Natalia Norris Kelley AP English February 6, 2013 Mexican-American Immigrants

Norris 1

In the years between 1900 and 1930, millions of Mexican citizens migrated from Mexico up into the United States. Many moved to the United States for different reasons. Some wanted to find pay that was worth their labor, or at least enough to be able to sent back to their families who were in Mexico. Some brought their entire family with them, due to the over-crowding that had begun to take over Mexico. Some citizens were driven off their own land by Mexican government officials, and therefore traveled to the United States in hopes of a better, more stable future. But, no matter what the reason, MexicanAmericans came to be, and are still found in the U.S to this day. The migration began with the creation of railroads in Mexico. The ideal set-up for the railroads was originally to bring all of Mexico together by connecting them east to west. But the railroads were created more in a north to south fashion, making the journey into the U.S from Mexico very simple. Starting around 1900, many Mexicans began to board the trains up into the U.S. At first, many came alone, just to work and make money to send back home. But eventually, entire families traveled across the border in search of railroad and agriculture jobs. In 1910, the Mexican Revolution began. This left many Mexicans unemployed, diseased and suffering. This created an even bigger wave of migration of Mexicans to the United States. Many Mexicans while in the United States took jobs in the railroad service or in agriculture. The wages that the workers made in these fields were low compared to what

Norris 2 other American workers made. But they were higher than the wages the migrants made in Mexico. These migrants were welcomed into the United States as temporary workers, not permanent citizens or anything else. They were not seen as equals or full citizens. In my photos taken of/by Mexicans during this time period, you see them working in fields. Agriculture was dominated by Mexican workers. But the pay wasnt amazing. Pictures of their homes showed run down trailers and homes that had to fit many families and people. Many Mexicans created enclaves where they all spoke Spanish and all their children could attend school with other Mexican-American children. Mexican-Americans tended to see the brighter side of things. If they had a home to share, it was shared. If they had things such as instruments, free time was spend singing along to Spanish-folk music. Many Mexican-Americans seemed to play guitars, or some type of string instrument, and many tended to pass the time singing songs. Mexican-Americans were not seen as equals to other races living or working in the United States during the 1900s. They made living here better by themselves, and kept going, and now Mexican-Americans are everywhere in the United States.

Norris 3 My Product My product is a little museum box of an exhibit you may see in a museum. It is what the home of a typical Mexican-American family would live in. Many people would share old, run down, ill-working home. Houses would be shared by multiple families sometimes. Beds would be shared by 6 different people. The wood-burning stove could be used to make food, and to keep the house warm during the winter. There could be a small table in the room where the family could sit, eat, and talk, but that was it. The wages the family members made were not that great, therefore they couldnt afford tons of nice furniture and nice things. It was very simple, as I showed in my museum box.

Norris 4 Works Cited Primary Sources: 1.) Lange, Dorothea. Housing for Mexican Field Laborers. June 1935. Brawley, Imperial Valley, California. 1 Negative. <http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/fsa1998018407/PP/>. 2.) Jacinto Quirarte. Oral history interview with Jacinto Quirarte,1996 Aug. 15-16. Archives Of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, web (http://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/interviews/oral-history-interview-jacintoquirarte-13553), February 5, 2013. 3.) Espinosa, Lottie. Northern California Folk Music from the Thirties. MP3 (http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?cowellbib:1:./temp/~ammem_5WTB::)

Secondary Sources: 1.) "Los Perdidos: Migrant Housing Conditions In the U.S." Novelguide. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Feb. 2013. <http://www.novelguide.com/ReportEssay/socialissues/political-issues/los-perdidos-migrant-housing-conditions-us>. 2.) "Mexicans in the United States, 1900-1940." Mexicans in the United States, 1900-1940. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Feb. 2013. <http://people.duke.edu/~mahealey/aztlan_1.htm>.