890 CHAPTER 28
The Movement of
Migrant Workers
The nation’s 3 million farm workers are responsible for harvesting much of the fruit and veg-
etables that families eat each day. Most field workers on United States farms remain in one
place most of the year. Others are migrant workers, who move with their entire family from
one region to the next as the growing seasons change. Nationally, migrant workers make up
around 10 percent of hired farm workers, depending on the season and other factors.
As the map shows, there were three major streams of migrant worker movements in the
1960s: the Pacific Coast, the Midwest, and the Atlantic Coast. While these paths may have
changed slightly since then, the movement of migrant workers into nearly every region of
the nation continues today.
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THE PACIFIC COAST
The Pacific Coast region’s moderate climate
allows for year-round harvesting. Most of
California’s migrant farm workers work on
large fruit farms for much of the year. More
than 62,000 workers make their way up to
Washington each year to pick cherries,
apples, and other crops.
THE MIDWEST
Workers along the Midwest and
East Coast streams, where crops
are smaller, must keep moving in
order to find work. These workers
picking strawberries in Michigan
will soon move on. For example,
one family may travel to Ohio for
the tomato harvest and then
return to Michigan to pick apples
before heading back to Texas
for the winter months.
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The New Frontier and the Great Society 891
THINKING CRITICALLY
THINKING CRITICALLY
CONNECT TO HISTORY
1. Analyzing Patterns
Retrace the movement of migrant
workers in the three regions. Why do you think migrant
workers have to keep moving?
CONNECT TO TODAY
2. Creating a Database
Pose a historical question
about the relationship between crops and planting sea-
sons. For example, what types of crops are har vested
in Michigan during the fall? Then research and create a
database that answers this and other such questions.
SEE SKILLBUILDER HANDBOOK, PAGE R33
IRESEARCH LINKS
CLASSZONE.COM
THE ATLANTIC COAST
While some workers along the Atlantic Coast stream
remain in Florida, like the workers shown here picking
beans, others travel as far north as New Hampshire
and New York. There, they work from March through
September. Due to the winters, migrant workers in
most of the Midwest and Atlantic regions can find work
for only six months out of the year.
WASHINGTON
OREGON
CALIFORNIA
NEVADA
UTAH
ARIZONA
NEW
MEXICO
TEXAS
LA.
ALABAMA
MISS.
GEORGIA
FLORIDA
SOUTH
CAROLINA
NORTH
CAROLINA
TENNESSEE
KENTUCKY
VIRGINIA
PENNSYLVANIA
NEW
YORK
MAINE
WEST
VIRGINIA
ARKANSAS
MISSOURI
ILLINOIS
KANSAS
OKLAHOMA
NEBRASKA
IOWA
COLORADO
WYOMING
SOUTH
DAKOTA
NORTH
DAKOTA
MONTANA
IDAHO
MINNESOTA
WISCONSIN
MICHIGAN
INDIANA
OHIO
N.J.
DELAWARE
MARYLAND
CONN.
R.I.
MASS.
VERMONT
N.H.
0 250 500 kilometers
0 250 500 miles
N
S
E
W
Pacific Coast paths
Midwest paths
Atlantic Coast paths
Year-round work
Migrant base areas
The map above shows the three major streams of
migrant worker movements in the 1960s.
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