Migration of African-Americans vs. the Migration of Mexicans Into the US

Introduction

Before 1910, more than 90% of African-Americans had settled in the Southern states of America. Most of the population lived up-country, with only a small fraction residing in urban areas. However, around 1916-1970, there occurred the Great Movement, which saw more than six million of the African-Americans, move from the southern side of the country to the North and West of the US, (Theoharis, & Woodard, 2016). The Great Movement led to the urbanization of the population as they moved to urban areas. This movement is one of the most massive internal migrations in history.

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Mexicans started moving in large numbers into the US between 1910 and 1920. Before this, there was minimal movement, and some Mexicans were also going back to their country from the US, (Pinheiro et al., 2018). The period between 1910 and 1920 marked the Mexican Revolution and led to an increase in the rate of movement from Mexico to America. Most of the migrants were political exiles fleeing Mexico, while others came in as refugees. The migration rate rose fast from twenty thousand migrants a year to about 100,000 people in a year.

Comparison of Causes of the Migration

The movement of African-Americans from the southern side to the north and west was as a result of several factors. Firstly, due to the period of war, industries and factories increased their levels of production and were in need of additional workers. The North was booming with business in cities such as Chicago, New York, Cleveland, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Detroit, St. Louis, and Cincinnati, (Theoharis, & Woodard, 2016). The African Americans were domestic servants and laborers in farms in the south. These jobs paid low, and the population rushed to work in industries and earn more. The northern states offered jobs in steel mills, shipyards, and meatpacking plants and paid their workers well. Besides, the low paying jobs contributed immensely to poverty making life in the South unbearable. The migrants were, therefore, moving to seek better experiences and to escape endemic poverty.

Secondly, the population faced strict segregation and discrimination in the south. The isolation in the southern side was known as Jim Crow. It was difficult for the African-Americans to access essential commodities, and their children could not go to the same schools as the whites. Also, there was segregation based on housing, with the blacks having to live in unbearable conditions while the Americans lived lavishly. Black people remained mostly unemployed while those who had jobs were underpaid, (Theoharis, & Woodard, 2016). White workers were favored and worked for fewer hours than the blacks for the same salary. These people thus felt the need to escape segregation. The Northern side experienced less discrimination than the South. The people in the West and the North were more friendly, exposed and less-prejudiced against the blacks. The blacks who got a chance to move and secure jobs came back and informed their fellows, which made the movement more rapid.

Finally, the South was largely rural with fewer amenities and infrastructure. Also, the South had few opportunities for jobs and personal development, (Lasch-Quinn, 2017). Most of the white population practiced farming and depended on manual labor from the blacks. The level of investment was significantly low. Blacks felt the need to move to the West and the North to seek more opportunities for jobs and infrastructure.

Similar to the African-Americans, the Mexicans moved to the US in the search for jobs and to escape poverty. In the early 20th century, Mexico experienced substantial economic problems which led to increased inflation. Additionally, the country was mostly agricultural, yet the climate was not supportive. The failure of farming which was the primary source of food and income made it necessary for the people to move to the US since there were good prospects.

Besides, the country experienced harsh climatic conditions and occurrence of natural hazards. Natural hazards such as volcanoes and hurricanes were rampant thus increasing morbidity and mortality rates. These disasters destroyed the people's homes forcing them to flee to safer places. The country also suffered lack of water even in the urban areas making them inhabitable.

The quality of life in America was better than that of Mexico. The US had better and developed infrastructure regarding roads, schools, hospitals, and others. Mexico was severely underdeveloped compared to America. Mexicans thus moved to experience better services. The migration further increased by the existence of earlier migrants who pulled their families and friends to the US.

A section of migrants from Mexico moved to escape the high rates of crime in the country. The country faced a lot of crimes such as homicide and drug-related crimes. The high crime rates were a result of joblessness and poverty. These crimes made Mexico unstable and unsafe forcing people to move out of the country as they feared for their lives.

Experience of the Immigrants

Mexican immigrants faced a lot of challenges in the US. The major problem occurred during the Great Depression of the 1930s which affected the economy of the US. The Great Depression led to unemployment which led to an increase in the hostility towards workers from other countries. The American government started deporting the Mexicans through the use of tricks. Hundreds of thousands of the Mexican-American and Mexican population had to move back to Mexico. The ones who got lucky and survived deportation had to live in desperate and challenging conditions.

Mexicans had a positive experience as laborers since they were considered good laborers. They received better treatment because the US citizens believed that they were temporary immigrants and would finally relocate back to their country. Employers thought that Mexican laborers were stronger than other immigrants since they had gone through harsh conditions in their country.

Blacks had moved to the North and the West hoping to escape hatred and segregation. However, there was still a significant level of racial discrimination in the North. Even though they received better pay compared to the South, they did not receive equal treatment with their white colleagues. Employers referred white workers to black workers, (Theoharis, & Woodard, 2016). The whites thus received better pay and benefits compared to their black counterparts. Also, blacks were suspected of a crime and would sometimes get arrested without committing any crime.

Due to the informal housing segregation, the whites and blacks settled in different locations as communities. Estates that had black people only sprouted as they were scared of living together with the whites due to racial segregation. The whites were cold and unwelcoming to the blacks, (Lasch-Quinn, 2017). The black created their own culture and came up with their music, newspapers, churches, businesses and jazz clubs. The blacks thus developed their own culture and took over some areas such as Harlem in New York.

References

Lasch-Quinn, E. (2017). Black neighbors: Race and the limits of reform in the American settlement house movement, 1890-1945. UNC Press Books.

Pinheiro, P. S., Callahan, K. E., Stern, M. C., & de Vries, E. (2018). Migration from Mexico to the United States: Highspeed cancer transition. International journal of cancer, 142(3), 477-488.

Theoharis, J., & Woodard, K. (Eds.). (2016). Freedom North: Black Freedom Struggles Outside the South, 1940-1980. Springer.