Help Wanted Advertisements in the Chicago Defender

In the United States, the outbreak of World War I (1914-1918) increased the demand for industrial production while decreasing the flow of European immigration. Labor shortages in both factories, mines, fields, and service industries meant greater economic opportunities for African Americans willing to move north. Many African Americans heard about jobs through African-American newspapers that circulated in the South. Help wanted advertisements, such as the ones below compiled from the Chicago Defender, attempted to attract workers with the promise of higher wages, housing, and other benefits.

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