WEBVTT 00:00:15.039 --> 00:00:17.039 Relegated to second class citizens. The Mexicano faced an uncertain future. 00:00:19.329 --> 00:00:23.916 After the Mexican American War in 1848, the mexican population of the 00:00:23.949 --> 00:00:28.306 southwest continued to struggle against the hardships of discrimination. 00:00:28.339 --> 00:00:32.387 They were stripped of economic power and political representation. Living 00:00:32.420 --> 00:00:35.906 in barrios. Apart from the anglo population, they face continued 00:00:35.939 --> 00:00:39.567 exploitation in agriculture and mining and confronted segregation in 00:00:39.600 --> 00:00:43.006 schools and public facilities 00:00:43.039 --> 00:00:46.067 in an attempt to counteract these aggressions. The mexicano organized 00:00:46.100 --> 00:00:50.626 trade unions and mutual aid societies for economic survival as well as the 00:00:50.659 --> 00:00:58.659 preservation and the protection of cultural and civil rights. 00:01:03.340 --> 00:01:05.406 Mhm. 00:01:05.439 --> 00:01:09.107 Mhm. 00:01:09.140 --> 00:01:12.607 Yeah. Mhm. 00:01:12.640 --> 00:01:20.640 Mhm. All right. Yeah. Uh huh. Mhm mm 00:01:21.840 --> 00:01:24.507 right. Uh huh. 00:01:24.540 --> 00:01:27.807 Fear of the Mexicano political domination of the Arizona territory 00:01:27.840 --> 00:01:31.676 remained an important theme in Arizona politics. Attempts to make Arizona 00:01:31.709 --> 00:01:36.107 territory were forced also, partly because of the large mexican population. 00:01:36.140 --> 00:01:39.777 In order to maintain Anglo political control of the territory. Anglos 00:01:39.810 --> 00:01:44.717 work to separate Arizona from the New Mexico territory. Before 1863, many 00:01:44.750 --> 00:01:48.796 Anglos in Arizona feared that if the overwhelming mexicano majority in new 00:01:48.829 --> 00:01:52.786 Mexico were to unite with the Mexicanos in Arizona, they would dominate 00:01:52.819 --> 00:01:57.846 the territorial government When Arizona became a territory. Prescott, the 00:01:57.879 --> 00:02:03.206 anglo dominated region of central Arizona became the territorial capital 00:02:03.239 --> 00:02:06.897 talks on the training center with the largest concentration of Mexicano 00:02:06.930 --> 00:02:11.367 population was denied the capital, partly because anglo politicians were 00:02:11.400 --> 00:02:16.587 aware that in Tucson, the mexicanos were politically strong. 00:02:16.620 --> 00:02:20.297 As a result, Anglos held a firm political grip over Arizona. Throughout 00:02:20.330 --> 00:02:25.346 the territorial period, Francisco Leon and Jesus M. Elias who were born in 00:02:25.379 --> 00:02:28.707 the territory, we're the only Mexican was elected to the first territorial 00:02:28.740 --> 00:02:36.196 legislature in 1864 From 1864 to 1911. No Mexicano served in a significant 00:02:36.229 --> 00:02:41.096 administrative territorial office. Anglo political domination of Arizona 00:02:41.129 --> 00:02:45.307 was again threatened in 1904 when Congress introduced a bill that would 00:02:45.340 --> 00:02:49.797 join the Arizona and New Mexico territories into one large state with 00:02:49.830 --> 00:02:53.827 Santa Fe is the state capital. The Arizona territorial legislature 00:02:53.860 --> 00:02:58.957 protested it humiliates our pride, violates our tradition and would 00:02:58.990 --> 00:03:02.256 subject us to the domination of another commonwealth of different 00:03:02.289 --> 00:03:06.036 traditions, customs and aspirations. We would rather remain forever a 00:03:06.069 --> 00:03:13.027 territory than accept statehood under such conditions. Mm hmm, 1910, 00:03:13.060 --> 00:03:16.156 Congress passed a bill that allowed Arizona and New Mexico to become 00:03:16.189 --> 00:03:20.827 separate states. The Arizona Constitutional Convention of 1910 called for 00:03:20.860 --> 00:03:25.617 52 delegates to be chosen equitably among 13 counties. Although southern 00:03:25.650 --> 00:03:30.126 Arizona was heavily populated with Mexicanos. Carlos Hachemi at Tucson 00:03:30.159 --> 00:03:34.557 merchant Was the only Mexicano to be elected to the 1910 Constitutional 00:03:34.590 --> 00:03:39.536 Convention. How Arizona. In 1909, the Democratic Party denied the majority 00:03:39.569 --> 00:03:44.117 of the Mexican population the right to vote by sponsoring and approving 00:03:44.150 --> 00:03:49.226 the literacy law. This law required that a person read the constitution in 00:03:49.259 --> 00:03:53.297 the english language and be able to write his name. Territorial governor 00:03:53.330 --> 00:03:57.226 Richard Eastland protested this law by stating it is unjust and 00:03:57.259 --> 00:04:00.427 undemocratic to include in this discrimination, a large number of 00:04:00.460 --> 00:04:04.967 intelligent, respectable law, abiding and patriotic men whose ancestors 00:04:05.000 --> 00:04:09.166 lived here long before any american ever visited the territory who know no 00:04:09.199 --> 00:04:13.677 other home or country who have property and paid taxes, who are rearing 00:04:13.710 --> 00:04:17.926 families here and who by every consideration, are entitled to all the 00:04:17.959 --> 00:04:21.406 rights and privileges of citizenship. 00:04:21.439 --> 00:04:25.457 Despite Governor Sloan's protest, the anglo american democrats through the 00:04:25.490 --> 00:04:29.496 literacy law took a serious step in forestalling whatever impact mexicanos 00:04:29.529 --> 00:04:34.007 might have had in the political life of the territory. 00:04:34.040 --> 00:04:37.707 In addition, the Democratic Party in anglo american leaders of organized 00:04:37.740 --> 00:04:41.887 labor introduced proposition 91 to the Constitutional Convention in 00:04:41.920 --> 00:04:46.356 october of that same year. Under the proposition, Arizona, employers would 00:04:46.389 --> 00:04:50.906 have been restricted to employing no more than 20% alien workers Backers 00:04:50.939 --> 00:04:54.546 of this proposition included mining unions and an organization known as 00:04:54.579 --> 00:04:58.517 the immigration restriction League of Arizona. The league warned that 00:04:58.550 --> 00:05:02.127 unless steps were soon taken in a few years, Arizona would be a state 00:05:02.160 --> 00:05:06.837 populated by an alien race. Proposition 91, if passed, would have closed 00:05:06.870 --> 00:05:11.786 down the mines since more than 50% of the miners were Mexican, It would 00:05:11.819 --> 00:05:15.507 have also created economic hardships on the Mexican workers, many of whom 00:05:15.540 --> 00:05:19.007 have been working in the mines for more than 25 years. Although 00:05:19.040 --> 00:05:23.296 proposition 91 failed to pass the Democratic Party and labor unions 00:05:23.329 --> 00:05:28.377 successfully passed a similar bill. Several years later, the Mexico minor 00:05:28.410 --> 00:05:31.306 was instrumental in the development of the labor movement in the territory 00:05:31.339 --> 00:05:35.606 of Arizona. The first local of the Western Federation of Miners to survive 00:05:35.639 --> 00:05:40.507 was formed in globe. In 1896. The WFM, as it was known to stay in the 00:05:40.540 --> 00:05:43.596 mexican. No minor and claimed that the mexicano labor could not be 00:05:43.629 --> 00:05:48.647 organized. The WFM also claimed that the mexican, those were not aware of 00:05:48.680 --> 00:05:52.127 the objectives of the movement and drifted from camp to camp, making their 00:05:52.160 --> 00:05:57.217 indoctrination almost impossible. In truth, the WFM conveniently ignored 00:05:57.250 --> 00:06:00.817 the mexicano minor and use the anti mexican. No feelings of the anglo 00:06:00.850 --> 00:06:06.397 american as a basis for union support. A more positive contribution to the 00:06:06.430 --> 00:06:10.197 development of the labor movement and to social justice in Arizona was 00:06:10.230 --> 00:06:14.606 made in 1903 by the Mexicano miners of the Clifton and Morenci district 00:06:14.639 --> 00:06:18.666 ignored by organized labor and discriminated against by management. 00:06:18.699 --> 00:06:24.366 Mexicano workers led by Lebron F. SRC go and assess crews closed down the 00:06:24.399 --> 00:06:27.937 cliff and Morency district as they sought wages equal to those paid anglo 00:06:27.970 --> 00:06:32.887 americans, Racial and economic problems for the Mexicano miners in 1903 00:06:32.920 --> 00:06:39.707 date back to 1873 when only 30 Mexicano miners operated the Clift and mine. 00:06:39.740 --> 00:06:44.267 By 18 90 the major part of Clifton's population was Mexicano. Yet all the 00:06:44.300 --> 00:06:48.236 skilled jobs were held by Anglos employment discrimination and a double 00:06:48.269 --> 00:06:52.346 wage standard resulted in social conflict between the Mexicano and anglo 00:06:52.379 --> 00:06:57.837 communities. The Arizona Republican on June 8, 1898 reported social 00:06:57.870 --> 00:07:01.637 tension between Mexican and Anglo populations in the towns of Clifton's 00:07:01.670 --> 00:07:06.556 Morency and metcalf Governor. McCord immediately requested the aid of 00:07:06.589 --> 00:07:11.606 three town marshals and the Graham County attorney to maintain the peace. 00:07:11.639 --> 00:07:15.077 In addition to the social conflicts, the mining communities also faced 00:07:15.110 --> 00:07:19.337 unfriendly law enforcement officials, corporate control legislators passed 00:07:19.370 --> 00:07:22.637 laws and developed law enforcement policies for the protection of their 00:07:22.670 --> 00:07:26.767 political supporters. Labor unrest and allegations of radical union 00:07:26.800 --> 00:07:30.647 activity were repeatedly mishandled by public law enforcement officials 00:07:30.680 --> 00:07:34.616 for the purpose of protecting corporate interests. At the same time, the 00:07:34.649 --> 00:07:39.437 Arizona Rangers, created by the legislature in 1901 were used as a tool by 00:07:39.470 --> 00:07:44.796 the mine owners to break stripes. In 1903, the territorial legislature 00:07:44.829 --> 00:07:48.906 passed a new law calling for an eight hour workday. Although the owners 00:07:48.939 --> 00:07:52.296 complied with the new law, they also retaliated by cutting the miners 00:07:52.329 --> 00:07:55.707 wages by 10%. 00:07:55.740 --> 00:07:59.366 On June three of that year, the miners of Clifton's Marenzi walked out in 00:07:59.399 --> 00:08:03.827 protest, 80-90% of the men were Mexicano and many of their leaders were 00:08:03.860 --> 00:08:07.286 members of the Metropolis. Tas, the mutual aid societies that played a 00:08:07.319 --> 00:08:11.707 major role in the strike. By june 5th, the Bisbee daily reported the 00:08:11.740 --> 00:08:15.717 strike a complete success. Governor brodie immediately ordered the Arizona 00:08:15.750 --> 00:08:20.127 rangers to Clifton and Morenci. Meanwhile, nearly 2000 Mexicano miners 00:08:20.160 --> 00:08:23.587 staged a march through the town of Morency as a sign of protest to the 00:08:23.620 --> 00:08:27.796 arrival of the Arizona rangers, inevitably the presence of the arrival of 00:08:27.829 --> 00:08:31.286 the rangers federal troops and national guardsmen brought a swift end to 00:08:31.319 --> 00:08:35.246 the strike. At the same time a disastrous flood caused thousands of 00:08:35.279 --> 00:08:38.687 dollars in damage to the community and forced the Mexicans out of their 00:08:38.720 --> 00:08:42.636 dwelling. In the process, homes were searched, leaders were arrested, 00:08:42.669 --> 00:08:47.907 tried and sentenced to the human territorial prison. 00:08:47.940 --> 00:08:50.917 Labor difficulties and racial unrest continued to plague the Clifton 00:08:50.950 --> 00:08:54.846 Morenci district with another flare up in the Clinton camp. This time, the 00:08:54.879 --> 00:08:57.766 custody of young Children and out wages became a focal issue in the 00:08:57.799 --> 00:09:03.337 dispute. On October 1 1904 40 Anglo American orphans from 18 months to 00:09:03.370 --> 00:09:06.736 five years of age arrived in Clifton's. They were the wards of the new 00:09:06.769 --> 00:09:10.337 york foundling hospital and were accompanied on the train trip by sister 00:09:10.370 --> 00:09:13.797 Anna Michelle a bone. Their adoptions had previously been arranged by 00:09:13.830 --> 00:09:18.106 Father concert man Dean, a young substitute priests in the catholic parish. 00:09:18.139 --> 00:09:21.207 Father Brandon had been assigned to the cliff in Paris during the absence 00:09:21.240 --> 00:09:24.096 of the resident priest and had only been in the United States for less 00:09:24.129 --> 00:09:27.886 than 10 months having arrived from France, he was not aware of the areas 00:09:27.919 --> 00:09:32.486 deep ethnic prejudice. Father Brandon after proper investigation approved 00:09:32.519 --> 00:09:37.236 33 of 60 applications for the orphans. Only one angle family applied for 00:09:37.269 --> 00:09:42.707 the adoption of any of the Children. The 40 Children arrived in Clifton's 00:09:42.740 --> 00:09:46.827 16 Children were placed in Mexican. The homes an act which angered the 00:09:46.860 --> 00:09:50.616 Anglos in the community. They were outraged to think that these blonde 00:09:50.649 --> 00:09:54.207 blue eyed babies would be allowed to live in the homes of mexican lows. 00:09:54.240 --> 00:09:57.417 Father Brandon tried to explain that the Children would be taken care of 00:09:57.450 --> 00:10:01.077 would be safe and that they were with families who wanted them. His 00:10:01.110 --> 00:10:04.417 explanations were ignored and the anglo americans formed a vigilante 00:10:04.450 --> 00:10:08.677 committee at nighttime. They broke into the mexicanos homes and forcibly 00:10:08.710 --> 00:10:12.167 kidnapped the Children. The new york foundling hospital brought suit to 00:10:12.200 --> 00:10:15.657 recapture possessions of the Children. But in the meantime adoption 00:10:15.690 --> 00:10:20.356 proceedings by the anglo american families had already been arranged. The 00:10:20.389 --> 00:10:23.646 Supreme Court of Arizona upheld these new adoptions in a decision which 00:10:23.679 --> 00:10:27.567 was affirmed by the United States Supreme Court by its ruling. The court 00:10:27.600 --> 00:10:30.896 not only awarded the Children to the annual american foster parents, but 00:10:30.929 --> 00:10:38.929 also gave legal credence to the anti mexicano prejudice mm. Mexican 00:10:39.429 --> 00:10:43.217 migration to the southwest was an important factor in the development of 00:10:43.250 --> 00:10:47.636 Arizona's multimillion dollar agricultural industry Between the years of 00:10:47.669 --> 00:10:49.766 1910-1929, 00:10:49.799 --> 00:10:54.126 Mexicano immigration to Arizona in the southwest created one of the 00:10:54.159 --> 00:10:59.167 largest mass movements of people in history. Approximately 1/8 of Mexico's 00:10:59.200 --> 00:11:03.976 population shifted north to the US. Mexicanas crossing into Arizona 00:11:04.009 --> 00:11:07.346 flocked to the mining camps of Bisbee and jerome as well as the farming 00:11:07.379 --> 00:11:11.106 communities of phoenix and Tempe 00:11:11.139 --> 00:11:15.386 At the same time in Mexico a social economic and political upheaval 00:11:15.419 --> 00:11:23.419 erupted with the revolution of 1910. 00:11:27.139 --> 00:11:33.807 Mhm, 00:11:33.840 --> 00:11:39.356 Mexico faced overpopulation, a surplus labor pool, lack of farmland, low 00:11:39.389 --> 00:11:44.207 wages and an increase in food prices. In contrast, Arizona was enjoying 00:11:44.240 --> 00:11:47.577 economic development and expansion in the railroad, mining and 00:11:47.610 --> 00:11:52.266 agricultural industries, all of which attracted the mexicano into Arizona 00:11:52.299 --> 00:11:55.207 and the Southwest. 00:11:55.240 --> 00:11:59.907 The Reclamation Act of 1902 was primarily responsible for this prosperity. 00:11:59.940 --> 00:12:03.596 The act provided federal funding for the construction of large scale 00:12:03.629 --> 00:12:08.746 reclamation projects in the Southwest. Farming in Arizona, particularly in 00:12:08.779 --> 00:12:12.116 the Salt River Valley was now possible through irrigation of large tracts 00:12:12.149 --> 00:12:16.866 , an increased demand for vegetables and citrus fruits. The development of 00:12:16.899 --> 00:12:20.646 the canning process and the introduction of the refrigerated car brought 00:12:20.679 --> 00:12:25.616 thousands of mexican workers into Arizona. More efforts to encourage 00:12:25.649 --> 00:12:30.207 immigration followed the United States entry into World War. The draft of 00:12:30.240 --> 00:12:34.917 1917 produced a shortage of labor in the mines, railroads and agriculture 00:12:34.950 --> 00:12:39.776 in Arizona and the southwest in order to attract Mexico workers into this 00:12:39.809 --> 00:12:44.506 area, the literacy law, head tax and prohibition of contract labor were 00:12:44.539 --> 00:12:48.687 waived, although mexicanos at first were only allowed to work as farm 00:12:48.720 --> 00:12:52.807 laborers. Later, they were allowed to work in non agricultural areas, 00:12:52.840 --> 00:12:57.146 miners from chihuahua and Sonora again came to the Arizona mines. The 00:12:57.179 --> 00:13:00.957 constant arrival of mexicanos into other employment areas such as farming 00:13:00.990 --> 00:13:05.907 and the railroads helped to intensify the anti mexican sentiment prevalent 00:13:05.940 --> 00:13:10.246 throughout Arizona. The Democratic Party and labor unions made a second 00:13:10.279 --> 00:13:14.577 legislative attempt to exclude Arizona mexicanos from working in Arizona's 00:13:14.610 --> 00:13:19.746 industries. By introducing the Claypool Kinney bill in 1915, this bill 00:13:19.779 --> 00:13:23.596 would prohibit non citizens from working on public projects and exclude 00:13:23.629 --> 00:13:28.187 non english speaking persons from performing hazardous work. This bill was 00:13:28.220 --> 00:13:32.606 simply a ploy to deprive mexicano nationals and Arizona mexicanos from 00:13:32.639 --> 00:13:36.266 working in the copper mines and prevented the mine operators from 00:13:36.299 --> 00:13:41.246 obtaining cheap labor. The Claypool Kinney Bill, also known as the 80% law 00:13:41.279 --> 00:13:47.287 , was passed on November 3 1914. This law required employers of five or 00:13:47.320 --> 00:13:52.207 more persons to employ at least 80% native born US citizens. 00:13:52.240 --> 00:13:56.756 Unsurprisingly, the initiative was overwhelmingly endorsed by the Anglo 00:13:56.789 --> 00:14:01.717 Saxon mining communities Victory for the advocates of the 80% law was 00:14:01.750 --> 00:14:07.376 short lived. On january 7th 1915, a three judge Circuit Court of Appeals 00:14:07.409 --> 00:14:11.297 in san Francisco found that the law was in violation of the equal 00:14:11.330 --> 00:14:14.287 protection guarantee of the 14th amendment of the United States 00:14:14.320 --> 00:14:17.207 Constitution 00:14:17.240 --> 00:14:20.337 In an attempt to circumvent the circuit court of appeals decision 00:14:20.370 --> 00:14:23.927 proponents of the 80% law introduced the Claypool Kinney Bill to the 00:14:23.960 --> 00:14:29.307 Arizona State Legislature in February of 1915, the bill caused immediate 00:14:29.340 --> 00:14:32.837 outrage and brought on demonstrations within the Mexican communities 00:14:32.870 --> 00:14:37.317 located throughout the state of Arizona meetings to discuss the bill were 00:14:37.350 --> 00:14:41.467 held in mining towns such as Clifton and Ray In what was described as a 00:14:41.500 --> 00:14:46.087 monster mass meeting and Ray by the Arizona Republican newspaper, hundreds 00:14:46.120 --> 00:14:51.077 of Mexican miners met during the evening of February 6, 1915, in the 00:14:51.110 --> 00:14:55.736 Juarez Theatre to plan action against the proposed bill. After speaking 00:14:55.769 --> 00:14:59.317 out bitterly against the bill, these miners selected a delegation of 00:14:59.350 --> 00:15:03.307 nearly 200 persons from their ranks to travel the following day to Phoenix 00:15:03.340 --> 00:15:07.447 to voice their protests, they presented petitions bearing hundreds of 00:15:07.480 --> 00:15:11.537 signatures in opposition to the Claypool Kenny bill. Four days later on 00:15:11.570 --> 00:15:16.317 February 10, more than 600 Mexicanos gathered at an old skating rink 00:15:16.350 --> 00:15:19.567 located in Phoenix where more petitions were signed and subsequently 00:15:19.600 --> 00:15:23.106 submitted to the state legislature 00:15:23.139 --> 00:15:26.986 via these social political protests, the mexicano mining communities 00:15:27.019 --> 00:15:30.376 helped to bring an end to the Claypool Kinney bill. In addition, the 00:15:30.409 --> 00:15:34.366 Circuit Court of Appeals Decision on the 80% law was later affirmed on 00:15:34.399 --> 00:15:40.886 November 1, 1915 by the United States Supreme Court. One positive result 00:15:40.919 --> 00:15:43.876 of the Claypool kidney pill was the establishment of the mutual aid 00:15:43.909 --> 00:15:48.957 society by the mexicanos. In Arizona a year earlier in phoenix, mexicanos 00:15:48.990 --> 00:15:53.236 formed La liga protect or a Latina. The latin protective league to post 00:15:53.269 --> 00:15:57.557 discriminatory activities. The primary purpose of the association was to 00:15:57.590 --> 00:16:02.246 educate and protect the mexican population of Arizona and pay for funeral 00:16:02.279 --> 00:16:06.787 expenses of its members. Local lodges soon were organized in major cities 00:16:06.820 --> 00:16:13.157 in mining towns such as phoenix, Tucson Yuma nogales, Ray, jerome globe, 00:16:13.190 --> 00:16:18.596 Miami Clifton's frenzy and superior during the ensuing years, La liga 00:16:18.629 --> 00:16:22.626 enjoyed a prominent position in Arizona politics and a sharp increase in 00:16:22.659 --> 00:16:29.167 its membership. By 1918, La Liga claimed 3,752 members in the states of 00:16:29.200 --> 00:16:37.200 new Mexico California and Arizona. Mhm mm. Mhm. 00:16:39.240 --> 00:16:45.106 Hello! 00:16:45.139 --> 00:16:48.687 In the mining industry, fear that the mexicano workers with lower wages 00:16:48.720 --> 00:16:53.636 and then replace the anglo workers was still a major reason for unrest in 00:16:53.669 --> 00:16:57.447 the Clifton and Morenci areas. The Mexicano miners received less pay than 00:16:57.480 --> 00:17:02.476 the anglo american miners for the same amount of work. The Arizona Copper 00:17:02.509 --> 00:17:05.816 Company, the Detroit copper Company and the Shannon Copper Company 00:17:05.849 --> 00:17:10.006 controlled the lives of the miners and pay the lost wages in the industry. 00:17:10.039 --> 00:17:13.117 The Mexicano workers became disillusioned and disgusted with their 00:17:13.150 --> 00:17:16.996 working conditions and felt a need to organize. In order to protest such 00:17:17.029 --> 00:17:20.957 abuse, They staged a strike that was to paralyze the mining camps of 00:17:20.990 --> 00:17:26.917 Clifton's Marenzi in 1915 through 1916. The governor of Arizona George W. 00:17:26.950 --> 00:17:30.816 P. Hunt then ordered the national guardsmen into the district to put the 00:17:30.849 --> 00:17:35.516 strike to an end and to prevent any violence. The strike lasted 4.5 months 00:17:35.549 --> 00:17:39.467 and it ended without any bloodshed. Meanwhile, the power of the mining 00:17:39.500 --> 00:17:44.117 corporations increased World War intensified the demand for copper, 00:17:44.150 --> 00:17:48.506 thereby driving up the prices for the precious or many mine owners, 00:17:48.539 --> 00:17:54.976 however, were determined to control wages. On june 24th 1917. Union miners 00:17:55.009 --> 00:18:00.226 belonging to the I W. W. Struck at Bisbee in jerome asking for equal pay 00:18:00.259 --> 00:18:04.097 for equal work. The cochise county sheriff label the strikers some of whom 00:18:04.130 --> 00:18:08.107 were mexicans as subversive and carry out a plan to deport them from 00:18:08.140 --> 00:18:13.486 Bisbee. Early in the morning of July 12, 1917, a law and order committee 00:18:13.519 --> 00:18:17.496 of 2000 men swept through the streets of Bisbee dragging strikers from 00:18:17.529 --> 00:18:21.347 their homes at gunpoint. Every male who could not prove that he was 00:18:21.380 --> 00:18:25.536 employed was herded into the downtown Plaza, then to a ballpark where two 00:18:25.569 --> 00:18:29.756 machine guns were used to guard the strikers at gunpoint. The 1200 00:18:29.789 --> 00:18:33.927 strikers were then herded into boxcars of the El Paso and Southwestern 00:18:33.960 --> 00:18:39.447 Railroad, a subsidiary of Phelps, Dodge The train loaded with 186 armed 00:18:39.480 --> 00:18:45.086 guards took them into Columbus New Mexico, 173 miles east of Bisbee. The 00:18:45.119 --> 00:18:48.847 strikers were forced to stand for hours in the crowded airless cars, some 00:18:48.880 --> 00:18:54.157 in cal manure and in the extreme july heat at columbus, the men were 00:18:54.190 --> 00:18:58.187 abandoned in the open desert without food or water. The company's broke 00:18:58.220 --> 00:19:02.546 the unions during World War, with the Bisbee deportation. Consequently, 00:19:02.579 --> 00:19:05.597 there was not much union activity in the mining communities during the 00:19:05.630 --> 00:19:13.630 1920s and 1930s. 00:19:14.539 --> 00:19:20.806 Mhm mhm 00:19:20.839 --> 00:19:24.937 exploitation of Mexican workers continued this time, in the cotton fields 00:19:24.970 --> 00:19:29.036 of the Salt River Valley. The war created a sharp demand for long staple 00:19:29.069 --> 00:19:32.986 cotton. Agents of the Arizona Cotton Growers Association recruited 00:19:33.019 --> 00:19:36.877 thousands of workers in Mexico for work on cotton farms in the Salt River 00:19:36.910 --> 00:19:42.046 Valley in May of 1920, a decline of long staple cotton led to the collapse 00:19:42.079 --> 00:19:46.036 of the cotton market in Arizona. Although transportation fees have been 00:19:46.069 --> 00:19:49.907 deducted from the pay of the mexican workers growers did not give them 00:19:49.940 --> 00:19:54.306 return passage. Thousands of mexican workers were left stranded, many 00:19:54.339 --> 00:19:58.806 without pay starving and with no means of getting back to their country. 00:19:58.839 --> 00:20:02.197 Newspapers throughout Mexico condemned the Arizona cotton growers 00:20:02.230 --> 00:20:06.627 association for treating the Mexicano workers like animals, denying them 00:20:06.660 --> 00:20:11.447 their pay and forcing thousands of them into starvation. Attempts were 00:20:11.480 --> 00:20:15.107 made by the Mexican government in Arizona Governor Campbell to pressure 00:20:15.140 --> 00:20:19.097 the Arizona cotton growers association to transport mexicanos to the 00:20:19.130 --> 00:20:23.367 border. Subsequently, their demands were ignored efforts to organize 00:20:23.400 --> 00:20:27.816 Mexicano cotton laborers in the 19 twenties and 19 thirties along the Salt 00:20:27.849 --> 00:20:32.056 River Valley were unsuccessful organizers hired by the unions were 00:20:32.089 --> 00:20:37.157 harassed beaten up and arrested by local law enforcement officials. State 00:20:37.190 --> 00:20:42.217 Senator Manuel lito pena remembers group gathered at the dam. So I put on 00:20:42.250 --> 00:20:48.326 my shine box and I'd go down and see what what was happening now. And I 00:20:48.359 --> 00:20:51.996 was looking through the, through holes in the tin, there was a tin 00:20:52.029 --> 00:20:57.836 building pull over and I saw a lot of people, place was full and the story 00:20:57.869 --> 00:21:05.869 luna was on top of desk talking to two people and at that time it was the 00:21:06.789 --> 00:21:13.687 victorian see dance drove up and they just come into the parking area and 00:21:13.720 --> 00:21:21.407 people jumped out. They had guns, they had shotguns and machine guns and 00:21:21.440 --> 00:21:26.526 they tore the door down the dance song and they went in. It was a sheriff 00:21:26.559 --> 00:21:33.006 and his deputies and they arrested a historia luna and took him out and 00:21:33.039 --> 00:21:41.039 took him away. Uh He came back uh mm later, some days later, but after he 00:21:41.829 --> 00:21:47.597 had been in the hospital because they beat him up pretty bad, the many 00:21:47.630 --> 00:21:54.506 months of bad that he was never able to work again. He was also a uh in 00:21:54.539 --> 00:22:00.707 agriculture crew boss had his own crew to but he was never able to go back 00:22:00.740 --> 00:22:05.826 to work again. And I know this because they were our neighbors and my dad 00:22:05.859 --> 00:22:08.207 was 00:22:08.240 --> 00:22:15.266 the secretary of the Sydney carton. And I would hear my dad and the other 00:22:15.299 --> 00:22:22.246 members talk about what they did to loosen up. Um No, no, no, subsequently 00:22:22.279 --> 00:22:28.316 died a few years after that. Yeah. What? But that was one of the efforts 00:22:28.349 --> 00:22:34.597 of trying to create a union in the thousands In the 30s prior to World War 00:22:34.630 --> 00:22:38.546 II, discrimination and segregation were widespread throughout the 00:22:38.579 --> 00:22:43.756 communities of Arizona. There was a lot of discrimination in housing as as 00:22:43.789 --> 00:22:50.046 an example, several of the housing neighborhoods say like north of AmB 00:22:50.079 --> 00:22:56.467 you're in a they even had in their warranty deeds and and their deeds a 00:22:56.500 --> 00:23:02.217 restriction that they couldn't sell to Hispanics or blacks or negroes as 00:23:02.250 --> 00:23:09.576 they go as they said. And Filipinos or orientals, there were very few 00:23:09.609 --> 00:23:15.207 Hispanic families living north of Van Buren. There were some, 00:23:15.240 --> 00:23:19.697 but there was a definite discrimination in housing. There was 00:23:19.730 --> 00:23:25.207 discrimination in jobs as an example of the county city state wide, there 00:23:25.240 --> 00:23:33.240 weren't very many jobs above the above labor says his truck drivers are or 00:23:33.420 --> 00:23:41.147 the bosses or crew foreman or whatever, that just hardly didn't exist. And 00:23:41.180 --> 00:23:48.207 then the utilities, such as of course, apps and telephone companies and 00:23:48.240 --> 00:23:55.407 this situation was the same outside a very few handful of labor's. Y um 00:23:55.440 --> 00:24:01.816 there there wasn't much opportunity for the, for the minority as to ask to 00:24:01.849 --> 00:24:04.006 services. 00:24:04.039 --> 00:24:09.306 Well, at that time, uh Washington Street was more or less the dividing 00:24:09.339 --> 00:24:13.986 line, anything along Washington street where you could get service. But if 00:24:14.019 --> 00:24:18.217 you got north of Washington Street, it was doubtful if if you were 00:24:18.250 --> 00:24:22.226 hispanic, that was not too dark, you might be served. But if you were too 00:24:22.259 --> 00:24:27.597 dark, you you would be turned down for sure. Despite the hardships and 00:24:27.630 --> 00:24:31.217 discrimination faced by the mexican workers, there, necessity for work 00:24:31.250 --> 00:24:35.736 guaranteed employers, a steady flow of cheap labor into Arizona. By the 00:24:35.769 --> 00:24:40.236 1930s, the Mexicano population in Arizona reached a record high of 114,000 00:24:40.269 --> 00:24:46.657 , But the economic boom declined and it ended abruptly in the 1929 stock 00:24:46.690 --> 00:24:51.306 market crash. The Great Depression which followed lasted nearly a decade. 00:24:51.339 --> 00:24:54.167 The effects of this depression were disastrous to the Mexicanos in 00:24:54.200 --> 00:24:58.336 Arizona and throughout the Southwest, heavy unemployment generated 00:24:58.369 --> 00:25:02.117 hostility and fear. And it was during this time of crisis that the 00:25:02.150 --> 00:25:05.897 mexicano became the scapegoats for the failure of the United States 00:25:05.930 --> 00:25:08.306 economy. 00:25:08.339 --> 00:25:11.947 President Herbert Hoover and other federal officials initiated a system of 00:25:11.980 --> 00:25:17.586 repatriation of Mexicano Americanos to Mexico. On january 6th 1931 00:25:17.619 --> 00:25:22.056 Secretary of labor, William and doc requested the Congress appropriate 00:25:22.089 --> 00:25:26.806 funds for the deportation of illegals from the United States to Mexico 00:25:26.839 --> 00:25:32.226 Between 1930 and 1930. For over 400,000 Mexicanos were deported to Mexico 00:25:32.259 --> 00:25:37.016 from the southwest. Many were legal residents of Arizona, many more were 00:25:37.049 --> 00:25:41.967 native born families were separated homes were disrupted and Mexicanos 00:25:42.000 --> 00:25:45.937 were uprooted In all. About one third of those countered in the 1930 00:25:45.970 --> 00:25:50.387 senses were deported, about 60% of whom were Children who had been born in 00:25:50.420 --> 00:25:55.357 the United States and thus were citizens More than 18,000. Mexicanos and 00:25:55.390 --> 00:26:00.016 Mexicano Americanos were deported from various communities in Arizona ray 00:26:00.049 --> 00:26:06.306 flores recalls these events in his hometown of Miami, 1932. 00:26:06.339 --> 00:26:10.657 I was 10 years old and I remember the incident vividly because it affected 00:26:10.690 --> 00:26:15.917 my family closely in the sense that my father was Mexican born and the 00:26:15.950 --> 00:26:19.447 coyotes are the people they sent around to try to convince the mexicans to 00:26:19.480 --> 00:26:24.187 go back to. Mexico tried to do a selling job on us about the glory of 00:26:24.220 --> 00:26:28.697 going back the romance of going back and all that. Uh huh because my 00:26:28.730 --> 00:26:33.177 mother was not mexican born. She had been born in New Mexico and had a 00:26:33.210 --> 00:26:39.746 mixed heritage of anglo and new Mexico spanish or mexican, she saw through 00:26:39.779 --> 00:26:46.986 the a pattern and absolutely refused to let her Children go to Mexico or 00:26:47.019 --> 00:26:53.717 for the family to leave. That created some problems. But the constabulary 00:26:53.750 --> 00:26:58.167 as I call them, gave in because they didn't have a legal base to put us on 00:26:58.200 --> 00:27:03.806 a train to get us out of there. It was tragic because it broke up families 00:27:03.839 --> 00:27:07.847 where Children have been born in the United States, one or the other. The 00:27:07.880 --> 00:27:11.657 parent would refuse to send the kids back and consequently it would split 00:27:11.690 --> 00:27:19.026 up families. My padrino Czar Godparents went back to Mexico and they lost 00:27:19.059 --> 00:27:22.887 all their property that they owned up there in that area because logically 00:27:22.920 --> 00:27:26.086 there was no one to buy it. Everybody was leaving the few that were 00:27:26.119 --> 00:27:30.107 staying, couldn't afford to buy it. 00:27:30.140 --> 00:27:35.187 The tragedy was compounded by the fact that the Mexican government was not 00:27:35.220 --> 00:27:39.677 prepared to receive these people and survivors of that experience who came 00:27:39.710 --> 00:27:44.187 back to the United States tell of the hunger that they experienced down in 00:27:44.220 --> 00:27:52.220 Mexico. The yeah one family, my godfather's family had taken a bag of 00:27:52.680 --> 00:27:57.806 oranges and for days, all they had was the oranges and the orange peel. 00:27:57.839 --> 00:28:01.556 They ate the orange peel just to try to stay alive. Three of the Children 00:28:01.589 --> 00:28:06.726 died. They got him down into Mexico and took them off the trains and left 00:28:06.759 --> 00:28:10.236 them out in the middle of nowhere. And except for the families that knew 00:28:10.269 --> 00:28:13.947 how to survive on cactus leaves and things of that nature, it was a 00:28:13.980 --> 00:28:17.407 tragedy. 00:28:17.440 --> 00:28:21.377 Despite the Uprooting of families, the continuation of racial animosity 00:28:21.410 --> 00:28:26.006 and d feelings of anguish, the mexicanos remained continued to contribute 00:28:26.039 --> 00:28:34.039 to the economic growth and cultural heritage of Arizona. 00:28:34.839 --> 00:28:42.607 Yeah. 00:28:42.640 --> 00:28:47.907 Okay. 00:28:47.940 --> 00:28:54.907 Mhm. Uh huh. 00:28:54.940 --> 00:28:59.907 Okay. 00:28:59.940 --> 00:29:02.107 No. 00:29:02.140 --> 00:29:08.006 Mhm. 00:29:08.039 --> 00:29:12.107 Yeah. Yeah. 00:29:12.140 --> 00:29:15.306 Mhm. 00:29:15.339 --> 00:29:20.907 Right. Yeah. No. Yeah, 00:29:20.940 --> 00:29:25.006 mm hmm. 00:29:25.039 --> 00:29:28.407 No. 00:29:28.440 --> 00:29:36.207 Yeah. All right. 00:29:36.240 --> 00:29:41.006 Mhm. 00:29:41.039 --> 00:29:45.207 Yeah. 00:29:45.240 --> 00:29:49.806 Uh huh. 00:29:49.839 --> 00:29:53.607 Uh huh. Right. 00:29:53.640 --> 00:29:56.407 Yeah. 00:29:56.440 --> 00:29:59.707 Mhm. 00:29:59.740 --> 00:30:03.607 Mhm. Mhm. 00:30:03.640 --> 00:30:06.440 Yeah, mm.