Chicano Movement

Started in 1942. Out of the necessity of the U.S.--they go to war in WWII 1941, young men are drafted. **Many U.S. men were leaving the country side to the city because of higher wages in the city therefore a Treaty was signed between Mexico and the U.S. to have workers come to the U.S. and work in the country side for a specific amount of time**   

U.S. gets workers

Exports it's unemployed 

·       Limited to those areas where job shortages exist in agriculture ·       Bracero Program cannot be used to depress wages (can’t lower wages)
**Texas is the only state in the south-west that did not participate in the Bracero Program 

·       Centro de enganche in major cities in Mexico (a hiring hall) where people sign up for the Bracero Program àget hiredàworkàgo back to point of origin (the company that hires you will pay to take you back to Mexico)

1942-1947: Contribution to the war effort
1948-1951: Significant because of the number of braceros that were made U.S. Citizens
1951-1964: Significant because it lasted the longest & the most participated 

Mexicans broke the end of the contract because they stayed

Americans broke the contract because of the lack of living conditions 

Mexican Government sent representatives but they did not send enough to cover all of the southwest ·       were the workers were over-worked and underpaid ·       Mexican representatives will accept brides from the farmers—free meal & $

·       Send back remittances {send $ back home} ·       Patterns of migration—people come from the same state/city going to the U.S.

 August 1942-October 1944

A rumble between Mexican youth crime; Jose Diaz is killed by Loi Encinas—but Hank Leyvas and the 38^th street boys are blamed for the crime.  They were there to get even with the people at the party that had attacked him and his girlfriend—therefore they look like they were the one that killed him.  They were arrested at the site—they agreed that they had been in a fight but denied killing Diaz.

Jose Diaz was beaten and stabbed 

·       There was a mass trial ·       The defendants were not allowed to cleaned up—because their appearance was relative to the case ·       Not a jury of their peers—all white people ·       They were isolated from their lawyers 

June 8^th 1943 ·       The Superiors put the a limit to service men—they put the city off limits to service men