Adios estado de Texas,
Con tu vas tu plantacion;
Yo me voy para Pensilvania
Por no piscar algodon. | Goodbye, state of Texas,
With you goes your plantation
I'm going to Pennsylvania
But not for picking cotton. |
Adios Fort Worth y Dallas,
Por no de mucha importancia
Yo me voy para Pensilvania
Por no andar en la vagancia. | Goodbye, Fort Worth and Dallas,
You're not much to me now,
I'm going to Pennsylvania
To be a vagrant no more. |
-Corrido Pensilvanio
Bethlehem Steel relied upon the unskilled labor of eastern and southern European immigrants in the early 20th century; however, immigration quotas in 1921 led the company to seek an alternate labor source from Mexico. The open border in the southwestern United States as well as the economic and social depression following the Mexican Revolution led to an increase in Mexican migration. The Mexican government, in an attempt to protect the growing number of its citizens engaged in American industries, required that employers draft labor contracts stipulating the terms and conditions of employment. Recruitment from Mexico could not take place without this labor agreement. Bethlehem Steel drafted a labor contract in 1923 with the Mexican Consulate for the importation of its new immigrant workforce. In April and May of that year, trains carrying 917 laborers departed from San Antonio, Texas, for the steel mills of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. This unit explores the role of Mexican labor in Bethlehem and allows students to compare an early 20th century case of Mexican immigration with contemporary debates.
Introduction
Lesson Overview
Activities Overview
Activity One
Activity Two
Glossary
Resources
This lesson was created by Jennifer Coval.
