Ben Miller Political Science 212 Section 2 On the Struggle For Mexican American Equality After the Mexican-American War (1846-1848) roughly 77,000 Mexican people became citizens of the United States. Since then many of these citizens and later immigrants have been treated as unequal persons or worse. In the early part of the 20th century Mexican Americans faced injustices such as segregation, inequalities in employment, housing, education, and even frequent hangings. Further, they were not allowed to vote due to the fact that many of them had difficulty understanding English, and were not permitted to learn the language. Mexicans were not allowed to vote, and when they finally were they had to pay money for the right to vote. A large number of the Mexican people did not have the money to pay for this right, so their white bosses paid the fee and told them to vote for a candidate that favored the boss. Numerous Mexican Americans worked on ranches, farms, or in mines and their children often did not go to school. As a result “many were denied jobs because they were perceived as lazy, poorly dressed, dirty, ill educated, and thieves.” (LULAC) During this time period Mexican schools were segregated from white schools and the facilities and staff of the Mexican schools were sub-par. Segregation also occurred in the use of water fountains, and restaurants Perhaps one of the most notable atrocities that occurred was the hanging of Mexican Americans. According to LULAC, an activist group, “during this period there were more Mexican Americans hung than blacks during the civil war.” During World War II Mexicans enrolled in the U.S. military to fight in the war. Mexicans fought bravely and hard in the war earning 17 Medals ... ... middle of paper ... ...he Ladies LULAC Chapter Number Nine. Ester Machua was a feminist who made it her life’s work to promote and protect both women’s rights, as well as equal treatment of Mexican Americans. This branch gave women the opportunity to meet and discuss their concerns. Just two years after Machua has been appointed a position in LULAC she dissolved her branch of the group because she was not impressed by the lack of support from the men of LULAC. A year later she started the group again and gained more support from the men. She then traveled to different state In 1938 Machua was the officially named the hostess for the LULAC National Convention. This was an important point for Machua because she had put herself in “a position she used effectively to expand the number of women’s auxiliaries”(Meier). Currently the branch coordinates education and employment programs for women
Because the wages at this time were next to nothing, immigrants were forced to spend hours upon hours to make enough money to give what little s...
In the U. S today, the approximated population of undocumented immigrants stands at averagely 11 million. Therefore, this has created a hot debate in Congress about the action to take over the undocumented immigrants. Those opposed to illegal immigrants suggest that, their stay in the United States effects U.S citizens on the job market negatively . In addition, illegal immigrants are viewed in certain quarters as takers in the sense that illegal immigrants benefit more from public resources than the american-born citizens of the U.S. However, the reality is that immigrants contribute positively to the U.S economy and pay significantly into the system compared to what they send back home. In addition, the contributions associated with undocumented immigrants involve sustaining the solvency of the SSTF (Social Security Trust Fund). In this sense, the use of cost benefit analysis by those supporting immigration restrictions are unfounded and do not reflect the facts on the ground (Nadadur 1037). The opponents of undocumented immigrants believe that having more undocumented immigrants in the U.S is costly; however, there are no solid reasons to prove that undocumented immigrants are a burden to the treasury. Instead, the undocumented immigrants play an important role in boosting the economy and in particular by taking up jobs those citizens perceive as demeaning because the money they earn goes back to the economy through taxes resulting from consumer spending when they send money back home.
The United States has always been thought of as the the land of opportunity. Why is it that for years Mexican-Americans have been mistreated and discriminated against? There are millions of people that live in the US that are of Mexican descent. Throughout the Mexican-American history they have faced constant struggles to be recognized as equal citizens. The white man drove them from their own homes when they first settled in America. The Anglo settlers did not hold much if any respect for the Mexicans. The fight for their civil rights has been going on since the 1800s. It wasn't until the 1960s when the Chicanos were formed that affirmative action began to take place.
A question that every high school student is faced with is: “What extracurricular activities so you participate in?” Some can answer confidently while others are slapped with a moment of sudden realization. These people are just floating along with the crowd, with no driving force or motivation. What I believe differentiates me from my peers and gives me a sense of uniqueness, is what I do outside of my academia. Out of the deluge of activities that are available, Latinos In Action is the one that I feel the most passionate about and shapes my persona the most.
The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1948 would have lasting negative effects on Mexican Americans. The Treaty was signed after America had won the Mexican American war. America gained possession of the southwest states that had been part of Mexico for the price of around eighteen million dollars. In Article IX of the Treaty, it states that the Mexicans "shall be maintained and protected in the free enjoyment of their liberty and property, and secured in the free exercise of their religion without restriction"(Vargas 139). And as Rachel Rivera points out Article VII promised the Mexicans the right to keep their land which previously belonged to Mexico. However, the Treaty would not grant the Mexicans the rights it offered. For the next hundred and twenty years the Mexicans would be oppressed and discriminated against because of the Treaty. The Treaty was the beginning of the hardships for the Mexicans. They would have to survive in the developing white society. The white society would grow and grow in the southwest, turning the Mexicans into a minority. In Zaragosa Vargas’s book Major Problems in Mexican American History, Vargas delves deeper into the problems of Mexican American History. In our Latinos in the U.S. class, we have discussed the fact that Mexicans in the United States have dealt with many problems which have gone ignored by mainstream society. The website Chicano Park illustrates how Mexican Americans have used art as a collective voice. The documentary Chicano! focuses on how the people found their voice. In the film we see that the social movements of the 1960’s allowed Mexican Americans to raise their voice against the discrimination they had lived with for over a centu...
The increase and changing demography in the United State today, with the disparities in the health status of people from different cultural backgrounds has been a challenge for health care professionals to consider cultural diversity as a priority. It is impossible for nurses and other healthcare professionals to learn and understand theses diversity in culture, but using other approaches like an interpreter is very helpful for both nurses and patients. In this paper of a culturally appropriate care planning, I will be discussing on the Hispanic American culture because, I had come across a lot of them in my career as a nurse. The Hispanic are very diverse in terms of communication and communities and include countries like Mexico, Cuba, Puerto Rico, South and Central America, and some of them speak and write English very well, some speaks but can’t write while some can’t communicate in English at all but Spanish.
People are discriminated against because of their race and social position every day. This has been going on for hundreds of years. In Mexican White Boy, Danny and Uno were discriminated against by people around them for being different, but along the way of discovering themselves, they form an unbreakable friendship.
They face many issues such as economic instability, depression, loneliness, fear of being alone and feeling betrayed. Children feel depressed in cases like this because even at a young age they know that things are not okay. They also suffer from fear and being betrayed, they suffer fear because they 're scared of what is going to happen to their family since they 're so used to having their family together. Many times children who face this situations feel like they’ve been betrayed because they don’t know why their mother or father have gone away and not came back. The psychologist mentions that it’s very normal for children to feel this way and conduct a different behaviour than usual because just like everyone else they don’t seem to understand
1. What is the difference between a. and a. Inequality became instrumental in privileging white society early in the creation of American society. The white society disadvantaged American Indians by taking their land and established a system of rights fixed in the principle that equality in society depended on the inequality of the Indians. This means that for white society to become privileged, they must deprive the American Indians of what was theirs to begin with. Different institutions such as the social institution, political, economical, and education have all been affected by race.
“I do not believe that many American citizens . . . really wanted to create such immense human suffering . . . in the name of battling illegal immigration” (Carr 70). For hundreds of years, there has been illegal immigration starting from slavery, voluntary taking others from different countries to work in different parts of the world, to one of the most popular- Mexican immigration to the United States. Mexican immigration has been said to be one of the most common immigration acts in the world. Although the high demand to keep immigrants away from crossing the border, Mexicans that have immigrated to the U.S have made an impact on the American culture because of their self sacrifices on the aspiration to cross over. Then conditions
After three hundred years of suffering and oppression by the Spanish crown, and inspired by the fire of revolution sweeping over the world in places such as United States and France, the Mexican population finally decided that they could endure no more, it was time for a change! In this essay I put together some of the various factors of Spanish colonialism that led to the Mexican independence. These factors were the socio political conditions of nueva españa, the enlightment era, as well as various leaders
As long as civilizations have been around, there has always been a group of oppressed people; today the crucial problem facing America happens to be the discrimination and oppression of Mexican immigrants. “Mexican Americans constitute the oldest Hispanic-origin population in the United States.”(57 Falcon) Today the population of Mexican’s in the United States is said to be about 10.9%, that’s about 34 million people according to the US Census Bureau in 2012. With this many people in the United States being of Mexican descent or origin, one would think that discrimination wouldn’t be a problem, however though the issue of Mexican immigrant oppression and discrimination has never been a more prevalent problem in the United States before now. As the need for resolve grows stronger with each movement and march, the examination of why these people are being discriminated against and oppressed becomes more crucial and important. Oppression and Anti-discrimination organizations such as the Freedom Socialist Organization believe that the problem of discrimination began when America conquered Mexican l...
As a country founded on the many cultures drawn to a promise of a better life, the United States sees immigrants as vital to its expansion. Beginning with the first European settlements in 1607, America has since experienced successive waves of immigration that have risen and fallen over time. Throughout history, immigrants have helped form a distinct and unique political and social culture while providing labor for the growing economy. Immigrants shaped America. In the past, Americans embraced different cultures and assimilated new ideas, yet always maintained a strong sense of loyalty to the principles by which the country was founded on – life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Immigration meant more opportunities for innovators, scholars,
What is culture? Many people ask themselves this question every day. The more you think about it the more confusing it is. Sometimes you start leaning to a culture and then people tell you you’re wrong or they make you feel like a different person because of your culture. I go through this almost every day. Because of the way I was raised I love Mexican rodeo but I was born and raised in Joliet. This can be very difficult trying to understand culture. I live in this huge mix of culture. Culture is personal. People can have many cultures especially in America and because of globalization. Cultural identity is not one or the other, it is not Mexican or American. Cultural identity is an individual relevant thing.
Have you ever thought of why people commit illegal immigration? Even though they know very well that once they are caught, they would be sent to detention faculty and then get sent back to the place they escaped from. I bet you haven’t even given it the slightest thought. I bet all you care about is the word “law.” Law is a system made by people that people use to uphold justice and fairness on people who committed a crime. Laws is not perfect. What we seek in our life is not a law that is imperfect, what we seek is the truth behind the word “why”. The truth behind the question, “Why did they do it?”. In illegal immigration, the answer to the question is that they seek a better life.