HIST314k 1nd Edition Lecture 9 Outline of Last Lecture II. Bracero programIII. Selection for programIV. Policies Outline of Current LectureI. Bracero programII. The Levelland Incident III. LULACIV. New gulfV. A civil rights law Current LectureI. The war, with its language of democracy and justice, and Mexico’s advocacy policy on behalf of Mexican s in the US energized the Mexican cause for equal rights in places like Texas. This part of the context within which the Bracero Program and the work of the Fair Employment Practice Committee (the federal agency responsible for implementing the nation’s first non discrimination in industrial employment) must be assessed II. Bracero programa. Method of labor control b. Everything involved from the point of recruitment until they are let go, regulationc. WW2- econ has to be regulated effectively and everything else needs to be subsumed under that d. All that happens between Mex and the US is unevenly power (3rd world v. highly industrialized)i. What goes on between them is regulated by the US ii. The US always has the greatest say over what happens (Ex. Immigration policy in the US unilateral decision because they are the 1 hegemon) iii. Mexico’s relation with the US is on the US’s terms and favors US for the most part These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor’s lecture. GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes, not as a substitute.e. Bracero program US needs workers for farms i. Mexico wants to build better relations with the US so they can benefit from the power of the US ii. Mexico makes it clear that they want to negotiate with US on bi national matters as equally as possibleiii. They want to manage f. Called “war workers” because they are being brought to help on the war front/ they contribute significantly but undergo exploitation in the process g. Mexicans want protection for these workers i. They need to be given the “prevailing wage” in certain states farmers/state dept said they cant pay more because of the war effort ii. They are guaranteed housing and other thingsiii. Mex negotiators demand the right to go and visit the work sites to make sure everyone is living up to the contract, state dept agrees 1. All kinds of problems that are negotiated with govt officials 2. Mexico is intervening in the domestic affairs of the US supported by the state dptiv. The Mex congress and Mex negotiators are implementing if you do it for the Braceros you need to do it for everyone else 1. Continue advocating for the rights of mex nationalism v. New proposal from Mex negotiators: Mex are receiving bad in Texas, so no more workers in Texas (Texas Ban)1. Texas is a lab where US needs to work their good neighbor policy 2. Texas is banned from participating in the Bracero program argues that the US are not acting as wartime partners because ourpeople are not equal3. US says that they were taking the foreign status of good neighbor policy and making it domestic so everyone in the US is equal a. Everyone is elevated to a level of hemispheric importance b. Because racial discrimination undermines wartime unity III. The Levelland Incident 1943a. The story- refuse to give service to one of the farm workers/ someone hit him on the head with a bottleb. Its significancei. There was a riot (civil disturbances that undermined the war effort) in LA in which large numbers of Mex were beaten up by American service men because the wartime language (fighting of dem and justice) raises expectations for people1. Rising expectations come into conflict with the reality of the situation2. Mex threatened to retract the programii. Mex govt officials and Mex Amer civil rights movements began to make the arg that these acts of discrimination were daily occurrences that werenot resolves these issues are now war time issues that disturb hemispheric unity c. The fight for Mexican Rights in Texasi. LULAC’s middle position exemplified by Manuel C. Gonzalesii. The relationship with the FEPCd. How does this happen?i. In some instances they are staged by Mex to put pressure on the Mex govt (coming from the bottom up)IV. LULACa. The educational campaigni. Legal strategy1. Organizing themselves (bring attention to discrimination in schools)2. When the Mex diplomats came, they took them to a restaurant who denied them services because they were Mexican)3. Perales- demonstrated what some Mex civil rights leaders did and how motivated they werea. Attorney practicing in SAb. He became Mex American diplomatc. Appointed by Nicaragua to be a council d. Most imp figure in establishing LULACe. Wrote extensively (in la prensa and his own books)f. Participated in important meetings that promote hemispheric unity after the war i. Building of post war peace ii. Called for a post war org that would defeat discrimination in Americaii. Politics of persuasionb. Against the denial of servicesi. Servicemenii. Mexican government officials1. Mex diplomats moving back and forth iii. Migratory workers1. People are on the road a lot and some people have a natural distain towards them. There are US born service men who came home they were discriminated against when they stopped to get food etca. They served non Mex btu not Mexi they sacrificed their lives and even then, that's not enough V. New gulfa. Joining Mexican causes i. LULAC and Mexican consulateii. School segregation, discrimination in businesses, and work related issuesiii. Staging protestsVI. A civil rights lawa. The Terrell Wells caseb. Broadening the fight i. The 3rd American Bar Association Conference- org of attorneysii. The inter American “Chapultepee” Conference on Problem of War and Peace (Mex city)iii. The founding meeting of the UN (San Fran)c. The Spears Billd. The end of a marriage: Mex and
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