan's allies Germany and Italy declared war against the United States.

For the second time, Congress reciprocated, declaring war on the European powers. More than two years after the start of World War II, the United States had entered the conflict.

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Pearl Harbor is a U.S. naval base near Honolulu, Hawaii, that was the scene of a devastating surprise attack by Japanese forces on December 7, 1941. The day after the attack, President Franklin D. Roosevelt asked Congress to declare war on Japan.

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Home Front During World War II: Rationing - HISTORY

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On the home front during World War II, life in the U.S. was changed by rationing, defense production, women's jobs and popular radio and movie entertainment.

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Military strategy is the planning and execution of the contest between groups of armed adversaries.

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Military strategy is a set of ideas implemented by military organizations to pursue desired strategic goals. Derived from the Greek word , the term strategy, when it appeared in use during the 18th century, was seen in its narrow sense as the "art of the general", or "'the art of arrangement" of troops.

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Great Britain and the United States closely coordinated their military strategy to achieve victory over the Axis powers, while the Soviets resisted German advances into their territory. In 1942, Britain and America scored important victories in Africa, and by the Spring of 1943, the Soviets finally repelled the German invaders at the culmination of the horrific and protracted siege of Stalingrad.

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America in the Second World War [ushistory.org]

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I could be troubled by the world or untroubled by the world; which condition is to be deemed more sane?

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Answer (1 of 12): Well, that's a tough question to answer because it contains a basic fallacy: that 'insanity'(for a moment let's suppose the word means 'mental illness') is caused by worrying (or not worrying) about a troubled world. Usually the rest of the fallacy is that mental illness is due ...

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Tragedy can happen quickly and without warning. In response to the war and current world events and the memory of September 11, camps need to look at their disaster preparedness plans. Speculations can cause anxiety and cloud reality. As the national alert status changes and as threats of bioterrorism and other terrorist acts are prevalent in our news, camp directors and administrators must plan for the coming summer.

Issues and Plans Prior to Camp

Designate, if you haven't already done so, a Crisis Response Team. This team is generally interdisciplinary and includes people from camp administration, maintenance, health care, your owners/sponsors, a mental health resource (counselor, social worker, community mental health services), and perhaps a clergy member. The team should work together to develop written guidelines for various kinds of foreseeable emergencies-appropriate parts of which have been rehearsed in camp to be sure they are practical and effective.

It is always important to remain calm and take steps to prepare and educate yourself before being in a situation where you have to act without a plan. Your camp's plan should include discussions of the impact of the war on plans for the summer and what happens if acts of terrorism should strike the United States prior to camp.

What are your key marketing messages about the value of a camp experience during times of trouble? During times of war, parents often need additional support and are looking for partners to help preserve childhood and provide ways for their children to have safe and fun educational experiences. Camp can be a respite from a tumultuous world and provide hope for humanity.

Will the economy affect registration this summer? Children who have parents deployed in the military or working in emergency response may have losses in family income and need financial assistance to attend camp.

How will you communicate with parents about the security steps you have taken to protect their child? Depending on specific events, you may need to step up or change your plans for security. How will you communicate these changes to parents?

What types of situations would make it necessary to cancel camp prior to the season? This will vary greatly depending on the individual camp situation, client group, location, local economy, etc.

How can you help children during the summer deal with the aftermath of war or other disasters? (For more information on this topic, see the article, "Helping Children Cope with Terrorism and War.")

Familiarize yourself with information on Homeland Security Alerts and information on bioterrorism. Know your local resources for support in case of crisis. How does the camp's plan interact with the larger community emergency response plan?

If a Crisis Does Happen in the United States During the Summer

When a crisis occurs, rumors can spread like wild fire. It is important to provide age-appropriate information in a timely manner. You will need to decide what information should be shared by camp staff or by a trained crisis team member or external support individual.

Be sure there is adequate adult support to allow for observers so that individual campers can receive follow-up encouragement as necessary. Have a system in place to identify and refer campers who need extra support.

If the danger is not a part of the immediate camp area and crisis or emergency action is not required, camp directors can help everyone feel more secure by:

Working with the crisis team to disseminate the information the team has decided that staff and campers should be told and how and when they are told.

Helping to coordinate information between staff and families and between campers and their parents. Help campers communicate and express their concerns with their parents. Everyone at camp may be worried about the health and safety of their family.

Providing a predictable routine and schedule. During stressful times everyone is reassured by structure and familiar routines.

Understanding and watching for physical symptoms related to stress, changes in behavior, or increased conflicts and discussing them with the camp health supervisor or director.

Allowing children to be children. Most children are quite resilient, even when exposed to trauma. They may not want to talk about what has happened and be more comfortable continuing with the regular activities of the camp.

Keep in mind that staff will also need support. Emphasize that asking for support is OK, and have administrative staff accessible to monitor staff to determine what support they need.

If the Crisis Is at Your Camp or the Community Around Camp

Help staff understand and be a part of the plan, if something happens during the summer. Staff should understand that their first concern is always the health and safety of the children in their care.

The American Camping Association (ACA) has been in touch with some school groups to learn more about the crisis planning being done by schools in such circumstances. It is clear that now, more than ever, notification of your local police, fire, and health officials about the location and characteristics of your camp program is critical to help with emergency preparedness!

The following checklist has been adapted with permission from the Douglas County School District. This is the school district in Colorado that is "home" to Columbine High School.

Response Checklist

Director activates (pre-determined) Crisis Team and decides what other help should be sought.

Director or designee contacts camp owners/sponsors to alert them to the situation.

Contact legal counsel for advice and approval of scripts, statements.

Document and verify the facts of the crisis to be used in phone scripts, news releases, or prepared statements.

Director or designee contacts family members of those injured or deceased to gather their wishes for dissemination of information.

Make assignments for notifying appropriate people.

Contact insurance company.

Appoint a single spokesperson who will be responsible for responding to questions/queries.

Prepare three statements: 1) to be read to staff; 2) for counselors to read to campers; 3) for those answering phones. Contact PR counsel for assistance in preparing statements or strategies.
Assist counselors in working with camper groups.

Designate a gathering place for campers and staff to come and seek support. (Drinks and snacks will help.)

Arrange extra coverage for counselors to take breaks, or to support them in their tasks at an emotional time.

Day camps: assist office staff with requests of campers who want to go home. (Establish a system to assure only those with permission are able to pick up children.)

If needed, discuss and determine best time to remove personal belongings from bunk for return to family (families).

Prepare a letter to be sent to parents explaining the situation. Director and legal counsel should approve any letter that is sent home.

Releasing Public Information
During a crisis, the following steps should be taken to assure information is released in an orderly, thoughtful, and controlled manner:

Identify the type and extent of the crisis as soon as possible.

Document all facts and verify them: date, time, description, persons involved, witnesses, cause (if known).

Inform employees of what is happening.

Designate a central source of communication.

Prepare written statements to be used by office personnel or those handling phone inquiries.

Identify a spokesperson.

Release information promptly, but only after it has been verified and approved.

Guidelines for Public Information Release

Take care not to release information that affects a person's rights including the right to privacy.

State and federal laws prohibit, in most cases, the disclosure of information regarding individual camper information, information concerning disabilities, or child abuse.

In matters under investigation, release only facts, preferably through a prepared statement.

When Reporters Call...

Be polite, cooperative, and honest.

Assure that you will do your best to see that someone calls back promptly. (Find out when their deadline is and try to meet it, or tell them you can't.)

Ascertain the range of questions before offering answers.

Deal only with facts.

Notifying Parents
Perhaps one of the most important tasks of a camp director is to work with parents as your partners in helping to raise their child. Over time, camps have benefited from giving priority to the needs of the child and the parent. It is often best to keep all parents aware of what is happening at camp, knowing that it is better for them to hear about a situation from your factual information rather from the rumors their child may share.

In notifying parents of serious incidents at camp such as a death, a fire, or a response to a difficult situation, here is an outline for a parent notification letter.

Paragraph 1

Give factual information on what has happened (following wishes of affected families, if applicable).

State your condolences or other appropriate and heartfelt reactions of self, staff, or campers.

Paragraph 2

State how camp staff are handling the situation (crisis team actions, support of Grief Counselors brought in to work with campers and staff, other support systems, continuity of camp program).

If any counseling or support services are available for parents, let them know.

Paragraph 3

If the crisis situation is a death and memorial services have been set up, provide that information.

If services have not been confirmed, state this and let them know how to obtain information when it is available.

Paragraph 4

State what kind of follow-up support will be available for campers in camp and indicate where they can turn for further community resources, if needed.

If appropriate, provide handouts, articles, or lists of Web-based resources

Paragraph 5

State any impact on future camp sessions, or activities that must be canceled, changed, or postponed.

Paragraph 6

Encourage parents to give emotional support and encouragement to their children.

Paragraph 7

Close with an appropriate statement reinforcing that your camp staff works to provide a safe and caring atmosphere for children and youth.

If possible, talk over the contents of the letter you are sending with the family (in case of death) to respect their wishes. Be sure your legal counsel has reviewed the letter as well. Keep in mind that all medical information about staff and campers is confidential. Do not give out any medical information.

Originally published in the 2003 Spring issue of The CampLine.

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Tragedy can happen quickly and without warning. In response to the war and current world events and the memory of September 11, camps need to look at their disaster preparedness plans. Speculations can cause anxiety and cloud reality.

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Reactions to a Troubled World [ushistory.org]

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Isolationism refers to America's longstanding reluctance to become involved in European alliances and wars. Isolationists held the view that America's perspective on the world was different from that of European societies and that America could advance the cause of freedom and democracy by means other than war.

American isolationism did not mean disengagement from the world stage. Isolationists were not averse to the idea that the United States should be a world player and even further its territorial, ideological and economic interests, particularly in the Western Hemisphere.
The colonial period

The isolationist perspective dates to colonial days. The colonies were populated by many people who had fled from Europe, where there was religious persecution, economic privation and war. Their new homeland was looked upon as a place to make things better than the old ways. The sheer distance and rigors of the voyage from Europe tended to accentuate the remoteness of the New World from the Old. The roots of isolationism were well established years before independence, notwithstanding the alliance with France during the War for Independence.

Thomas Paine crystallized isolationist notions in his work Common Sense, which presents numerous arguments for shunning alliances. Paine's tract exerted so much political influence that the Continental Congress strove against striking an alliance with France and acquiesced only when it appeared probable that the war for independence could not be won without one.

George Washington in his Farewell Address placed the accent on isolationism in a manner that would be long remembered:

"The great rule of conduct for us, in regard to foreign nations, is in extending our commercial relations, to have with them as little political connection as possible. Europe has a set of primary interests, which to us have none, or a very remote relation. Hence she must be engaged in frequent controversies the causes of which are essentially foreign to our concerns. Hence, therefore, it must be unwise in us to implicate ourselves, by artificial ties, in the ordinary vicissitudes of her politics, or the ordinary combinations and collisions of her friendships or enmities."

Washington was promulgating a perspective that was already venerable and accepted by many. The United States terminated its alliance with France, after which America's third president, Thomas Jefferson, admonished in his inaugural address, "peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations, entangling alliances with none."
The 19th century
The United States remained politically isolated all through the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th, an unusual feat in western history. Historians have attributed the fact to a geographical position at once separate and far removed from Europe.

During the 1800s, the United States spanned North America and commenced to piece together an empire in the Caribbean and the Pacific — without departing from the traditional perspective. It fought the War of 1812, the Mexican War, and the Spanish-American War without joining alliances or fighting in Europe.

The isolationist point of view was still viable in 1823 when President James Monroe gave voice to what would later be termed the Monroe Doctrine, "In the wars of the European powers, in matters relating to themselves, we have never taken part, nor does it comport with our policy, so to do."

Nevertheless, pressures were mounting abroad that would undercut and demolish that policy near the mid-20th century. The advent of German and Japanese expansionism would threaten and later nearly snuff out the contented aloofness enjoyed by the United States. The United States' occupation of the Philippines during the Spanish-American War thrust U.S. interests into the far western Pacific Ocean — Imperial Japan's sphere of interest. Such improved transportation and communication as steamships, undersea cable, and radio linked the two continents. The growth of shipping and foreign trade slowly enhanced America's world role.

There also were basic changes at home. The historic ascendancy of urban-based business, industry, and finance, and the sidelining of rural and small-town America — the bastion of isolationism — contributed to its eventual demise.

World War I

Germany's unfettered submarine warfare against American ships during World War I provoked the U.S. into abandoning the neutrality it had upheld for so many years. The country's resultant participation in World War I against the Central Powers marked its first major departure from isolationist policy. When the war ended, however, the United States was quick to leave behind its European commitment. Regardless of President Woodrow Wilson's efforts, the Senate repudiated the Treaty of Versailles that ended the war, and the United States failed to become a member of the League of Nations.

Indeed, isolationism would persist for a few more decades. During the 1920s, American foreign affairs took a back seat. In addition, America tended to insulate itself in terms of trade. Tariffs were imposed on foreign goods to shield U.S. manufacturers.

America turned its back on Europe by restricting the number of immigrants permitted into the country. Until World War I, millions of people, mostly from Europe, had come to America to seek their fortune and perhaps flee poverty and persecution. Britons and Irishmen, Germans and Jews constituted the biggest groups. In 1921 the relatively liberal policy ended and quotas were introduced. By 1929 only 150,000 immigrants per year were allowed in.

During the 1920s and 1930s, the preponderance of Americans remained opposed to enmeshment in Europe's alliances and wars. Isolationism was solid in hinterland and small-town America in the Midwest and Great Plains states, and among Republicans. It claimed numerous sympathizers among Irish- and German-Americans. William Jennings Bryan of Nebraska, Robert M. La Follette of Wisconsin, and George W. Norris of Nebraska were among western agrarian progressives who argued fervently against involvement. Assuming an us-versus-them stance, they castigated various eastern, urban elites for their engagement in European affairs.
World War II
The year 1940 signaled a final turning point for isolationism. German military successes in Europe and the Battle of Britain prompted nationwide American rethinking about its posture toward the war. If Germany and Italy established hegemony in Europe and Africa, and Japan swept East Asia, many believed that the Western Hemisphere might be next. Even if America managed to repel invasions, its way of life might wither if it were forced to become a garrison state. By the autumn of 1940, many Americans believed it was necessary to help defeat the Axis — even if it meant open hostilities.

Many others still backed the noninterventionist America First Committee in 1940 and 1941, but isolationists failed to derail the Roosevelt administration's plans to aid targets of Axis aggression with means short of war. Most Americans opposed any actual declaration of war on the Axis countries, but everything abruptly changed when Japan naval forces sneak-attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Germany and Italy declared war on the United States four days later. America galvanized itself for full-blown war against the Axis powers.
The demise of isolationism
The isolationist point of view did not completely disappear from American discourse, but never again did it figure prominently in American policies and affairs. Countervailing tendencies that would outlast the war were at work. During the war, the Roosevelt administration and other leaders inspired Americans to favor the establishment of the United Nations (1945), and following the war, the threat embodied by the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin dampened any comeback of isolationism.

The postwar world environment, in which the United States played a leading role, would change with the triumph of urban industry and finance, expanded education and information systems, advanced military technology, and leadership by internationalists. A few leaders would rise to speak of a return to America's traditional policies of nonintervention, but in reality, traditional American isolationism was obsolete.

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Isolationism refers to America's longstanding reluctance to become involved in European alliances and wars. Isolationists held the view that America's perspective on the world was different from that of European societies and that America could advance the cause of freedom and democracy by means other than war.

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a policy of national isolation by abstention from alliances and other international political and economic relations… See the full definition

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Isolationism is a category of foreign policies institutionalized by leaders who assert that their nations' best interests are best served by keeping the affairs of other countries at a distance. One possible motivation for limiting international involvement is to avoid being drawn into dangerous and otherwise undesirable conflicts.

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Directed by Michael Bay. With Ben Affleck, Kate Beckinsale, Josh Hartnett, William Lee Scott. A tale of war and romance mixed in with history. The story follows two lifelong friends and a beautiful nurse who are caught up in the horror of an infamous Sunday morning in 1941.

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Japan and the Path to War

The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise, but Japan and the United States had been edging toward war for decades.

The United States was particularly unhappy with Japan's increasingly belligerent attitude toward China. The Japanese government believed that the only way to solve its economic and demographic problems was to expand into its neighbor's territory and take over its import market.

To this end, Japan declared war on China in 1937, resulting in the Nanking Massacre and other atrocities.

American officials responded to this aggression with a battery of economic sanctions and trade embargoes. They reasoned that without access to money and goods, and especially essential supplies like oil, Japan would have to rein in its expansionism.

Instead, the sanctions made the Japanese more determined to stand their ground. During months of negotiations between Tokyo and Washington, D.C., neither side would budge. It seemed that war was all but inevitable.

Where Is Pearl Harbor?

Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, is located near the center of the Pacific Ocean, roughly 2,000 miles from the U.S. mainland and about 4,000 miles from Japan. No one believed that the Japanese would start a war with an attack on the distant islands of Hawaii.

Additionally, American intelligence officials were confident that any Japanese attack would take place in one of the (relatively) nearby European colonies in the South Pacific: the Dutch East Indies, Singapore or Indochina.

Because American military leaders were not expecting an attack so close to home, the naval facilities at Pearl Harbor were relatively undefended. Almost the entire Pacific Fleet was moored around Ford Island in the harbor, and hundreds of airplanes were squeezed onto adjacent airfields.

To the Japanese, Pearl Harbor was an irresistibly easy target.

USS Arizona

The Japanese plan was simple: Destroy the Pacific Fleet. That way, the Americans would not be able to fight back as Japan's armed forces spread across the South Pacific. On December 7, after months of planning and practice, the Japanese launched their attack.

At about 8 a.m., Japanese planes filled the sky over Pearl Harbor. Bombs and bullets rained onto the vessels moored below. At 8:10, a 1,800-pound bomb smashed through the deck of the battleship USS Arizona and landed in her forward ammunition magazine. The ship exploded and sank with more than 1,000 men trapped inside.

Next, torpedoes pierced the shell of the battleship USS Oklahoma. With 400 sailors aboard, the Oklahoma lost her balance, rolled onto her side and slipped underwater.

Less than two hours later, the surprise attack was over, and every battleship in Pearl Harbor- USS Arizona, USS Oklahoma, USS California, USS West Virginia, USS Utah, USS Maryland, USS Pennsylvania, USS Tennessee and USS Nevada-had sustained significant damage. (All but USS Arizona and USS Utah were eventually salvaged and repaired.)

Impact of the Pearl Harbor Attack

In all, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor crippled or destroyed nearly 20 American ships and more than 300 airplanes. Dry docks and airfields were likewise destroyed. Most importantly, more than 2,000 people died.

But the Japanese had failed to cripple the Pacific Fleet. By the 1940s, battleships were no longer the most important naval vessel: Aircraft carriers were, and as it happened, all of the Pacific Fleet's carriers were away from the base on December 7. (Some had returned to the mainland and others were delivering planes to troops on Midway and Wake Islands.)

Moreover, the Pearl Harbor assault had left the base's most vital onshore facilities-oil storage depots, repair shops, shipyards and submarine docks-intact. As a result, the U.S. Navy was able to rebound relatively quickly from the attack.

How Many People Died in Pearl Harbor?

The attack on Pearl Harbor killed 2,403 U.S. personnel, including sailors, soldiers and civilians. Additionally, 1,178 people were wounded. 129 Japanese soldiers were killed.

Half of the dead at Pearl Harbor were on the USS Arizona. Today the sunken battleship serves as a memorial to all Americans who died in the attack.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt addressed a joint session of the U.S. Congress on December 8, the day after the crushing attack on Pearl Harbor.

"Yesterday, December 7, 1941-a date which will live in infamy-the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan."

He went on to say, "No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory. I believe I interpret the will of the Congress and of the people when I assert that we will not only defend ourselves to the uttermost, but will make very certain that this form of treachery shall never endanger us again."

America Enters World War II

After the Pearl Harbor attack, and for the first time during years of discussion and debate, the American people were united in their determination to go to war.

The Japanese had wanted to goad the United States into an agreement to lift the economic sanctions against them; instead, they had pushed their adversary into a global conflict that ultimately resulted in Japan's first occupation by a foreign power.

Did you know? The single vote against Congress's declaration of war against Japan came from Representative Jeannette Rankin of Montana. Rankin was a pacifist who had also voted against the American entrance into World War I. "As a woman," she said, "I can't go to war, and I refuse to send anyone else."

On December 8, Congress approved Roosevelt's declaration of war on Japan. Three days later, Japan's allies Germany and Italy declared war against the United States.

For the second time, Congress reciprocated, declaring war on the European powers. More than two years after the start of World War II, the United States had entered the conflict.

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Pearl Harbor is a U.S. naval base near Honolulu, Hawaii, that was the scene of a devastating surprise attack by Japanese forces on December 7, 1941. The day after the attack, President Franklin D. Roosevelt asked Congress to declare war on Japan.

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london economic conference of 1933the london economic conference of 1933 had its origins in president herbert hoover's 1931 call for an international conference to discuss how to raise prices and to reduce tariffs. the internationalists in hoover's cabinet hoped that once these issues were addressed economic recovery would set in. interest overseas in the proposal grew in europe in the summer of 1931 amid speculation that hoover's administration had finally recognized that reparations and war debts were interconnected.

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London Economic Conference of 1933 | Encyclopedia.com

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LONDON ECONOMIC CONFERENCE OF 1933The London Economic Conference of 1933 had its origins in President Herbert Hoover's 1931 call for an international conference to discuss how to raise prices and to reduce tariffs. The internationalists in Hoover's cabinet hoped that once these issues were addressed economic recovery would set in.