Residential Segregation in the U.S. Rose Dramatically, 1880-1940

[Horatio Parker]

http://www.nber.org/digest/may15/w20934.html

Using the complete manuscript pages of the federal census to identify the races of next-door neighbors for the period 1880-1940, the authors were able to analyze segregation consistently and comprehensively for all areas in the United States, allowing for an in-depth view of the variation in segregation across time and space.

The authors find that residential segregation in the United States doubled from 1880 to 1940. The findings show that the likelihood of having opposite-race neighbors declined precipitously in every region of the United States. The rise in segregation occurred in areas with small black population shares, areas with large black population shares, areas that experienced net inflows of black residents, areas that experienced net outflows of black residents, urban areas with large populations, and rural areas with smaller populations. In light of these findings, the authors conclude that the traditional story of increasing segregation in urban areas in response to black migration to urban centers is incomplete, and must be augmented with a discussion of the increasing racial segregation of rural areas and other areas that lost black residents.

The findings complicate traditional explanations for increasing segregation as being due to blacks clustering in small areas abutting white communities, the use of restrictive covenants on residential housing, the presence of large manufacturing firms which employed blacks, and differences in transportation infrastructure, since these were all urban phenomena. The increase in rural segregation also complicates historical narratives that view population dynamics in rural areas as stagnant. The focus on urban segregation has neglected the fact that rural areas became increasingly segregated over time.

 

[fromderinside]

Gee I wonder why. Could it be move from agriculture society to industrial society? Could it be blacks escaping denigration of south to anonymity in cities of north, could it be ..... part of an overall pattern base on increasing fear among people as America grew in population .... could it be related to disintegration of multi-generational nuclear family, ...... oh, my, oh what could it be ...... Where's my purse?

 

[Horatio Parker]

Gee I wonder why. Could it be move from agriculture society to industrial society? Could it be blacks escaping denigration of south to anonymity in cities of north, could it be ..... part of an overall pattern base on increasing fear among people as America grew in population .... could it be related to disintegration of multi-generational nuclear family, ...... oh, my, oh what could it be ...... Where's my purse?

None of the above, which it makes it an even more interesting factoid.

 

[TV and credit cards]

Through continued wage stagnation, one day, we'll all be equal. All my black, white, Asian, and Hispanic brothers living together as one.

 

[fromderinside]

Through continued wage stagnation, one day, we'll all be equal. All my black, white, Asian, and Hispanic brothers living together as one.

I'm starting a break the world up into islands movement so everybody can rule his or her own territory with little chance of interacting with anyone else.

Yeah, I know we're a social species, but, I also know no one can get along with anyone else.

 

[Horatio Parker]

Through continued wage stagnation, one day, we'll all be equal. All my black, white, Asian, and Hispanic brothers living together as one.

I'm starting a break the world up into islands movement so everybody can rule his or her own territory with little chance of interacting with anyone else.

Yeah, I know we're a social species, but, I also know no one can get along with anyone else.

Courtesy is hard.

 

[ronburgundy]

Gee I wonder why. Could it be move from agriculture society to industrial society? Could it be blacks escaping denigration of south to anonymity in cities of north, could it be ..... part of an overall pattern base on increasing fear among people as America grew in population .... could it be related to disintegration of multi-generational nuclear family, ...... oh, my, oh what could it be ...... Where's my purse?

None of the above, which it makes it an even more interesting factoid.

Really? How exactly did they rule out all the above? In addition to the obvious fact that former slaves were now migrating, it is a well established fact that there was a massive Rural-to-Urban migration during that same period, due to the Industrial Revolution. In addition, at a time when the population was only 40 million, an additional 12 million immigrants came to the US between 1870 and 1900, mostly from Western Europe. Then after WWI, massive immigration came from Eastern Europe. Increasingly, these waves of new arrivals settled into clusters and formed segregated communities, not really by "race" but by country of origin, with Germans here, Hungarians there, the Irish over there, etc.. Oh, and then there is the massive migration westward during that period, due to completion of the Trans-Continental railroad and the creation of over a dozen new States just prior to or during that time.

The fact that racial segregation (along with within-race nationality segregation) increased and all general regions of the US doesn't rule out any of those factors. When massive numbers migrate, it alters the how people are distributed and clustered in both the areas they leave from and the areas they go to.

Bottom line is that different ethnic groups both within and between "racial groups" migrated massively during that time due to emancipation and several other non-racially related reasons, and all of those migrations are non-random in terms of who is migrating where, and thus would be expected to heavily impact how various groups are clustered.

 

[noble brown]

Also further exacerbated in the years following this period by the practice called redlining.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

Could it be the end of slavery?

Blacks no longer live in/next to their master's house.

 

[Horatio Parker]

None of the above, which it makes it an even more interesting factoid.

Really? How exactly did they rule out all the above? In addition to the obvious fact that former slaves were now migrating, it is a well established fact that there was a massive Rural-to-Urban migration during that same period, due to the Industrial Revolution. In addition, at a time when the population was only 40 million, an additional 12 million immigrants came to the US between 1870 and 1900, mostly from Western Europe. Then after WWI, massive immigration came from Eastern Europe. Increasingly, these waves of new arrivals settled into clusters and formed segregated communities, not really by "race" but by country of origin, with Germans here, Hungarians there, the Irish over there, etc.. Oh, and then there is the massive migration westward during that period, due to completion of the Trans-Continental railroad and the creation of over a dozen new States just prior to or during that time.

The fact that racial segregation (along with within-race nationality segregation) increased and all general regions of the US doesn't rule out any of those factors. When massive numbers migrate, it alters the how people are distributed and clustered in both the areas they leave from and the areas they go to.

Bottom line is that different ethnic groups both within and between "racial groups" migrated massively during that time due to emancipation and several other non-racially related reasons, and all of those migrations are non-random in terms of who is migrating where, and thus would be expected to heavily impact how various groups are clustered.

Segregation increased everywhere ie where AAs where concentrating and where they were leaving, many or few, urban and rural, in all regions. So unless virtually every area was impacted by migration in the same way, the explanation would lie elsewhere.

 

[Horatio Parker]

Could it be the end of slavery?

Blacks no longer live in/next to their master's house.

I would guess the end of reconstruction and the beginning of Jim Crow. Or else the segregation would've begun earlier, right after the war ended in 1865.

But the most interesting thing to me is how relatively recent it is. Meaning from mid or late 17th century for 200 years, we had a more integrated society than we have had from 1880 til now. I am extrapolating backwards, since there were no census before 1790.

So maybe it's not some inevitable fact of human nature, but a designed policy?

 

[ronburgundy]

Really? How exactly did they rule out all the above? In addition to the obvious fact that former slaves were now migrating, it is a well established fact that there was a massive Rural-to-Urban migration during that same period, due to the Industrial Revolution. In addition, at a time when the population was only 40 million, an additional 12 million immigrants came to the US between 1870 and 1900, mostly from Western Europe. Then after WWI, massive immigration came from Eastern Europe. Increasingly, these waves of new arrivals settled into clusters and formed segregated communities, not really by "race" but by country of origin, with Germans here, Hungarians there, the Irish over there, etc.. Oh, and then there is the massive migration westward during that period, due to completion of the Trans-Continental railroad and the creation of over a dozen new States just prior to or during that time.

The fact that racial segregation (along with within-race nationality segregation) increased and all general regions of the US doesn't rule out any of those factors. When massive numbers migrate, it alters the how people are distributed and clustered in both the areas they leave from and the areas they go to.

Bottom line is that different ethnic groups both within and between "racial groups" migrated massively during that time due to emancipation and several other non-racially related reasons, and all of those migrations are non-random in terms of who is migrating where, and thus would be expected to heavily impact how various groups are clustered.

Segregation increased everywhere ie where AAs where concentrating and where they were leaving, many or few, urban and rural, in all regions. So unless virtually every area was impacted by migration in the same way, the explanation would lie elsewhere.

As I explained, migration greatly impacts both the areas people leave and where they go. In every part of the US there was migration into and out of areas for the reasons listed. In every area people moved from the rural villages to larger urban centers, European immigrants settled in all parts of the US, people from the northeast and southeast left and went to the northwest, southwest and mid-west, etc. In sum, various forms of migration happened for various reasons in every single region of the USA during that timespan, thus it could easily account for increased racial segregation.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Could it be the end of slavery?

Blacks no longer live in/next to their master's house.

In the north? Where there was no discrimination. None at all.

Why do you keep looking at me that way?

I'm not hiding anything.

Certainly there were no racists in the North or even New England.

Not one.

Shut up!

 

[Horatio Parker]

Segregation increased everywhere ie where AAs where concentrating and where they were leaving, many or few, urban and rural, in all regions. So unless virtually every area was impacted by migration in the same way, the explanation would lie elsewhere.

As I explained, migration greatly impacts both the areas people leave and where they go. In every part of the US there was migration into and out of areas for the reasons listed. In every area people moved from the rural villages to larger urban centers, European immigrants settled in all parts of the US, people from the northeast and southeast left and went to the northwest, southwest and mid-west, etc. In sum, various forms of migration happened for various reasons in every single region of the USA during that timespan, thus it could easily account for increased racial segregation.

Well then it's a good thing there were few immigrants before 1880.

At least I label my speculation.