Mexican origin people have interlocked with the beginnings of the United States since the Anglo-saxon’s era of Westward Expansion. This little known fact has affected and continues to affect the identities of these people. Within the Great Depression, the identity of Mexican origin people was categorized as part of the Mexican race and then later, with continuing changes in politics in the World War II time period, their identification as part of the Mexican race shifted to that of the white race. The American government’s constant changes of classifications reflect shifts in the social identities of Mexican people; many of these changes showcase the periods of exploitation and periods of dismissal of this group of people.
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While Chinese immigrants were still under fire because of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, Mexican people were under the radar. Due to the Immigration Acts of 1924 and 1926, Chinese immigration was still at a halt. The expansion of railroads and industrialization still needed an exploitable minority, thus Mexicans, a minority deemed “controllable” and a “transitory labor force”, were recruited to fill in for the Chinese (Molina Ch.1). But once the Depression hit, just as the Chinese, ethnic Mexicans were no longer needed or desired, they were targeted as the reason behind the recession and regarded as dispensable and “deportable” (Molina Ch. 1). No longer wanted, the government attempted to deport them; this was one of the many racial scripts that were …show more content…
In this time frame, Mexican origin men were signing up for the war and many of them did not come back to their homes, but those that did found the country to still hold the same inequality and discrimination (Molina Introduction). Accompanying the use of Mexican men to fight the war, was this change on the 1940’s Census, once again categorizing Mexican origin men under the “white race”. This political identification change worked as a form of further exploiting the minority group so that the U.S. could benefit from their lives on the front lines. Not only were Mexican origin people being used for political gain but as well economic
By going further …show more content…
While Chinese immigrants were still under fire because of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, Mexican people were under the radar. Due to the Immigration Acts of 1924 and 1926, Chinese immigration was still at a halt. The expansion of railroads and industrialization still needed an exploitable minority, thus Mexicans, a minority deemed “controllable” and a “transitory labor force”, were recruited to fill in for the Chinese (Molina Ch.1). But once the Depression hit, just as the Chinese, ethnic Mexicans were no longer needed or desired, they were targeted as the reason behind the recession and regarded as dispensable and “deportable” (Molina Ch. 1). No longer wanted, the government attempted to deport them; this was one of the many racial scripts that were …show more content…
In this time frame, Mexican origin men were signing up for the war and many of them did not come back to their homes, but those that did found the country to still hold the same inequality and discrimination (Molina Introduction). Accompanying the use of Mexican men to fight the war, was this change on the 1940’s Census, once again categorizing Mexican origin men under the “white race”. This political identification change worked as a form of further exploiting the minority group so that the U.S. could benefit from their lives on the front lines. Not only were Mexican origin people being used for political gain but as well economic