Transcript Document

Patterns of Migration
• Patterns of migration from Mexico to the United
States are closely tied to expansion and contraction
of American capitalism
• Between 1850 and 1880 there was virtually no
movement across the border, as the United States
was viewed as a conquering and inhospitable
nation
• From the 1880s to about 1908 migration increased
slowly but steadily due to the railroad
• The great wave of Mexican migration was to come
between 1910 and 1930
Factors for Migration to the U.S.
1) The rapidly industrializing and urbanization
United States created a great demand for cheap
unskilled labor to work in the steel mills, mines,
meat-packing houses, brick yards, and canneries
2) Political and economic forces within Mexico also
gave impetus to the northern migration
• Mexican labor was preferred by American
capitalists because the Mexican was willing to work
long hours at low wages and because of Mexico’s
proximity to the U.S.
• It was also commonly assumed that the Mexican,
being so close to his homeland, did not wish to
establish permanent residence in the United States
• The Mexican was frequently viewed as a subhuman
species, as a domesticated animal that would do
work that a white person would not
Mexican Immigration to the U.S.
• Between, 1917 and 1921 72,862 persons entered
the United States legally, and thousands more
entered illegally
• Capitalistic interests favored an open border and
unlimited Mexican immigration
• Restrictionists were conservative and included
small farmers, unions, and those with racist
ideologies who feared widespread miscegenation
• The creation of the Border Patrol (1925)
Mexican Labor
• Mexicans were encouraged to cross the border
because their labor was needed
• A rural people in Mexico, many of them became
urban industrial workers in America
• In Los Angeles, 70% of Mexicans were unskilled
blue-collar workers in 1918, compared to only 6%
for Anglos
• Mexican women in the workforce – Employed in
garment factories, food-processing plants, and
canneries
Exclusion from Society
• Included as laborers, Mexicans found themselves
excluded socially, kept at a distance from Anglo
society
• Racial etiquette defined proper demeanor and
behavior for Mexicans
• Segregated schools for Mexican children
• Education of Mexican children – serving the
interests of the growers, Anglo educators prepared
Mexican children to take the place of their parents
Associations for Immigrants
• The Mutualistas – mutual aid societies mostly local
in scope, pooled the limited resources of many to
provide a small measure of security in a difficult
environment
• Sons of America (1921) - was the first consciously
Mexican American organization
• Its basic objective was to assist Mexican Americans
in achieving acculturation and integration through
political action
• League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) –
created in 1929 after various Mexican American
organizations decided to unite into one
organization
• Objectives: 1) to bring to an end mistreatment and
discrimination 2) to obtain equality before the law
in education, government, and the business world
3) to promote training of more Mexican American
doctors, lawyers, engineers, and other
professionals 4) to champion ethnic pride; to
encourage proficiency in English as a way to greater
equality 5) to develop active effective political
participation as the heart of citizenship