Mexican Immigration

Mexican immigration in the early 1900's was a huge issue that impacted the United

States in areas such as urban population, employment and many other ways. The mass number of

Mexican immigrant's that migrated to the United States from Mexico was at nearly half million

in between the years of 1920 and 1929. Mexicans left their native land and moved to the United

States not only to achieve financial prosperity, but to get out of the chaotic environment that

Mexico was in at the time due to the Mexican revolution which began in 1910. Many Mexicans

that were seeking work found jobs in farming, mining, and railroad construction work this help

them in their pursuit of financial prosperity. But did Mexican immigration affect the United

States in a positive or negative way? While Mexican migrant workers did have a major impact on Americas agricultural and railroad system, American's were not thrilled at the idea of having foreign immigrants migrate to their country and take away jobs. This resulted in nationalism.

“Nearly a half-million Mexican’s entered the United States between 1920 and 1929,

compromising over 15 percent of total immigration during that period” ( Chapter 8, The Mexican

Immigrant Experience) Many Americans were distraught over the fact that foreigner’s from

another country were coming into the United States of America not only to take away their jobs,

but to use up valuable resource’s.What was so disturbing to them is that they were coming over

at such a staggering rate.

At this time Americans resorted to nationalism which is as Merton E. Hill stated in 1931

in a program that he outlined for Americanizing the Mexicans “Americanization is hereby

defined as the ...

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..., "Major Problems In Mexican American History" The Mexican Immigrant Experience, 1917-1928, Zaragosa Vargas (233)

2.Merton E. Hill, " The Development of an Americanization Program" The Survey 66, no.3 (May 1931). In Carlos E. Cortes, ed., Aspects of the Mexican- American Experience(New York:Arno Press, 1976), pp. 10, 102-111.

3. Anita Edgar Jones, "Mexican Colonies in Chicago," Social Service Review 2 ( December 1928): 39-54.

4. Ernesto Galarza, "Life in the United States for Mexican People: Out of the Experience of a Mexican" from Proceedings of the National Conference of Social Work, 56th Annual Session, University of Chicago Press, 1929.

5. Ernesto Galarza, "Life in the United States for Mexican People: Out of the Experience of a Mexican" from Proceedings of the National Conference of Social Work, 56th Annual Session, University of Chicago Press, 1929.