SSCI 316— Chapter 7 Study Guide
According to the World Bank, what is the rate of poverty in Mexico?
— World Bank (2013) - about half of the Mexican population lives in poverty — when they seek jobs in the US their low educational attainment (average is 8.5 years) restricts employment opportunities
Which minority status group is the largest in the US today? Where is this group most likely to be found? Is it growing?
Hispanic Americans - largest minority group (16.6 % of total US population) and is growing - mostly in west and south of US, but growing throughout the US
Should Hispanic Americans be considered a conquered / colonized group or an immigrant group? Why?
Hispanic groups include colonized and immigrant groups Hispanic Americans are perceived both as ethnic groups and racial groups
How have Mexican Americans been important to the US labor movement?
most important - Cesar Chavez and United Farm Workers - also follower of non-violent direct action as initiated by Gandhi - used the Catholic church as an ally, which also helped put off 'communist' depictions - brought together many different groups involved in agriculture - African Americans and Filipino Americans - used boycott successfully - grapes were boycotted for 5 years - also media — won better wages, working conditions for workers — also brought wages, working conditions of agricultural workers to US awareness
How have the economic differences between the US and Mexico impacted immigration from Mexico into the US?
- 1st contact with US was largely colonization, conquered (in some southwestern states some immigration if the groups retained political, economic capital) — this early colonization identification still impacts perception of new immigrants from Mexico - many factors impact immigration (legal and illegal) into US: conditions in Mexico; US demand for low or unskilled labor; global changes; changes in US immigration policy
Has the exploitation of Hispanic Americans been for land or labor? How does this compare with the situation of Native Americans and African Americans?
- conquered, colonized in 1800s, used as cheap labor (Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo) — conquered for land; also exploited for labor
Is it correct to say that Hispanic / Mexican Americans have a 'culture of poverty'? Why not?
- mistaken idea that 'problems' associated with Mexican American community originates with an unhealthy value system (weak work ethic, fatalism, etc) - though there are some differences in values between Mexican Americans and majority US, many values are actually quite similar (Hispanic Americans have greater support for 'working hard to get ahead') - this culture of poverty concept has also been applied to African Americans - African Americans considered to be too matriarchal / Hispanic Americans considered to be too patriarchal
As discussed in chapter 7, be able to compare and contrast Native Americans, African Americans and Hispanic Americans.
- similarities to Native Americans: small size of groups, differed in both language and culture from majority group — both impoverished, relatively powerless, few resources, physically isolated - similarities to African Americans in the South: exploited for labor; after slavery low-paying jobs, subordinate status - all 3 groups were colonized by Europeans; in early 1900s didn't have the resources needed to overcome low status, to fully retain own culture
When people move from Puerto Rico to the mainland, are they immigrants? How is the perception of race different in Puerto Rico and in the US? How does this impact prejudice and discrimination?
- since 1917 Puerto Ricans are US citizens (Puerto Rico is a territory of US) - helped facility movement onto mainland US - movement to the mainland began gradually and increased slowly until the 1940s, when the number of Puerto Ricans on the mainland increased more than 4 times, to 300,000 - during the 1950s, it nearly tripled, to 887,000 race / perception of race in Puerto Rico versus mainland - Puerto Rico has much greater diversity - mixture of people from Africa, indigenous peoples, European background — concept of 'race' is not dichotomous in Puerto Rico as on mainland (i.e. black versus white) — in Puerto Rico, more important than race is SES (socio-economic status) - in coming to mainland, many Puerto Ricans don't understand prejudice, discrimination based on skin color - Puerto Ricans in US have elements of both colonized group and immigrant group
In general, how does majority US society differ from Mexican American society regarding family and individualism?
- tends to be more important for Mexican Americans than Anglo Americans - family provides support when life is difficult, but can get in the way of Anglo values of individualism (example: moving away from family for educational, employment opportunities)
What is machismo?
- value system incorporating: men's dominance, honor, virility and violence — includes being a respected father, a good provider
What are the 3 concerns discussed in class regarding immigration, colonization and intergroup conflict?
1. political / economic - long history of political, economic issues between 2 countries - sometimes encouraging immigration (legal and illegal) to benefit both citizens of Mexico and US corporate interests (especially agriculture) - this movement across the border has a long history (see time table above) 2. colonized status - the fact that persons of Mexican heritage first 'entered' the US was through conquest, the initial contact was as a conquered group / colonization - any new people coming into US from Mexico are perceived of and treated more like a colonized group than an immigrant group people coming into the US from Mexico are entering a situation where those before had already been given the status of 'colonized' which works to perpetuates prejudice, discrimination - has characteristics of both colonized group and immigrant group - colonization includes paternalism, racism 3. prejudice, discrimination increase with competition, sense of threat - when people in the US are concerned about jobs or other possible threats, increased prejudice, discrimination of immigrants from Mexico - combination of competition, differences in power and prejudice can inform attitudes
What effect did WW II have on immigration from Mexico into the US?
1940s: World War II—increased demand for labor; leads to Bracero Guest Worker Program; Increased WW II increased US desire for cheap labor from Mexico (US men in the military, production in US has increased due to the war, even women in the US are in paid employment) - bracero program - began during WWII, continued into 1960s — goal: bring in cheap labor from Mexico (predominately for agriculture) — saved US agriculture a lot of money, since they were paid less than US workers — involved bureaucracy in both Mexico and US; this bureaucracy was meant to create fairness for both US employers and Mexican laborers
How did changes in immigration policy in 1965 impact immigration from Mexico into the US?
1965 policy changes - replaced racist 1924 policy that drastically reduced immigrants from coming into US - opened up immigration for close family members of people already US citizens - increased immigration from Mexico as immigrants gained citizenship, which allowed relatives in Mexico to immigrate
What are the 3 waves of immigration from Cuba to the US? How do they differ from each other and other immigrant groups?
Cuba - 3 waves: elite, middle class, less than middle class - elite: escaping Castro, Communism, openly accepted - had values that fit in more with US middle class (partly due to education) - 2nd group - not as accepted (lower SES, not as educated) - 3rd group - not accepted (even lower education, SES)
Who was Bautista? Castro? What did they do?
Cuban leaders
How does the proximity of Mexico impact Mexican Americans?
Mexican Americans are different from other Hispanic groups due to the close proximity of Mexico, allowing movement across border and renewal of language, culture
What was Operation Wetback? Did it accomplish what it intended?
Operation Wetback - began in 1950s - intended to repatriate illegal immigrants from Mexico - in actual practice, the civil rights of many US citizens were violated — partly why there is such a high degree of distrust in Mexican American community for US officials — example: though many people complain that illegal immigrants from Mexico are abusing US health care, etc that is not so; more often even legal residents avoid US government and don't use many services that would be entitled to
What is the relationship between the US and Puerto Rico? How has this impacted citizenship for Puerto Ricans?
Puerto Ricans: Puerto Rico became US territory at end of Spanish American war of 1898 - Puerto Rico and citizens first contact with US war, conquest - with on-going poverty, lack of resources, people of Puerto Rico not able to assert independence - as the century wore on, U.S. firms began to invest in and develop the sugarcane industry that decreased opportunities for economic survival in the rural areas and forcing many peasants to move into the cities - overall relationship with US based on colonization
What effect did the Great Depression have on immigration from Mexico into the US?
so immigration decreased, many return to Mexico US initiates repatriation policy (sending undocumented Mexicans back to Mexico) - though this policy was aimed at people in the US illegally, many legal residents were intimidated and also left decreased demand for labor and increased competition for jobs leads to repatriation campaign
How can the concept of split labor markets be applied to Mexican Americans?
split labor markets affect Mexican Americans (also affect African Americans and Native Americans) — in addition to racial split labor market - has also been a gender split labor market where women of Hispanic descent get the lowest end jobs - in general, persons with Mexican heritage are in lower economic hierarchy; some families (more likely if 3 or more generations in US) are achieving - economically - middle class status, but are still treated as 2nd class citizens (similar to African American families) split labor market - primary labor market - generally, own the means of production or high up - secondary labor market - sell labor for subsistence wages; is easily divided or split creating competition
