Read “Immigration in U.S. History,” (5 pages) attached. It provides a very-brief overview of the immigration to the United States since the Thirteen Colonies. Then watch the three videos linked below. The first is an excerpt from the PBS American Experience documentary, The Chinese Exclusion Act. The second video gives a short history of the Bracero Program, a Mexican-migrant labor program introduced by the U.S. government as a response to labor shortages caused by World War II. This video provides some important context that can be easy to miss in the third video. The third video is a documentary of a more personal nature about the Bracero Program that includes many interviews with surviving Braceros. Be sure to take notes that will help you answer the questions found below.
Chapter 1 The Chinese Exclusion Act (10 minutes)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbBatK7JWYc
Forgotten Voices: The Story of the Bracero Program (7 minutes)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AL5d9CWV0Xg
Harvest of Loneliness (58 minutes)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcV2EOo-Xdc
For the writing, answer the questions below regarding the experiences of Chinese and Mexican immigrants to the U.S., based on the attached reading and videos:
- Based on the video, what is paradoxical about the Chinese Exclusion Act?
- What specific conditions in Mexico provided the push factors that convinced Mexican men to participate in the Bracero program?
- What did the Bracero Program promise to the Mexican males who participated, and in what ways did it fall short on those promises?
- What has been the impact of the North American Free Trade Agreement on Mexican agriculture, and how has it contributed to immigration to the U.S.?
Please answer with a numbered list. There are no formatting requirements or word count limits. answers don’t have to be very long, they depend on logic, completeness and understanding of the sources.
