The US-Mexico Borderlands His 381 Essay

Answer one of the two questions below, following the “tips for writing a good essay” and the guidelines on your syllabus. Be sure that you don’t simply list factual information or write a narrative history, but that you also critically analyze lecture materials, primary and secondary sources, and films, and develop your own, educated thesis. Use specific examples/facts as evidence to illustrate your points. DO NOT ANSWER BOTH QUESTIONS.

Stylistically: The essay should be about 1000-1250 words (4-5 pages), typed with 12 pt. times roman font, double-spaced, with one-inch margins. Do not skip lines between paragraphs and be sure to indent each paragraph. Include page numbers at the bottom of each page. Do not use valuable space to retype the question; just indicate the number of the question you are answering at the top of the page. Use MLA parenthetical references (author, page #) at the end of any sentence or paragraph in which you use information, paraphrase or quote from the books or films. All or most of your information must come from the readings, lectures, and films assigned in this course, but if you wish to use an outside source, do so sparingly and cite the source with complete information (author, title, publication information, and page numbers). Failing to do so would be plagiarism.

The essays must be uploaded into Blackboard by Tuesday, November 24, by noon.

1. This question has two parts. First, what have been the primary causes of Mexican migration to the United States in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries? Second, how have the U.S. and Mexican governments attempted to restrict and regulate the migration of Mexicans and other ethnic groups since 1917? What role has race played in immigration restriction? Have these policies been consistent and effective? Why or why not?

In your essay, cite specific legislation and policies and the ways in which they were (or weren’t) implemented and enforced, and address both the continuities and changes in causes and policies over time. A complete answer to this question must make use Lytle-Hernández’s Migra! and the essays and primary sources in Major Problems.

2. How did ethnic Mexicans respond to their loss of property, exploitation as workers, to discrimination and segregation, and to their subordination as second-class citizens from the 1920s into the 1970s? How did the Chicano Movement differ from earlier struggles for Mexican American civil rights? Finally, how successful have ethnic Mexicans been at fighting for equal rights, integrating into U.S. society and/or resisting assimilation and maintaining their ethnic identities and cultural autonomy?

Be sure to use specific evidence from the lectures, films (especially the film on the United Farm Workers and the first film of the semester, “The Last Conquistador”), and the primary and secondary sources in Major Problems.