Itzel Hernandez
English 1A
Instructor Knapp
The
1943 Braceros
During 1943, the United States was being forced to hire
foreign workers to help them with labor to meet their economy shortage that was
left from World War II. The opportunity was given because many Americans
refused to do that type of labor. The U.S turned to Mexico to get temporarily
agricultural workers to do the job. There was a contract for those who got
hired; the program was designed to allow the Mexican workers to temporarily
migrate to the United States getting a Visa for work purposes only. The
agreement was known as the Bracero Program which later became the largest guest
worker program in the U.S. It was signed
by both of the representatives of the countries, Ernesto Hidalgo representing Mexico and Joseph
F. McGurk representing the United States. Many
migrant workers saw this as a great opportunity and were willing to sign the
contact without really knowing their rights; but as a way to better themselves.
Not everything was promising for them; they faced discrimination, poor salary
pay, and had many rules and regulations that they had to obey to.
Before the United States contracted Mexican workers, The
Chinese were the ones that were migrating into the United States helping with
the development of the American agricultural industry. This lasted up until the
Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, which was passed by congress and signed by President
A. Arthur. The Act prohibited Chinese labors from coming into the United States
for ten years. The Act came upon because of racial tension and competition in the
job market with American workers who didn’t want the Chinese to succeed. The
Chinese of course felt like they were being discriminated against and didn’t
agree with the act because they had better opportunities in the United States
then in their homeland. The Chinese who were already living in the United
States were denied citizenship during this time. The act made it difficult for
Chinese who were already in the United States to prove that they were not there
for labor purposes. If they choose to leave the country for any reason, they
had to obtain certifications to re enter the United States.
It was not until April 26, 1943 when the Mexican embassy
was shown the official contract for labor. The contract required work in the
mining, light and rail road industries jobs many Americans we not willing to do.
The program contracted about four million Mexican workers to work in the
fields. “This migration had an enormous and lasting impact on the economy and
demographics of California.”(The Bracero Program) The
contract was written in English which was not fully understood by the Mexican
migrant employees. It was later required for the contract to be written in Spanish
so the workers would be able to know what their rights were. Even with this,
the Braceros had little or no control of what or were they would be working
after signing the contract. The Mexican workers left their communities to head
to the North to work as Braceros. The Braceros were already experienced farm
workers who had been working in agricultural regions of Mexico. They were hard
working individuals and that’s how the program got the name Bracero which means
strong arm. Ex- Bracero Pedro Del Real Perez states, “We came here to do a lot of
work that men here couldn’t do. They were away at war… We did all the work,
some in one way, some in another, some on the railroad, others harvesting the
fields.”(Bittersweet Harvest: The Bracero Program 1942-1964) They left their
family and land behind with the illusion that they would be able to earn a reasonable
amount of money. Despite all their hard work, their pay wasn’t the best, they
were getting paid three dollars a day which wasn’t the amount of money they
deserved for the long hours they worked having little or no rest at all. The
Braceros also faced harassment during their working period by racist
authorities.
The Bracero program became a sign of hope to those
Mexican unemployed workers who were seeking job opportunities. By the time that
the United States finalized the contact and started recruiting Mexican workers,
here was already thousands of men leaving their families and heading across the
border. The process of becoming a Bracero was not easy. They had to overcome
many obstacles and humiliations. “We came poor, but we
came clean,” stated José Arredondo, ex-bracero. (Bittersweet Harvest) They were
subjected to a Medical exam and if they didn’t pass, they would be sent back to
Mexico. The Braceros had to be in good condition. The contract for the Braceros
seemed promising but once they signed the contract things were much different.
They were given poor housing conditions, poor pay, and not very good medical
attention.
Mexicans
started migrating into states such as California, Texas, Arizona, and New
Mexico among other states in the Southwest. The first step to the whole process
was waiting in their home cities for their permits to be stamped by the immigration
officers. (Testimony from a “Bracero”) Their most common recruitment site was El
Paso, Texas which was right across the border from Cuidad Juarez and also one
of the states that discriminated the labor works the most. Thousands of
Mexicans then started crowding the major recruitment sites with the hope of
being the ones who got contracted. With so many workers trying to come at once,
it made it difficult for the United States to keep everything organized and
under control. The Bracero program was cancelled in 1964. It only lasted
twenty-two years but hiring over four million agricultural works. When the
Braceros contract ended, they were required to turn in their permits and return
back to Mexico.
Despite
all the contributions that the Braceros did to help with the American
agriculture, they were never treated or paid fairly. They were often discriminated
by the American authorities and not respected. The Braceros had the faith of
bettering themselves by sacrificing their own land and families to come help
the United States. Many families were left without their fathers, husbands, and
brothers. They had to find a way to provide for the rest of the household while
their men were at work in the United States. All the Braceros wanted was to
work and get the treatment and money they deserved for all their sacrifice and
hard work. The program became the largest quest employer program that employed
foreign workers for cheap labor. The Braceros played a very important part in
making the United States agricultural industries rich.
Annotated
Bibliographies
During World War II, the United States congress was
worried about how the agricultural work was going to get done. They didn’t have
enough people who were willing to work as famers so they approved a temporary
entry of migrants from Mexico to do the work. This was known as the Bracero
Program which lasted about twenty-two years.
It employed more then four million Mexican workers. This program became
very controversial. It was very unfair to the Mexican workers who just wanted
the opportunity to better themselves and work to support their families.
Works Cited
"The
Bracero Program (1942-1964)." Farmworker Justice. N.p., n.d. Web.
24 Apr. 2012. <http://www.fwjustice.org/guestworker-programs/braceros>.
Divine, Robert
A.. America past and present. Brief 8th ed. Upper Saddle River, N.J.:
Prentice Hall ;, 2010. Print
"Our
Documents - Chinese Exclusion Act (1882)." Welcome to OurDocuments.gov.
N.p., n.d. Web. 23 May 2012.
<http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=true&doc=47>.
"The
Bracero Program." The farmworkers' website. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 May
2012. <http://www.farmworkers.org/bracerop.html>.
"Bittersweet
Harvest: The Bracero Program 1942-1964 | Park City Museum." Park City
Museum: Preserving, protecting, and promoting Park City's history &
heritage.. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 May 2012.
<http://www.parkcityhistory.org/exhibits/bittersweet_harvest/>.
"A
"Bracero" Testimony." The farmworkers' website. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 26 May 2012. <http://www.farmworkers.org/testmony.html>.
"NMAH
| Bittersweet Harvest: The Bracero
Program 1942-1964 Cosecha Amarga Cosecha
Dulce: El programa Bracero 1942-1964 - Work / Trabajo." National Museum
of American History. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 May 2012.
<http://americanhistory.si.edu/exhibitions/small_exhibition.cfm?key=1267&exkey=770&pagekey=780>.
