Research Paper

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>.