The Story Of The Exodusters, The Black Americans Who Fled The South For Kansas During The Great Exodus Of 1879
Library of CongressBlack Southerners hoped to find a better life in the West but the journey wasnt easyThe Civil War ended slavery in the United States. But by 1877, federal policies put in place to protect newly freed Black Americans in the South were threatened by the end of Reconstruction. So thousands of Black people, dubbed Exodusters, decided to leave the region entirely. Many of them made their way to Kansas, which was both easily accessible from the South, and the one-time home of the famous abolitionist John Brown. During the Great Exodus of 1879, some 20,000 Exodusters migrated to Kansas in search of a better life.But the West was not always a welcoming place, and many Exodusters didnt find the promised land they had been hoping for. Steamboat captains refused to carry Black passengers up the Mississippi River, white communities were often unwelcoming or outright hostile, and there was little support for the Exodusters once they arrived. Yet many of them settled in Kansas, even establishing new, all-Black towns. The Events That Led To the Great Exodus Of 1879After the Civil War ended in 1865, life dramatically transformed for Black Americans across the nation. Slavery was abolished, and the policies of the Reconstruction era were put into place to protect Black Americans rights. But things were far from ideal. Benjamin Pap Singleton, a man who had escaped slavery before the Civil War and later made his living as a carpenter in Nashville, Tennessee, witnessed the violence of the Reconstruction era first-hand. According to Tennessee State University, he and other freedman in the city despaired about poverty and crowded conditions, racial violence perpetrated by whites, and the defeat of the Republic ticket in 1869. Wikimedia CommonsPap Singleton guided hundreds of Black Southerners to Kansas, calling himself Moses of the Colored Exodus.These men would tell all their grievances to me in Tennessee the sorrows of their heart, Singleton later testified before the Senate in 1880. Singleton and others believed that Black Americans should leave the South entirely. Land in Tennessee was too expensive, so, in the early 1870s, they began to survey real estate in nearby Kansas. In 1873, Singleton led a group of 300 settlers to Kansas to create Singletons Colony. In 1875, at a colored peoples convention in Nashville, Singleton championed Black migration out of the South and declared himself a Moses of the Colored Exodus. And in 1877, Singleton helped establish the all-Black settlement of Nicodemus, Kansas.Library of CongressNicodemus became one of the most successful Exoduster colonies in Kansas. That same year, Reconstruction ended with the withdrawal of federal troops from the South. Southern states quickly began to institute Black Codes which were designed to reinforce segregation, limit Black mens right to vote, and maintain white supremacy in the region. This triggered the Great Exodus of 1879, and the mass migration of tens of thousands of so-called Exodusters. The Migration Of The ExodustersWho were the Exodusters of the Great Exodus of 1879? As Andrew Pollard, a former state senator from Mississippi who joined the Exodusters put it, they were refugees, fleeing from bondage. Reverend W.D. Lynch, who worked closely with Exodusters, similarly stated that the mainspring of all this exodus movement [came from the idea that] slavery is not dead, but sleeping in disguise, as if it were a wolf in sheeps clothing. Library of CongressBlack families lined the Mississippi River, as shown in an 1879 engraving of a scene in Vicksburg, Mississippi. Exodusters made their way west, mostly to Kansas, for several reasons. First of all, Kansas was easily accessible from the South. Second, the Homestead Act of 1862 had promised migrants 160 acres of cheap land, provided that they farmed it for five years. And third, Kansas held a special place for many Black Americans. Not only had Singleton marketed it as Sunny Kansas, a promised land, but it was also the home of the abolitionist John Brown. I am very anxious to reach your state, not just because of the great race now made for it but because of the sacredness of her soil washed by the blood of humanitarians for the cause of Black freedom, wrote a Black Louisianan to the governor of Kansas. Public DomainAbolitionist John Brown in 1846. By the thousands, Exodusters began heading west, many encouraged by false rumors that the government would pay for their transportation. According to one white eyewitness, the banks of the Mississippi River were soon covered with colored people and their little store of worldly goods . . . and families who seem to think that anywhere is better than here.Yet Kansas did not prove to be the land of opportunity that many had hoped for, as Exodusters faced harsh conditions, disease, and discrimination. Riverboats often passed them by completely. White mayors told them not to come at all. St. Louis mayor Henry Overstolz even sent a telegram that read: It is my duty to warn the colored people against coming to the city without money to support themselves and to pay their way West. The City of St. Louis is totally unable to support them or to furnish them means of reaching their destination. There are no opportunities of obtaining employment here at present, much suffering and destitution must certainly be endured by colored people coming to this city without money or friends.National ArchivesFour Exodusters from Tennessee, who made their way to Kansas during the Great Exodus of 1879.But Black leaders like Charlton Tandy organized relief efforts in St. Louis to support the Exodusters, as did local clergy and business leaders. However, though they collected food and money, lack of shelter for the migrants became a huge issue. And yet the Exodusters continued to flee the South.Reactions to the Exoduster MigrationThe Great Exodus of 1879 divided Black Americans. Black ministers in the South regaled their congregations with tales of Moses escaping from Egypt, encouraging families to take the journey. Conductors like Singleton led families west. And nearly 100,000 Black people signed a petition created by the Colonization Council stating they wished to leave the South. However, some Black leaders like Frederick Douglass took the opposite approach. They warned that abandoning the South would harm those left behind. Douglass hoped that white Southerners would recognize the value of Black Americans and stop terrorizing them. He called emigration movements like Singletons delusional and a scam.National Archives and Records AdministrationTwins Elsie and Lela Scott, born to Exodusters in Kansas in 1889. Meanwhile, white Southerners also tried to block Exodusters from leaving because they depended on the cheap labor provided by Black Americans. Those considering migration found themselves assaulted, arrested, and imprisoned. Intimidation scared countless more from taking steps to leave. And by the beginning of 1880, the Great Exodus had slowed to a trickle. But in spite of the challenges, thousands of Exodusters made the journey. Many stayed in Kansas; Between the census years of 1870 and 1880, Kansass Black population skyrocketed from around 16,000 to over 43,000. [The Great Exodus] was the first major instance of African Americans voting with their feet, demonstrating their discontent with the South, Damani Davis, reference archivist for the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), told National Geographic in 2024. Exodusters also continued their journey west, settling in Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and other western states. And though the Great Exodus of 1879 was short-lived, it ultimately marked the beginning of a much larger movement. As violence and terror continued to haunt Black Americans in the South, thousands would chose to leave home in search of a better life. After reading about the Exodusters and the Great Exodus of 1879, discover the stories of Black soldiers who fought in the Civil War. Or, learn about the Buffalo Soldiers, the Black rangers who patrolled the Wild West. The post The Story Of The Exodusters, The Black Americans Who Fled The South For Kansas During The Great Exodus Of 1879 appeared first on All That's Interesting.
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