The Borderlands and Chicano Culture

Paper Summary:

Mexican-Americans are an integral part of American society at large. Chicanos continue to be engulfed in an age-old struggle to retain their cultural heritage and identity, while at the same time fit into mainstream American culture. The borderlands and the city of Los Angeles are significant places in the study of the development of Chicano culture. Historical events in the borderlands have played a significant role in shaping Chicano culture into its present form. This paper explores the effects of the Cotton Strike of 1933 on the current tensions regarding Mexican-American migrant workers today. The writer concludes that many of the issues that were relevant in the cotton strike are still without a permanent resolution.

From the Paper:

"Cotton production is labor intensive and difficult without a sufficient supply of unskilled labor. Cotton production requires a long growing season and warm temperatures. Production has the potential for small profit margins. Therefore a producer must seek to cut costs anywhere possible. The loss of slave labor in the Southeastern United States meant the downfall of the cotton industry in that region. However, the availability of low-wage Mexican labor in the borderlands meant the ability to fill the gap left by the old Southern Cotton empire. Mexican migrant workers allowed for the development of the cotton industry in the southwestern United States."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Guerin-Gonzales, C. Mexican Workers and American Dreams: Immigration, Repatriation, and California Farm Labor, 1900-1939. Rutgers University Press. New Brunswick, NJ. 1994.
• Hamilton, N. Central American Migration: a Framework for Analysis. Latin American Research Review. Vol. 26. No. 1. 1991. pp. 75-94.
• Sanchez, G. Becoming Mexican American: Ethnicity, Culture, and Identity in Chicano Los Angeles, 1900-1945. Oxford University Press. New York. 1995.

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