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How Did The Great Depression Affect Mexican Americans

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As the stock market plummeted and banks failed, millions of Americans found themselves out of work and struggling. Mexican Americans especially felt this era of economic struggle. The Great Depression negatively impacted Mexican Americans in several ways, as they faced increased discrimination which limited economic opportunities, furthermore worsening economic hardships, compounded by the vulnerability of migrant workers to deportation and exclusion from New Deal benefits. Mexican Americans faced increased discrimination which limited economic opportunities and worsened financial struggles during the Great Depression, when many businesses failed and less work was available. Since everyone in the U.S. was looking for work, it was seen as …show more content…

In a letter from A.G. Arnoll, secretary and general manager of the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, to G. J. Brunske, A.G. states "During the first years of the depression we lost about 160,000 of our Mexican people. They were frightened out of the state, mostly by the cry of the vast increase in population which had within recent years come into California from temperate region areas and unfamiliar with the fact that the Mexican laborer was an older citizen as a rule than himself, yet adhered the sogan 'do not hire a Mexican if a white man is out of work...'" With the increase in white population, racial motivations and decrease in Mexican Population of the region, this examplifies that the discriminitory beliefs caused difficulty for Mexican Americans when searching for …show more content…

Many of the Mexican population in the U.S. were migrants, which restricted certain freedoms. In "Mexican Americans and the Great Depression," Steven Mintz wrote "The New Deal offered Mexican Americans a little help... Many, however, did not qualify for relief assistance because as migrant workers they did not meet residency requirements. Furthermore, agricultural workers were not eligible for benefits under workers' compensation, Social Security, and the National Labor Relations Act." This information is valuable because it informs us that New Deal benefits excluded Mexicans due to residency requirements and agricultural worker eligibility. The system in place showed descriminatory behaviour, targetting to help those not Mexican. Mexican migrants faced descrimination in other areas as well. "Mexican American women on the bottom rung of the economic ladder faced similar conditions, but with an added dimension: the threat of deportation back to Mexico because of fears about competition for jobs and relief. In the depths of the Depression, perhaps one-third of the Mexican American population returned to Mexico, straining family ties and causing extreme financial hardship," Susan Ware states in "Women and the Great Depression." This quote highlights the impact of deportation on the Mexican American population during the Great Depression, with one third having to

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