Introduction
History claims that Mexicans living in America once occupied states that were initially parts of Mexico, such as Texas, California, Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. Their immigration is traced back to the 19th century when they were forced to move upstate due to the increasing violence in the name of a ‘Mexican revolution’ and worst off—an economic depression. Presently, the Americans of Mexican descent form a large number of the industrial task force. This is because of their relentless ability to work and give out satisfying results. In the book, “Becoming Mexican American: ethnicity, culture, and identity in Chicano Los Angeles 1900-1945”, the author, Sánchez, addresses various issues that led to the immigration of Mexican into the United States.
Society Crisis as the Main Reason for Mexican Immigration
Community crisis is the main factor that led to the immigration of Mexicans to the United States. It developed when the Mexicans could not be able to depend on themselves—and their government at the time due to the harsh economic situation caused by the revolution. As a result, those who felt the threat much earlier saw the need of relocating from their motherland to the northern country where there were assured employments in the farms and industry. Peace prevailed and security was more assured than back at home where there could be an appraisal any time without prior warning. The scare tactics were so effective in alarming the Mexican population that local businessmen began to worry about losing an abundant reliable supply of cheap labor beyond their immediate crisis (Sanchez, 1995, p. 215).
Safety and peace also convinced many Mexicans to migrate into the United States. The book at the beginning highlights a period of Mexican revolution from the Spaniards. At such times, it was hard to secure peace and tranquility. Most of the Mexican citizens were fighting for their independence and as a result, most homes were burnt down or destroyed during this revolt. The northern states were affected less by the revolution, thus they had peace. This caused most of the Mexicans to move north to find a safe dwelling place.
It is also evident when Gonzales composed a tune after brushing shoulders with many celebrated commanders that had spearheaded the revolt while working as dishwashers in America. Gonzales claimed to compose a tune after meeting some generals of the Mexican revolution who were working as dishwashers (Sanchez, 1995, p. 189).
Immigrant Zerferno Ramirez
Employment is another factor that geared the migration of Mexicans into the United States. This is evident when Zerferno Ramirez leaves his native country—Mexico, and heads to the Los Angeles district to seek employment. He works as a highway laborer and manages to save enough money to allow him to travel back to Mexico, with his family, buy a house in Belvedere, and start his own business. This factor is further supported by the fact that Zerferno’s elder daughter can account for all the finances of the newly established business.
Further, the legislation passed by the Los Angeles bench allowed for the creation of a new constitutional system where the posts of a judge and a legislature would be availed to ensure that the laws were followed promptly and any violators punished accordingly. Possibly, this also made the Mexican (more so the celebrated generals) move to the United States in search of new career opportunities (Gómez-Quiñones, 1990).
Inferno explains that there are times the Mexican laborers would carry out demonstrations about their working environment. Since the Californian business industries knew how much they depended on the Mexicans, they had to come up with new laws that would favor both parties i.e. the business owners and the laborers. This is also evident when Zerferno points out that he was elected one of the elders in the area. Thus, he could speak out for the Mexican communities in his place of residence. This clearly shows that there was a legislature that allowed for the formation of groups within the larger Mexican-American communities (Sanchez, 1995, p. 99).
Culture and religious beliefs are also other factors that led to most of the Mexicans migrating to the United States in the first three decades of the twentieth century. This was because most of the aliens wanted to set a change in their religious and cultural beliefs and they could not achieve that while being in Mexico. They found it much easier to convert from one religion to another and alter their cultural beliefs.
This was evident when Zerferno Ramirez converts his religion from catholic to protestant, as soon as he sets foot in Los Angeles. Life-long implications are stated to be the final blow for Mexicans who refuse to abandon their past ways of life and adopt new ones. American immigrates reacted differently to the American lifestyle for various reasons ranging from difficulty in finding accommodation to their indifferences to the American culture. Profound life-long implications were evident in those that were assimilated into the American culture (Sanchez, 1995, p. 12).
The Main Conclusions From Reading the Book
It is quite evident throughout the book that the Mexican revolution and its repercussions were the main factors that greased the movement of the larger Mexican population into the United States. Insecurity, unemployment, and poverty, power, and independence are some of the major factors that are spelled out in the book to be the main contributing factors, which led to the migration of current Americans of Mexican descent from Mexico to their present locations. Readers can also deduce that it was the struggle that empowered most Americans of Mexican descent to move into the states and struggle to achieve a self-sustaining life that was different from the one they had back in Mexico during the rampant violent attacks.
References
Gómez-Quiñones J.(1990). Chicano Politics: Reality and Promise, 1940-1990. Albuquerque, NM: University of New Mexico Press.
Sanchez G. J. (1995). Becoming Mexican American: Ethnicity, Culture, And Identity In Chicano Los Angeles, 1900-1945. Oxford: Oxford Publishing Press.