Essay on Mexicans in America During the Great Depression

Following the economic boom of the 1920s, there was a period of economic depression. The United States and its citizens were greatly affected. There were many economic problems that occurred such as unemployment rate rising tremendously and many more. Herbert Hoover and Franklin D. Roosevelt were presidents during that time and dealt with the economic problems. They helped create programs to financially stabilize the country again. The Great Depression ended when the United States entered World War II.

Hispanics have been immigrating to America since the beginning of the Spanish Colonial era. Up until the 1920’s Mexican Americans have boomed in rural places in america. The 1920’s was meeting the beginning of a renaissance, a better promised life for both native americans as well as immigrants. Businesses were booming, wages were higher, and the industry was creating a bright future for America. However, Mexican Americans continued to face hardships as well as few successes leading up to the 1920’s. Whether these were Native born Americans with a Hispanic background or newly immigrated Mexicans, Mexican Americans faced the hardship of poverty, discrimination, segregation, and struggles during the 1920’s.

How would you discuss the worldviews and value systems of Indigenous peoples prior to European contact/invasion? How did these worldviews impact all aspects of life (science, agriculture, language, spirituality, etc.) for indigenous peoples?

Labor laws in the 20th century played a major role in the lives Mexicans and caused massive deportations as well as economic concerns with congress and Anglo-Americans in the United States. Labor laws were crucial part of the immigration waves through the 20th century and made an impact to voting patterns in the U.S. Natalia Molina discuss how, “Employers

As the population of Latin America and the Caribbean raised in 1995 with a 190 percent increase (Gonzalez 199), the job markets in Mexico are becoming scarce and competitive. The living conditions of residents in provincial towns like in Cheran, “whose timber-based economy is in tatters” (Martinez 9) are greatly affected. Mexican immigrant workers are forced to cross the border and find a greener pasture in the United States, because “in 1994, Mexico was crippled by a profound-and-prolonged-economic crisis” (Martinez 8). With the huge influx of Mexican immigrant workers coming to the States in search for better jobs, the US citizens are concerned about the economic impact: jobs, government and public services. However, the Americans’ concern that the immigrants are draining the nation’s resources, is a sweeping statement, it is based on a myth. There are many recent studies that the immigrant’s population living in the United States helps the economy. Similarly, the Mexican government and immigrant families are grateful for their immigrant workers for lifting the ailing economy and the status of immigrant families. Immigrant workers, legal or illegal, are positively reshaping the economy of sending and receiving countries through these major myths.

Starting in the late nineteenth century until the end of World War II, the immigration policy in the United States experienced dramatic changes that altered the pace of immigration. High rates of immigration sparked adverse emotions and encouraged restrictive legislation and numerous bills in Congress advocated the suspension of immigration and the deportation of non-Americans (Wisconsin Historical Society). Mexican American history was shaped by several bills in Congress and efforts to deport all non-Americans from the United States. The United States was home to several Spanish-origin groups, prior to the Declaration of Independence. The term “Mexican American” was a label used to describe a number of Hispanic American groups that

During the Great Depression that struck in the late 1920’s and early 1930’s, the economy of the United States collapses with farmers and producers likewise losing money due to overproduction and underconsumption of goods due to an extravagant increase of price on goods. As a result, the Great Depression caused immigration and migration rates to increase. This is a negative impact on the economy because gaining employment becomes competitive and consequently, people earn a lower wage. Though immigration and migration creates conflict between native inhabitants of the land and the immigrants with employment competition, migration and immigration is vital to rebuild the economy of the United States through increased taxes and a wide array of new labor sources. Also, it enhances the vibrant, diverse, and syncretic cultures in the United States as well. Lastly, immigration and migration both promotes unity within family and their own social-ethnic groups.

In the 1960s, the Mexican Americans identity reached a point where it was integrated into the political life of the nation. The Chicano population was so large in numbers that they could no longer be ignored in the cities. They had profoundly affected the economy, politics, fashion, and music in the 60s. The baby boomers generation listened to Rock-and-roll and supported integration and opposed the Vietnam War. World War II raised the awareness of civil rights and liberties among minorities.

Coming from a life of poverty and despair would cause anyone to search for a better life; a life in which there is the belief that all of your dreams can come true. This is the belief that many Mexican immigrants had about “El Norte,” they believed that the north would provide them with the opportunity that their life in Mexico had not. Many Immigrants believed that the United States was “the land of opportunity,” a place to find a successful job and live out the life that one only dreamt about living. The North was an open paradise for the immigrants. They were told by the people who had already ventured to the north that the United States was a “simple life, in which one could live

“There are wounds that never show on the body that are deeper and more hurtful than anything that bleeds.” ― Laurell K. Hamilton. This quote explains how most of the American families felt during the great depression. During the great depression a lot of men and woman lost their jobs, and could longer provide for their families.

In the Preface of Major Problems in Mexican American History Zaragosa Vargas writes, "Nearly two thirds of Latinos in the United States are of Mexican descent, or Chicanos- a term of self definition that emerged during the 1960's and early 1970s civil rights movement. Chicanos reside mainly in the Southwest, the Pacific Northwest, and the Midwest. Their history begins in the precolonial Spanish era, and they share a rich mestizo cultural heritage of Spanish, Indian, and African origins. The Chicanos' past is underscored by conquest of the present-day American Southwest first by the Spanish and then by the United States following the Mexican American War" (xv). When one thinks of a Chicano one thinks of the Mayans and Aztecs, the conquests,

Mexico and the U.S share one the largest international borders in the world of 1,951 miles in length. The history of Mexican migration to the United States involves sharp shifts between periods of labor shortages. When employers aggressively recruited cheap Mexican labor, and periods of intense anti-Mexican sentiment, when many Mexicans and even Mexican Americans were deported or pressured to leave the country. Mexican immigrants were, pushed out of the country at a rapid pace, because of the jealousy and greed of native farmers. Who felt their jobs weren't entitled to have their jobs. According to an article from digitalhistory.com by John Box “During the Great Depression, when dust bowl farmers from Texas and Oklahoma poured into California, Mexicans were unneeded. Between 1929 and 1935, more than 415,000 Mexicans were expelled and thousands more left voluntarily. The legal pretext for deportation was that many Mexicans lacked proof of legal residency”. The farmers took over farms in California and the immigrants were deported back to Mexico. They were not needed anymore and were thought of as, a waste of space because they were never truly citizens. In the 1950s Mexican immigrants were very alienated, and were not truly identified as American citizens, meaning they can be deported at any time. According to an article

To what extent have United States immigration policies contributed to the fluctuating trends in Mexican immigration across the border from the mid-20th century into the 21st century? This report is centralized around two main arguments. The first argument accounts for the ineffectiveness of the United States’ original 20th century Immigration and Nationality Acts and work programs for Mexican migrants, as they contributed to the gradual rise in Mexican immigration trends from the

Mexican immigration to the United States began in the 1900’s, characterized as a series of waves that reflected the labor demands in the U.S and political and economic unrest in Mexico. (Citation pending) AND IN ORDER TO UNDERSTAND THE POINT OF THIS PAPER IT IS IMPORTANT TO FIRST GET FAMILIAR WITH LABOR, SOCIAL, AND POLITICAL HISTORY OF MEXICANS IN THE U.S. The first occurring prior to World War II, where the immigrated population rose from 221,915 in 1910 to 641,462 in 1930, according to the 1933 U.S. Census. (McCaa, 2003)

     The Great Depression was a huge economic downfall in North America and involved many other industrialized countries of the world. The Depression began in 1929 and lasted for about ten years. Millions of people lost their jobs along with many businesses going bankrupt. The common misconception of the Great Depression is people think that the stock market crash was the main cause for it. There were many causes for the Depression; unequal distribution of money during the 1920’s was the main cause of the Depression. This unequal distribution happened on many different classes of people. The imbalance of money is what created such an unstable economy. The stock market was doing much worse than people thought