World War IIs Influence on Mexicans Essay Example for Free

World War IIs Influence on Mexicans Essay It is without a doubt that World War II had a great impact on our nation as a whole. This is because the war required changes and sacrifices for most individuals and was viewed as one’s patriotic duty. As with any life changing event, there were bad and good consequences that were a direct result of World War II. Significant changes took place during World War II that directly affected Mexicans in the United States. Although there were some positive effects on a national level, most remembered are the negative ones that impacted the Mexican communities in Los Angeles, California. It is what became to be known as the Zoot Suit Riots. To understand the Mexican community’s point of view of their treatment during the riots, one first needs to know how the Mexican community became established in Los Angeles along with contributing factors that heightened the general public’s hatred towards them. World War II had drafted a large amount of young men that left jobs such as farm hand and factory labor unfilled. The Federal Government then started the Bracero Program that recruited and transported Mexican nationals to the United States to fill these positions. Many Mexican nationals had children while here in America and these children were Mexican-Americans. These youth had a hard time identifying with anyone and were looked at as degenerates. Adding to this viewpoint was the living conditions of their neighborhoods called barrios. The barrios popped up quickly near major employers and were known for dirt streets, small huts, no sanitation, no running water, or other city services. Since the youth were unable to establish themselves among other youth they formed their own groups called gangs. The gangs were formed by young men that shared common circumstances. This usually included their low social status, poor and overpopulated neighborhoods, minimal supervision by parents, and their little trust in or from the law. Typically they were looked at as disturbed youth. However, within their social system, their gangs were made up of a select membership and specific attire which Martinez 2 they viewed as first class. The attire they chose was the Zoot Suit which consisted of colorful long coats, baggy pants, a hat, a long key chain and thick soled shoes. Adverse views of Mexicans were on the rise during World War II. One contributing factor was the pro war posters placed for all to view. The posters encouraged community effort to support the war through gardening, carpooling, rationing and purchasing bonds. The people portrayed in these posters appeared to be of Caucasian descent while the enemies were portrayed with color and black hair. Suspicion of who to trust was also put in the public’s mind with a poster illustrating a woman with dark hair and eyes that had a grim stare. No doubt the color of people illustrated on the posters guided the public’s mind to believe that people of any color other than white were the enemy (Prater 2014). In addition, while the country was at war there was a constant fear and talk of spies and traitors among civilians. This fear led to the suspicion that secret agents of the enemy had successfully influenced the Mexican-American youth making them traitors. Of course signs posted at various locations around town stating things such as â€Å"No Mexicans† and â€Å"No Dogs, Mexicans, Negros† not only served as a reminder to Mexicans on how they were viewed, but also made the White people feel justified in their prejudice towards Mexicans. In August of 1942, teenagers from the 38th Street Gang were heading for a popular swimming hole called Sleepy Lagoon. Earlier two teenagers in that gang, Hank Leyvas and his girlfriend Dora, had been beaten by another neighborhood gang at the Sleepy Lagoon swimming hole. Although they had left after the fight, they were now returning with a large group of friends to look for their attackers to defend their honor. As they neared the swimming hole and found no one, they decided to go to a party that could be heard through the trees. They thought that they would find their attackers at this party. Although the fight that followed resembled a Martinez 3 classic teenager fight that lasted only ten minutes, the discovery of a dead body would change the lives of many Mexicans. When the dead body of Jose Diaz was found, six hundred Mexican-American youth were rounded up by the Los Angeles Police Department. This eventually led to twenty-two alleged members of the 38th Street Gang being accused of murder. On October 13, 1942 People v. Zamora went to trial and lasted through January 12, 1943 (Tovares 2002). One powerful tactic that amplified hatred towards Mexicans and eventually led to the enactment of the riots, was the information printed in the newspapers. Anytime a Mexican was arrested, it made the headlines and was used as a source to provoke the police to arrest more. Of course it didn’t help that these articles would be placed next to articles regarding Japan’s threatening actions in World War II which seemed to hint that the Mexican-American youth were a local threat. Tensions were further heightened when as many as 50,000 servicemen were on leave and flooded their Los Angeles playground. In Los Angeles they would seek booze, women and fights to have some fun. Many civilians endured the drunken Servicemen to show their support of the war and some did not. Unfortunately, most fights were instigated with Mexicans as they were the biggest minority group in Los Angeles. As animosity grew between the Servicemen and Mexican-American youth, so did the rumors. The rumors in the barrios said that Sailors were looking for Mexican girls while stories on military bases told of brutal retaliation enacted on soldiers who dared to associate with Mexican females. The consequence of all these factors exploded on May 31, 1943 when a group of servicemen passed a group of young Mexican-American boys. One serviceman thought he was going to be attacked and grabbed the arm of a young Mexican-American boy. The serviceman immediately fell to the ground unconscious from a strike on the head. The Zoot Suit Riots had Martinez 4 begun. On June 3, 1943, about fifty servicemen with homemade weapons headed downtown looking for â€Å"Zoot-Suiters†. They ended up in a Theater, turned on the lights and found 12 and 13 year old boys wearing Zoot Suits. The servicemen tore off their suits, clubbed the boys and set fire to the remains of their suits. Despite the fact that reports of the incident had reached the Armory Watch Commander, the servicemen about to be jailed were released without any charges. On both dates, the Servicemen were only focused on finding and attacking anyone wearing a Zoot Suit. However, subsequent riots on June 4, 5, 6, and 7 now included entire Mexican neighborhoods. They would storm into any public place within these neighborhoods and attack all Mexicans. Police did not attempt to stop any of the violence and the Military seemed to be cautious of potential negative press if the servicemen were arrested more than the violence they were committing. The press, on the other hand, would promote the riots on June 6 and 7 by publishing a warning that Zoot-Suiters were planning to retaliate. Not only did this ensure increased sales, but it also certified that a large crowd would be there for the show (Williams 1943, 818-820). The rioting was finally under some control when on the morning of June 8, Senior Military Officials announced that Los Angeles was off limits to Marines, Sailors and Soldiers (Zoot Suit Discovery Guide 2014). Although Mexicans endured much prejudice and persecution during World War II, there were some positive aspects that came as a result of their suffering that continued developing even after the war. The Office of War Information promised to furnish political information in Spanish. They also were going to inform English speakers of the contributions in war that Mexicans made. This would most likely include acknowledgement of the 350,000 Mexican-Americans that not only served in the Armed Forces, but won seventeen medals of honor. Also, Los Angeles County gave teachers of Mexican students a workshop so that they Martinez 5 could provide better assistance to them. Political organizations would now support Chicano candidates as well as assist Mexican’s with language and citizenship classes and help in obtaining government services. In conclusion, it would do our nation good if we all could remember and apply the words of Martin Luther King in his speech entitled â€Å"The Rising Tide of Racial Consciousness† on September 6, 1960. â€Å"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. Therefore, no American can afford to be apathetic about the problem of racial justice. It is a problem that meets every man at his front door. † (Jr. 1960) Martinez 6 BIBLIOGRAPHY Jr. , Martin Luther King. The Martin Luther King, Jr. Paper Project. September 6, 1960. http://mlk-kpp01. stanford. edu/primarydocuments/Vol5/6Sept1960_TheRisingT ideofRacialConsciousnessAddressattheGold. pdf (accessed April 7, 2014). Prater, Carrie. Module 8: World War II Powerpoint Presentation. San Jose, April 3, 2014. The Zoot Suit Riots. Directed by Joseph Tovares. 2002. Williams, Carey Mc. The Zoot-Suit Riots. The New Republic, June 21, 1943: 3. Zoot Suit Discovery Guide. 2014. http://research. pomona. edu/zootsuit/en/riots/ (accessed 4 7, 2014).