Mexican and Mexican Americans in the US between the 1920s and 1930s Essay

By; Daniel Mena

The Mexicans and Mexican-Americans had a rough time in the US between 1920 &
1930. Although they were a big part of the US and contributed a lot to the country, they were still
not accepted by the Americans and were often pointed to as second-class citizens.
By 1920 a lot of Mexicans were immnigrating to the US and most of them were
seeking a better future and life when they arrived most of them worked on manual work mostly
agricultural work in the south because it’s a job that does not require a lot even though it was not
a well-paying job. At first, they were accepted by many Americans because they contributed a
lot to the agricultural industry in the south but as time moves forward we start to see how a big
amount of Americans were not happy that Mexicans were given residence in the US this caused
racism and hate crimes being directed towards the Mexicans, this means how some Americans
still didn't accept Mexicans in the US and some even brought the argument that with time
Mexicans would eradicate the white homogenous race showing how some Americans did not
accept Mexicans to live in the US even though they have greatly contributed to America.
By 1930 the amount of Mexican immigration to the US declined because of the end of
the roaring 20s and the start of the great depression this made traveling to the US not worth it for
Mexicans that wanted better opportunities, the great depression also affected the Mexican
Americans lives, this is because the great depression increased unemployment and Americans
blamed Mexicans of taking their jobs away. During this Era, the Great Depression determined
America's posture on immigration and what kind of people should live in their country, and they
decided that Mexicans should be forcefully removed from America even if they were citizens
that is how during the 1930s Mexicans were starting to be deported to Mexico because they were
not accepted anymore and the economy could not handle more people.
During the Era of the Great Depression, the immigration of Mexicans to America was at
its lowest not only because of the risks of not being worth the effort but also because Americans
started to hate and dislike Mexicans not only they took “jobs away” from the American people
but also because were tagged as a lower class of citizen. They were treated as inferiors not only
because of the stereotypes Americans may have of Mexicans but also because in the great
depression Mexicans were really poor overall and some families could not even afford basic
needs, not to mention the dusty bowl which cause crops to fail due to the storms and droughts
this left many Mexicans without jobs and along the food and water shortages Mexicans started to
get deported by the Americans and the ones who remained were forced to migrate to the north in
order to survive and find jobs.
In conclusion, Mexicans overall were not fully accepted in the US between the 1920s and
the 1930s for many reasons like the color of their skin, bad images of Mexicans or stereotypes,
not speaking English fluently, or even their culture and in the 1930s case this disliking of
Mexicans grew because of the harsh economy and people blaming everything on foreigners, and
even though Mexicans were not accepted they still worked hard and really contributed to the
country showing Mexicans were still hard workers and gave it all for a better future for them and
their families.