Migrant Farm Workers In America Essay

During the Great Depression there were a series of challenges that faced Americans. So much is told about the fall of the stock market during this period. A significant number of sources also exist pertaining to the way the people of America lost their hope in the banking and financial system. However, there exists tales and happenings during this period that related to drought and migration of Americans from their native states into California. This paper will look at this period in the history of America. In doing this, the paper will expound on the problems and accounts of migrant workers during this era and what they did to survive. Their significance in the history of America and the American economy will also be elaborated. The Dust
Bowl was the name used to refer to the Great Plains that was destroyed by drought and famine during the time of the Great Depression. This was a tough period for farmers in these regions. Because of the nature of soil in this region, drought presented a situation where the top layers would easily be carried and blown to form huge dust storms that chocked animals and covered pastures. The areas or rather states that were largely affected by the dust Bowl were Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, New Mexico and Colorado. Farmers who stayed in these regions could not stay any longer as the conditions were life threatening. As such, they started migrating to other areas and they started moving towards other famers to the far west before moving into cities. Notably, a significant number of them migrated to California. However, this migration was only the beginning of their struggles. The fact that they had no place to stay and no work to do meant that they had to look for work immediately or starve to death. The situation was tragic and one of desperation as parents had to act quickly in order to provide for their children. This was quite a new concept for migrant workers. When compared to foreign workers like the Chinese, they used to be imported without their children or any of their belongings. However, with these migrants of the 1936, it was inevitable that they had to move with their children and properties. In October 1936, just like any other similar time of the year was a season when crops in California were about to get harvested. As such, there was need for labor. It was only convenient that poverty stricken and hungry families had migrated to the west and almost ten percent of migrants moved to California. The natural disaster and economic downturn led to a situation where people were desperate and there was a dire need for land. Families of migrants could be seen wondering around the state of California with nowhere to go. When there was no work to do, thousands could be seen on highways moving from one farm to another. Then suddenly, when there was work to do, they would all disappear from the highways. This was because of the need for work as well as the uniqueness of the agricultural properties of California. For instance, a large peach orchard needed to be harvested within a short while lest the crop will rot. As such manpower of up to 2000 migrants was convenient to work on such farms. Just like any other form of historical cruelty and injustices, the American history is built on a love hate relationship, which was also seen during this point in time. Farm owners in California needed the migrants. However, they were hated at the same time. For instance, when they moved into a particular district or county, residents always showed them that they were not wanted there. They were seen as ignorant, unhealthy and dirty people. They were also seen as a liability in as far as there was increased need to use taxpayers’ money on policing within communities. In addition, they were seen as threats to the agricultural industry especially if they were allowed to be organized since they would be united enough to have a go slow and cause significant amount of losses. On the other hand however, they were badly needed. But they could not be allowed to feel at home. Residents for their own benefit effectively capitalized on their problems and desperation. This relationship could also be related with the hate that the people of America had for the Chinese immigrants during the Yellow Peril where the Chinese Exclusion Act was in fact enacted in 1882. It is similar to this case of the Migrant gypsies since in both cases, they were needed for their cheap labor. They were wanted and unwanted at the same time. The manner in which the Dust Bowl changed lives and livelihoods can only be imagined. Families that had huge lands to cultivate and raise children were brought down to nothing. They built refugee camps all over California but homelessness was the order of the day. They had structures they called houses and children occasionally died of pneumonia due to exposure to cold during extreme seasons. Sanora whose family was directly affected by the drought gives an account of how the migrants were diverse and came from dissimilar backgrounds. She states that affected families from the southwest and Midwest were largely different in status, class, attitudes and education. For instance, there existed the high plains migrant farmers who were quite independent, sturdy and literate and they knew nothing or very less about sharecropping as well as hired labor. In addition they did not subscribe to the racial and religious biases of their counterparts. As such, it is evident that quite a diverse population was affected by the dust bowl in this period in time. Just like many other periods in American history, this period of migrant farm workers in California represented an era where the elites literally took advantage of the situation to become richer.
This is a concept that can be directly compared with the Gilded Age when so many social problems faced America. During the 1936 Dust Bowl, the migrant farm workers did not work in the best of conditions. In fact, most of them were not provided with any utilities. All that they received was pay for their day work, which was hardly enough to sustain them. Small farm owners occasionally set aside a piece of land for migrants to camp and gave them water too. However, the big farms that were owned by corporations did very little in improving the lives of migrant workers. When they tried to provide some form of utilities, it was more like imprisonment. Ranches offered tiny houses for big migrant families. In a specific situation in kern County, a ranch had in place one shower that was meat to serve 400 farmers. Ranches were often policed with officers who carried guns and a significant number of migrant farmers were shot and killed on the ground of resisting an officer. When the government set up specific policies to help improve on the dignity of workers in such farms, the corporations had an alternative in mind. Cheap labor from Japan, China, México and Philippines was
procured. Immigrant workers offered cheap labor and the white migrant workers could not compete. There were so many social problems presented by this. For instance, Filipino farm workers were flooded on ranches in order to reduce the risk of strikes and labor unions. In conclusion, American history is filled with injustices and actions that have transformed and helped develop various issues pertaining to civil rights, labor rights and general protection of human dignity. As such, it is important to learn from such injustices in order to change how things are done in the near future.