Two Braceros Harvest Potatoes
Work
The majority of braceros who came to the United States performed the most difficult types of agricultural labor: planting, tending, and harvesting crops. This type of work was called "stoop work" because it required laborers to spend all day bent over. Even during the worst years of the Great Depression, growers had a hard time finding people willing to do stoop work. The two men in this photo wear distinctive specialized clothing for their task: wide-brimmed hats to protect from the sun, heavy leather gloves, durable jeans, and picking belts for collecting harvested produce.
Unknown
Unnamed photograph, circa 1942-1964, Oregon State University Archives, http://oregondigital.org/u?/bracero,133; accessed from <em>The Braceros: The Emergency Farm Labor Supply Program</em>, http://www.opb.org/programs/oregonexperiencearchive/braceros/life.php, 21 January 2010.
American Social History Project / Center for Media and Learning
1943
English
Great Depression and World War II (1929-1945)
A Bracero's Identification Card Certifies He Is Ready to Work
Immigration and Migration
Work
Aaron Castañeda Gamez and thousands of other Mexican workers had to pass a series of examinations to enter the bracero program. Recruits reported to centers in Mexico where they were inspected for lice and disease. Braceros' hands were inspected to see if they had calluses, indicating they were familiar with manual labor. They were told to disrobe and were then sprayed with the pesticide DDT. The processing stage lasted for several days, most of which were spent standing in line. Finally, if the man passed all the exams, he was given an identification card that certified his acceptance in the program. This card notes that Castañeda was to perform "railroad track labor only" and, like all braceros, was exempt from the wartime requirement of registering for the draft.
Unknown
Aaron Castañeda Gamez, "Identification Card," 10 April 1944, in <em>Bracero History Archive</em>, Item #512, http://braceroarchive.org/items/show/512 (accessed 21 January 2010).
American Social History Project / Center for Media and Learning
1944
English
Great Depression and World War II (1929-1945)
A Mexican Bracero's Identification Card
Work
Between 1942 and 1964, millions of Mexican agricultural workers entered the U.S. to work as surplus farm laborers during the government-sponsored Bracero Program. Working for lower wages than domestic farm workers, the Braceros were often victims of discrimination. While most were repatriated, many stayed in the United States where they remain the often-overlooked forefathers of later waves of migratory workers.
Santos Nunez Sotelo
Santos Nunez Sotelo, "Identification Card," in Bracero History Archive, Item #516, http://braceroarchive.org/items/show/516 (accessed 10 March 2010).
American Social History Project / Center for Media and Learning
1955
English
Artifact
Postwar America (1946-1975)
<em>Spanish for Farmers</em>
Immigration and Migration
Braceros traveled to a country where they did not know the language or the customs. In order to help them understand their new surroundings, local committees prepared Spanish-English phrasebooks such as the one pictured below. This handbook instructs braceros to walk on the left side of the street, not to stand in the back of the trucks, and to be careful with cigarettes around gasoline. The words and phrases the authors found necessary to include are instructive of the kinds of dangers and work braceros encountered.
Samuel R. Skaggs and Amelia Montes Skaggs
Samuel R. Skaggs and Amelia Montes Skaggs, <em>Manual práctico de Inglés para los braceros (Spanish for farmers)</em>, Las Cruces (New Mexico) <em>Citizen</em>, c. 1953, courtesy the Southwest Collection of the New Mexico State Library.
American Social History Project / Center for Media and Learning
1953 (Circa)
English
Great Depression and World War II (1929-1945)
Young Mexican and African-American Men Answer the Call for Farm Workers
Immigration and Migration
Work
The scale of the United States' war production effort during World War II touched every corner of the nation and millions of people. When traditional farm workers left for military service or higher paying jobs in war industries, the U.S. government looked south to Mexico. Several thousands braceros were invited to work in the United States, primarily in agriculture. This photograph of braceros in Texas cotton country, though, shows that in some places African Americans (especially men who were too young to join the army) worked alongside Mexican laborers. A bracero later recalled that harvesting cotton was the hardest work of all; one bracero corridista sang, "But I too came to pick cotton / and they have to pay me / for each hundred pounds a dollar / You can see I am quite skinny / From lack of food to eat."
John Vachon
John Vachon, "Corpus Christi, Texas. Mexican and Negro farm labor," Farm Security Administration-Office of War Information (Library of Congress), May 1943.
American Social History Project / Center for Media and Learning
1943
English
Great Depression and World War II (1929-1945)
A Bracero Enters the United States
Immigration and Migration
Work
In this oral history Alvaro Hernández describes how he entered the United States, first as an illegal worker and then as a bracero. Mr. Hernández was born in Jilemes, Chihuahua, Mexico. His father was an agricultural worker and his mother was a teacher. When he was 14, he first entered the United States illegally to pick cotton. Later he joined the bracero program. This interview was translated from the original Spanish.
Bracero History Archive
Myrna Parra-Mantilla, "Alvaro Hernandez," in Bracero History Archive, Item #33, http://braceroarchive.org/items/show/33 (accessed 26 January 2010), translated by Tony Paulino.
American Social History Project / Center for Media and Learning
2003
English
Great Depression and World War II (1929-1945)
A Bracero Remembers Working Near Chicago
Work
Having heard about successful braceros, Salvador Esparza Carreño decided to enlist in the bracero program in 1945. He worked as a railroad worker, in the fields cutting asparagus, and as a camp cook. He describes his work and leisure time in and around Chicago in a camp of about 150 bracero railroad workers repairing track. He recalls entering the U.S. around the time that President Franklin D. Roosevelt, whom he called "energetic," died. This interview was translated from the original Spanish.
Bracero History Archive
Laureano Martínez, "Salvador Esparza Carreño," in <em>Bracero History Archive</em>, Item #218, http://braceroarchive.org/items/show/218 (accessed 26 January 2010), translated by Tony Paulino.
American Social History Project / Center for Media and Learning
2003
English
Great Depression and World War II (1929-1945)
A Bracero Protests Low Pay and Discrimination
Immigration and Migration
Race and Ethnicity
Labor Activism
Work
Although he had received a rare scholarship to attend middle school, Andrés Héctor Quezada Lara dropped out to become a bracero. His work took him to many places in the United States, including South Dakota, Minnesota, Illinois, Missouri, and Kansas. First he worked on the railroads, but later worked cutting lettuce and sugar beets in the other states. Here he describes leading other braceros to demand better wages and how he outsmarted racist salesmen. This interview was translated from the original Spanish.
Bracero History Archive
Myrna Parra-Mantilla, "Andrés Héctor Quezada Lara," in Bracero History Archive, Item #4, http://braceroarchive.org/items/show/4 (accessed 26 January 2010), translated by Tony Paulino.
American Social History Project / Center for Media and Learning
2003
English
Great Depression and World War II (1929-1945)
A Bracero Is Disenchanted With the United States
Immigration and Migration
Race and Ethnicity
Work
Despite rumors that braceros would be sent off to fight in World War II, Manuel Sandoval Espino joined the bracero program in 1943. He recalls having to go to the local politician in order to get a pass to join. Mr. Sandoval worked in Kansas as a railroad worker. In this interview he describes some of the events that made him disillusioned with life in the United States. This interview was translated from the original Spanish. Mr. Sandoval repeats some offensive language that he heard others say in the United States.
Bracero History Archive
Violeta Domínguez, "Manuel Sandoval Espino," in <em>Bracero History Archive</em>, Item #130, http://braceroarchive.org/items/show/130 (accessed 26 January 2010), translated by Tony Paulino.
American Social History Project / Center for Media and Learning
2002
English
Great Depression and World War II (1929-1945)
A Bracero Enters the United States (with text supports)
Immigration and Migration
Work
In this oral history Alvaro Hernandez describes how he entered the United States, first as an illegal worker and then as a bracero. Mr. Hernandez was born in Jilemes, Chihuahua, Mexico. His father was an agricultural worker and his mother was a teacher. When he was 14, he first entered the United States illegally to pick cotton. Later he joined the bracero program. This interview was translated from the original Spanish.
Bracero History Archive
Myrna Parra-Mantilla, "Alvaro Hernandez," in Bracero History Archive, Item #33, http://braceroarchive.org/items/show/33 (accessed 26 January 2010), translated by Tony Paulino.
American Social History Project / Center for Media and Learning
2003
English
Great Depression and World War II (1929-1945)