Cesar Chavez Essay

Cesar Chavez was born into a poor family, he dropped out of school, and he never made more than a few thousand every year, yet he was still the first person to successfully make a farmers union. He was an effective leader because he was persistent, he was willing to sacrifice for his cause, and he was of the people with the people Documents A and D show his persistence. Before Chavez There were many attempts to organize a farmers union, despite this still tried. In document A, a skeptical news reporter interviewed Chavez. He believed that Chavez Couldn't do it.

In his first large protest, Cesar went on a long march. When reflecting upon the march Chavez remarked that, “We marched alone at the beginning, but today, we count men of all creeds, nationalities, and occupations in number.” (Chavez, 2) From the very beginning, Chavez brought groups of people together by uniting his small group of protesters with a group of Filipino strikers to create the United Farm Workers. Uniting his group of protesters with the group of striking Filipino workers allowed the protest to become bigger, and therefore more successful. The large numbers also attracted more attention from the media. By uniting groups of strikers, Chavez created a strong protest organization that lasts even today. Another essential group of people Chavez got to join his cause were the consumers. Chavez and his partner Dolores Huerta once wrote, “We called upon our fellow men, and were answered by consumers.” (Chavez, Huerta, 1) Consumers helped the protest by participating in a grape boycott, and did not buy grapes until the grape workers’ needs were met. With this boycott, Chavez tried to weaken the business of the grape growers until they complied, and it worked. When thousands of citizens would not by grapes, the media covered the issue. Through the media coverage, the boycott spread rapidly, uniting people from all over the United States. With the popularity of the boycott, the protest evolved into not just a protest, but a civil rights

As a young and self-educated activist, Cesar wanted to create an organization to protect and serve farm workers. This desire stemmed from enduring the shared hardships of farming families like his. In 1962, he founded the National Farm Workers Association, which later became the United Farm Workers of America. (UCLA)

One reason Cesar Chavez was an effective leader was because he created a union known as the United Farm Workers. Chavez’s goal was to organize the farmers to receive better pay and better working conditions. He was not the first to attempt, others have tried but failed due to the power of growers. He was different, he gained support through encouragement. His exact words were “si se puede”(Doc A) meaning “it can be done”. He encouraged his supporters to seek their rights as farmers. “ The strongest act of manliness, is to sacrifice ourselves for other in a totally nonviolent struggle for justice”(Doc C). Chavez along

This was motivation for Chavez to rise up and do something for the farmworkers. The pesticides that were being used were harmful to the workers. This addresses the credibility of being a first hand witness because of pesticide use. In that same year Cesar Chavez founded the National Farm Workers Association that later became United Farm Workers (“The Story Of Cesar Chavez”). Chavez informed the people of the working conditions and the bad pay. Chavez strategy was to have non violent marches, strikes and fasts. He encouraged the Farm Workers be be nonviolent and do things right. The conditions they were working in where harmful to their health because of the pesticides. The marches, strikes, and fasts led to a success in the grape boycott In 1970. “Table grape growers at long last signed their first union contracts granting workers better pay, benefits and protection (Kim).” But 20 years later the fight started again. This led for to a second boycott

Many of the farm workers were not very sympathetic of Cesar Chavez when they first met him, but as he began to talk and express the ideas he had for the movement, workers soon knew that he was the leader they needed. The farm workers were constantly moving from place to place looking for better work opportunities, but they were always afraid of not knowing if they were going to have enough money for gas, to get to their next destination. Cesar Chavez made the farm workers realize that by being passive and not giving up in their movement, no matter the struggle that came along, together they would make their goal

Chavez was also of the people, with the people. One reason Cesar Chavez was an effective leader was because he was willing to sacrifice.” Cesar went on a 25-day hunger strike. ”(Document C). “With $1,200 in life savings he founded the National Farm Workers Association with 10 members.”

Cesar Chavez, a civil rights leader fighting for improving pay and working conditions of farmers, employs the use of nonviolence resistance in his role as a leader of the United Farm Workers. As a child, Chavez and his family worked as farmers on a field as migrant workers who were most likely treated in an unjust manner and thus, he dedicated his life to improving the conditions for all farmers. To honor Martin Luther King Jr. on the 10th anniversary of his death, Chavez wrote to a religious magazine that helps people in need about the benefits of nonviolent resistance. Throughout his letter, Chavez applies rhetorical devices such as pathos, diction, and juxtaposition to persuade and inform people about how powerful and effective nonviolence techniques can be for civil rights.

They then moved to California looking for work in the fields as temporary farm laborers; just like thousands of other rural families in the southwest. The family led a nomadic life; moving very often in search of migrant work. Chavez joined his parents to help harvest carrots, cotton, and grapes under the blazing California sun. During this period Cesar Chavez experienced the corrupt labor contractors, extremely low wages, and poor living and working conditions that the migrant workers had to endure. Around this time as well, he got his first glimpse of union organizing when his father became active in several union activities. (Ramakrishnan; Russell) It is believed that Chavez’s father and uncle actively supported unions. Therefore he learned at a young age firsthand about strikes, organizing operations, and also picket lines. (Gale Encyclopedia)

Cesar Chavez was an extremely influential individual in the Latino civil rights movement. Born in March 1927, he preached unionism and aggressive non violence, and cofounded the National Farm Workers Association. Being a major player in the civil rights movement, he recognized the obvious influence of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and on the tenth anniversary of his assassination Chavez published an article in Maryknoll Magazine. While writing about nonviolence, Chavez appealed to logos and pathos to have the message of the article connect with the reader’s emotions and reasoning.

Chavez was a Latino farmer. He migrated to Arizona. Cesar Chavez was working in the South in hot fields and vineyards. After his forceful speech, he was known as a religious and spiritual person. From Chavez’s background, he understands the hard workers

When Daniel Alejandrez was a young boy, he noticed his father bowing his head to a superior and thought to himself that he would never do that. The reason behind this was anger. Fast forward to around the age of seventeen, he and a few fellow coworkers had noticed that they were being paid four times less than his older coworkers who were using machines and not their bare hands. On the radio, a voice called “You must organize. You must seek justice. You must ask for better wages.” The voice was Cesar Chavez. With this quote in mind, he and his coworkers went on strike against the contractor and they raised the wages from $1.65 to $1.95. The point was not to raise wages, but to call attention to the unfair treatment that they were enduring.

Cesar Chavez was an American civil rights activists. He was born on March 31, 1927, in Yuma, Arizona. Cesar Chavez was the son of Juana Estrada and Librado Chavez. He was named after his grandfather.He lived in a Mexican-American family which had six children. Cesar Chavez lived in the same small house that he was born in. Chavez lost his land during the Great Depression. It was taken away because Chavez’s father made an agreement that was soon broken. His father tried to buy the house but he couldn’t because he wasn’t able to pay the loan. Their house was soon sold to the original owner. Cesar Chavez and his family then had to move to California to become migrant farm workers. The Chavez family had to work really hard. They did not live in the same place for so long. They would pick peas and lettuce in the winter. In the spring, they had to picks cherries and beans. For Summer, they picked corn and grapes. Lastly, for Fall, they would pick cotton. Chavez went to 30 different schools in California because his family kept moving from place to place to find work. In 1942, Chavez dropped out of seventh grade. It would have been his last year but he didn’t want his mother to work in the fields. Chavez soon became full-time migrant farm worker. At the time, farm workers weren’t paid enough and lived horrible conditions. Chavez and his older sister Rita helped farm workers and neighbors when they were sick. They would drive those who couldn’t drive to the hospital to see a

His strikes were meant to raise awareness to farmworkers. They started to protest the poor wages and working conditions the company provided. The companies did not provide hot water or access to bathrooms. With the help of Chavez, they were able to lead a very successful strike and boycott against the grape growing company. “Cesar insisted the Latino and Filipino strikers work together, sharing the same picket lines, strike kitchens and union hall.” (ufw.org). Together, they got thousands of people to tell their stories and get many more people to be more aware of the unsafe and unsanitary situations they faced. Farmworkers protested against wealthy companies and unfair treatments. With people boycotting the grape growers, they eventually gave in to what the grape workers were protesting for. The companies had lost a lot of profit when they had millions of Americans staying away from their company and not purchasing grapes. “Chavez and his union won several victories for the workers…” (biography.com). One of the victories they received, was getting a higher pay rate of $1.25 an hour. This boycott was the inspiration that led many to fight for what they thought they

Chavez primary objectives in the 1960s were to fight for the rights of the workers. This was regarding treatment and their wages. In regards, he formed National Farmworkers Association (NFWA) which was a driving force to fight for the workers’ rights. He arranged for strikes in the large farms to put forward the wishes of the workers such as being allowed to have unions and engage in collective bargaining powers. The boycotts and strikes were nonviolence. He was agitating for dignity, justice and respect to workers. As a result of his efforts large growers entered into negotiations, signed contracts, higher wages and were given union representations. Other notable benefits are health insurance plans and even