How Did the Great Depression Shape Migration and Immigration in the United States?

The immediate impact of the great depression on migration and immigration began before the slump itself; the impact was more significant on mass migration. Most of these migrants were farmers who had experienced low agricultural profits in the 1920s.^[1]. The peasants and their families had a vow not to return to the great depression. In the 1930s, the farmers moved to the west to places like California and Colorado, leaving the unproductive land behind. Those in the metropolitan areas were left searching for better paths abroad when the stores, industries, and America started closing. Most immigrants moved to the United States since the depression could no longer provide working options. There was an increased worry in the competition of limited jobs in the United States. The government was forced to impose some limitations on immigrants and drive out those already in America to easen the competition.^[2]. This essay will base its discussion on how the great depression influenced migration and immigration in the United States.

The vast plains commencing in 1932 suffered continuous droughts making the land farmers utilized unsuited for the job.^[3]. In this area, they had already become devasted by the dropping of the crop prices and home foreclosures through the years; to survive, they had to move to the west in search of better sites for harvest.^[4]. The migration was high in this region. It was seen as a departure. Oklahoma lost 440,000 individuals, or a full 18.4 percent of its 1930 population, to outmigration.”^[5]. The migrants were headed west to California, hoping to find better farms to work on. Inhabitants of the urban areas left the jobless metropolis and moved to the rural areas searching for job opportunities. Due to the economic crisis, This movement led to reduced work possibilities for all American citizens; the state was forced to provide for itself. The increased relocation of American citizens to neighboring states brought about “border blockades.”^[6]. The introduced notion reduced relocation to other regions where employment was scarce. This was occasioned in Florida, California, Colorado, and in the winter season of 1935-1936.

The House Representatives attempted to examine the relocation since it had become a considerable concern. In 1940, Bertha McCall, the senior general director of the National Travelers Aid Association and presented her conclusions on the topic among the house. In this primary source, she outlines who these folks who are moving are and why they are doing so. She writes, “The Federal transitory program statistics demonstrate that most of these persons were dynamic and active. Many of them had a firm social background and high educational qualifications. Apart from the fact that these people were non-Americans, they had no distinct characters from the group of Americans.” This comment is essential because it puts a face on these individuals connected to several other Americans, which can transform how Americans have perceived these migrants. When McCall was asked why people move, she answers, “…when [a family] gets up and leaves, [they do] so because it does not have enough to live on well where it is and believes that the next field is much greener than the one where it is, and it continues moving in that way.”^[7]. This source is important it shows the extent of the migration issue. Bertha’s statements enlighten Americans on the simple fact that all these migrants were like them and were only trying to survive and have better lives in the new regions.

The shift that happened to foreign immigration into the united states resulted from the worry of the Americans on foreign laborers who were ready to work for even low wages during the significant depression period. This could bring about competition in the job market, which could be unfavorable to the Americans. This change took place when President Hoover’s administration changed the ways of issuing visas on the 8^th of September in 1930.^[8]. Visa applications become more strictly checked, providing room for rejection of most belonging to workers and artisans, and hundreds of them were deported.^[9]. The most affected immigrants were Mexicans due to the pressure from the department of state to restrain immigration from Mexico in 1929. a motion was set by Hoover’s government, leading to returning hundreds of thousands of Mexican immigrants to their homes. Deportation activities took place in Los Angeles all around the southwest. Over half of the immigrants from California, Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona had been deported. Others voluntarily returned to their native country between 1930-1940.most of the individuals were deported on arrival during this period due to the developed immigration antagonism resulting from unexpected employment shortage.^[10].

In conclusion, immigration, especially the great depression, led to the growth of Americans to travel in quest of employment all across the nation. The Americans had worries about job prospects being taken by the immigrants. In addition, the slump generated the dread of immigrants bearing the few jobs available at low wages leading to the weakening of the economy more and more. The slump leads to a reduction in overseas immigration and increased deportation and movement from inside the country. All of those were factors in the increased collapse of the American economy throughout this period.

Bibliography

Adams, Ellen, and Amy Kohout. 1982. “19. American Empire | THE AMERICAN YAWP”. Americanyawp.Com. Https://www.americanyawp.com/text/19-american-empire/.

Locke, Joseph, and Ben Wright. 1965. Americanyawp.Com. Https://www.americanyawp.com/text/wp-content/uploads/Locke_American-Yawp_V1.pdf.

U.S. House of Representatives, Interstate Migration: Hearings before the Select Committee to Investigate the Interstate Migration of Destitute Citizens (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1940), 43-45, 60.

Bertha McCall, Bertha. 2022. “Bertha Mccall On America’S “Moving People” (1940) | The American Yawp Reader”. Americanyawp.Com. Https://www.americanyawp.com/reader/23-the-great-depression/bertha-mccall-on-americas-moving-people-1940/.

[1] Joseph Locke and Ben Wright, eds., The American Yawp (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2020), chapter 23, section 2.

[2] Joseph Locke and Ben Wright, eds., The American Yawp (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2020), chapter 23, section 6.

[3] Locke and Wright, American Yawp, chapter 19.

[4] Locke and Wright, American Yawp, chapter 19.

[5] Locke and Wright, American Yawp, chapter 19.

[6] Adams and Ammy, American Yawp, Immigration.

[7] U.S. House of Representatives, Interstate Migration: Hearings before the Select Committee to Investigate the Interstate Migration of Destitute Citizens (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1940), 43-45, 60.

[8] Locke and Wright, American Yawp, chapter 19.

[9] Locke and Wright, American Yawp, chapter 19.

[10] Locke and Wright, American Yawp, chapter 19.