The Great Depression started on the day of October 29, 1929, when everything came crashing down. The panicking investors sold more than 16 million shares in one day and often just a penny a share. The prices of stock were driven up by Americans who doesn’t want the good time to end, and thus were pointing towards the fortune made on the stock market. Citizens with little money to spare wanted in on the action as well, so the stockbrokers readily agreed to sell shares thin on margins and even lend money to these citizens to buy stocks. The investors figured that the constantly rising price of the stock will allow ten times the return. The high unemployment rate was caused by high tariffs imposed by the American government to keep American business owners happy as it kept foreign-made products out of America. However, on the downside, it meant that the European nation was unable and/or increasingly unwilling to buy American-made products. And the Hawley-Smoot Tariff act in 1930 made matters even worse as the goal of the act was to protect American farmers and manufacturers. However, the high price of the tariff made it impossible to sell the farmed and manufactured goods overseas, which also resulted in that other nations imposing tariffs of their own as a sign of retaliation. And in the film The Great Depression it was said that the noon traffic stood still as people waits for the news for the return on their investment. The market collapse was so bad that some investors committed suicide rather than face financial ruin. And banks invested heavily in the stock markets as well, and they watched helplessly as the money just simply vanished into thin air. As American citizens started to realize the shape of the economy, many panicked and rushed to withdraw their savings from the banks. Many banks simply could not produce the amount of cash demanded by the citizens and they simply shut the doors leaving them empty-handed. In the end, over 9 million savings account was wiped out, 659 banks closed by 1929 and by 1933 over a quarter of America’s banks failed. And the high unemployment rate did not help the stock market crash in the film The Great Depression stated that one in four Americans was jobless, and over 13 million people were unemployed. The unemployment got so bad that eventually the jobless became the homeless and the homeless started up “shantytowns” where a makeshift community made from wooden crates, tar paper, and cardboard, popped up. “Disillusioned citizens called them Hoovervilles, after the president, and the newspapers they slept under, Hoover blankets.”(The Great Depression) The others went to different cities in hopes of finding jobs, however as they are too poor to afford a train ticket, they often hitched onto the back of train carts hoping they wouldn’t get caught and hoping for a job.
The labor union is very important to the workers because it prevents unfair labor practices. The second new deal passed the Wagner Act which reformed labor laws, the right to strike, and supports the workers’ rights to form unions and prevent unfair labor practices. The Great Depression stated that the number of union workers rose from 3 million to 8 million. The Mexican and Mexican Americans joined the labor unions as the unions provided better working conditions, hours, wages, and most of all the end to racial and employment discrimination. Luisa Moreno was an important figure for the union community as she was the first woman and Latina to be elected as a member of the California Congress of Industrial Organizations. She also was an international representative of UCAPAWA(United Cannery Agricultural Packing, and Allied Workers of America). Emma Tenayuca started to organize strikes at 16 years of age, leading many strikes including the Pecan Shellers’ Strike of San Antonio in 1938. She was arrested many times and “I never thought in terms of fear. I thought in terms of justice.” (Palacios, 10)
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The relationship between Mexicans and their citizenship in the United States of America is complicated, to say the least. According to the Naturalization act of 1790 and the revision of it in 1870, the act only deems people who were black or white could become an American citizens. However, Mexican’s eligibility for U.S. citizenship was nullified by their classification as “non-white” Also it wasn’t just Mexican’s naturalization cases that were fought, but also their immigration policies as well. Up until the 1910s Mexicans crossed the border with ease however in 1917 the Literacy Act was passed and thus increasing the number of requirements to enter the U.S. The role Mexicans played for their role in the development of the U.S. Southwest was that America was looking for a source of cheap labor, at first “Native Americans, Chinese, Japanese, Punjabi Sikhs, and Mexicans.”(Empire of Dreams)
The importance of immigrant labor/guest workers is that it eliminated undocumented migration for a period of time. In the early 1900s, the United States called the Mexican government in order to supplant the dwindling number of Asian and European immigrant workers. And thus starting a relationship between the United States and Mexico entering the Bracero program. The purpose of the program was to explain how the Braceros program came to exist, how it benefited both countries, and how you can still see it today. Both countries entered the Braceros program because it benefited them both greatly. The United States needed laborers as “The agriculture and railroad industries' need for Mexican workers, preferably men, worsened after Congress began to limit the entry of Asian immigrants to the United States” (Gamboa, 270) And Mexico entered the Braceros program because it allowed their citizens to enter “United States freely, barring a few unenforced restrictions.”(Gamboa, 270) “Los Angeles Times noted the routine departure of five to six trains per week filled with Mexican men traveling from Laredo, Texas, to locations distant from the international border.”(Gamboa, 270) Mexican citizens were pulled into America as the perception of employment and economic opportunity excited them, as after World War II there was a major labor shortage as the growth of corporations and agriculture saw the need to expand and maintain the existing railroad system which again need low-paying workers. So both countries benefited from this agreement greatly as the Americans got their laborers, and Mexicans can enter the United States freely. However often the problems lie within the border crossing itself, as the bracero came to enter the United States they were horribly treated as the film Harvest of Loneliness stated that all bracero have to pass through Empalme where they have to wait up to 3 months to be sent to the US. Meanwhile, they faced starvation as they arrived at Empalme with only the bus ticket and a few pesos, unable to acquire food that bracero suffered from starvation. After their waiting period was up and arrived in Mexicali they were to be stripped naked and herded to chambered to be sprayed with DDT a pesticide.
The Bracero program recruited Mexican male workers to work in agriculture and on railroads. The program started from 1942 to 1947, and over 220,000 braceros were imported from Mexico between those years. Some of the jobs that Mexican men performed in the United States were to perform tasks in sugar beet fields, various railroad-company yards, or at Alaskan fish canneries. The working conditions were rather poor as the rules stipulate that “employers withheld a percentage of each person’s wages until the completion of the work period In the event that a worker violates the contract, the employer notified the Immigration Bureau to revoke the worker’s legal status to remain in the United States” (Gamboa, 272) So the workers had to complete their work or they can face deportation back to Mexico. Also that it was set up to favor the employer rather than the employee. Another point that was important was the importance of food. As the “companies realized that poor meals brought serious morale problems and searched for Mexican American cooks able to prepare more traditional meals.” (Gamboa, 281) The amount and the quality of food available to the railroad workers are all dependent on the contract agreement, as they could either buy or bring their own meals, or pay a portion to eat at an employer-operated kitchen. However, since the food is not suited to them and the Mexican food products these men were used to are simply not available in the Pacific Northwest. Companies hired Chinese Mexican cooks however that did not improve as “braceros had difficulty accepting and appreciating their chino cooks. In some instances, the Chinese Mexican cooks simply walked away to avoid the constant ethnic ridicule or scolding for not preparing a particular dish.”(Gamboa, 281)
The Mexican labor built the rail system in Mexico and the newly constructed and the expansion of the western railroads combined both nation’s economies, and “with the invention of the refrigerated boxcar, and the construction of an intricate network of privately and publicly financed irrigation projects”(Gutierrez, 195) allowed the “western entrepreneurs to transport and market their goods in unprecedented quantities…… By 1909 nearly 14 million acres were under irrigation in the Southwest”(Gutierrez, 195) And in California, the effect of the new railroad and the irrigation project is dramatic as by the 1930s California alone was accounted for one-third of “United States’ fresh fruit, one-fourth of its vegetable, eight-tenths of its wine, and nearly the entire American output of almonds, artichokes, figs, nectarines, olives, dates, and lemons.”(Gutierrez, 195)
The United States and Mexico border is a revolving door because there is a constant stream of “people” going in and coming out. And the “people” Mexican laborers in the United States have a need for low-paying labor. The United States created the border patrol as a result of the Literacy Act of 1917. The act imposed a head tax for each crossing. So in order to skin the tax many immigrants looked for other ways to pass the border without paying it. “Moreover, stereotypes of Mexicans as carriers of disease who threatened both the health of the nation and its charity system resulted in humiliating medical inspections at the border-crossing stations”(Molina, 224) So no only that you have to pay ahead tax in order to cross into the United States you are also subjected to a humiliating medical inspection that is punishing. So immigrants were finding ways to cross into the US without having to be troubled. So the creation of the border patrol defined Mexicans as outsiders. “Congress increased funding to the border patrol, adding to both its real and symbolic power. The combination of decreased visa, increased penalties, and tighter patrolling” (Molina, 224) That quote was from the 1930s however if we looked at today the same basic principle still applies as the US border patrol have massive power and is not afraid to use their power and forces against people. The border patrol has been in the news for their abuse of power and treatment of immigrants. And our sitting president has declared a national emergency to build a wall between the border of the United States and Mexico.
In 1909 the United States and Mexico entered a binational labor agreement to allow workers to enter the U.S., and in 1917 the temporary admissions program is created in order to have guest workers for the railroad and agriculture. However, during the great depression, a Mexican national was seemingly the target of nativism and thus was scapegoated for the cause of the depression. And the result of that targeting was over 500,000 migrants were deported back to Mexico. United States immigration policy towards Mexico is rather one-sided and they treat it as more or less disposable laborers. When the United States needs laborers they ask the Mexican government for help, and thus the Mexican government asks its citizens. Mexican citizen is pulled into America as the perception of employment and economic opportunity excited them, and when the goal is completed there are deportations in order such as the deportations during the Great Depression, and during Operation Wetback where 500,000 workers were deported while allowing the Braceros program to continue. Again Operation Wetback was the result of nativism as Mexicans were the blame for health epidemics, crime, unemployment, and the low wages for the US citizens. However, Operation Wetback was done in agreement with the Mexican government. Operation Wetback involved a military-style deportation campaign, which used military tactics to sweep the farms, factories, and other buildings. Overall greater than 500,000 Mexican immigrants were deported back to Mexico.
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