BY A.I.
Americans were always Puerto Rico’s
dominant trading partners and still are today. Puerto Rico’s economy in early
20th century thrived on the sugar, tobacco, and coffee industries. After the Spanish-American War, American
companies came to the island and began changing its economy in a way to benefit
American consumer needs. Large amounts of land were being used to produce over
half the amount of sugar that came into the mainland. Puerto Rico became a one
crop economy which is susceptible to market failure when sugar demands decrease.
Some benefits American companies accomplished were building up the
infrastructure and healthcare on the island, and therefore extending the life expectancy
of its people. For Puerto Ricans, the other alternative of not working in sugar
production was to move to New York and begin a life in the city in search of
the “American Dream”. Many people began this journey to alleviate their
struggle in trying to find a job on the island (Ve'lez 2005). The Puerto Rican minority also became
the first large migration wave to travel mostly by plane because it was
relatively cheap. Most employers paid for the voyage for Puerto Rican workers
so they could work for them. The initial movement of Puerto Ricans from the
island to New York was in small numbers and they encountered less resistance
than other minorities in New York searching for jobs.
However, in the 1930s to the mid-1940s and again in the 1950s new Puerto
Ricans arriving were met with harsh feelings and discrimination, something
uncommon in past decades. Why was it that more Puerto Ricans were leaving the
island and how was this increase in migration affecting Puerto Ricans’ status
in New York?
New York was a hub for all new
immigrants looking for work in the early 20th century. The migration
of Puerto Ricans was encouraged because they provided a cheap workforce for
employers and they also could be depended on because of the constant inflow of
unskilled laborers (Ve'lez 2005).
In 1917, the Jones-Shafroth Act gave all Puerto Ricans the right of limited
American citizenship which opened a new wave of migration to the states. Now
people from Puerto Rico could travel across to the mainland whenever they
wanted to which made it easier to find jobs. During the years of the 1930s to
the mid-1940s economic constriction forced many unemployed laborers to seek
jobs normally taken by Puerto Ricans and lower income Jews (Marchan). This led to social
conflict between Puerto Ricans and whites because they were now competing for
the same jobs. The white population began discriminating against Puerto Ricans
for having so called “low morals” and being “filthy” by the way they lived in
such close quarters. What made it worse was that poor crop conditions during a
massive hurricane season sent even more Puerto Ricans to the city only to be
turned away from employers because the white majority needed jobs over them (Marchan). Puerto Ricans who lived in white neighborhoods
felt a sense of insecurity as the Great Depression continued. Many moved to
barrios where they could isolate themselves from the white majority to feel
safer. This had a negative effect because it painted the Puerto Rican
individual as a criminal race and non-integrated American other. Times did get
better when World War II began and men went off to war. The lack of unskilled
labor in factories created another opportunity for Puerto Ricans to come to New
York. The Puerto Ricans were exploited for their labor, once again, only when
it was useful to white people. It was difficult for Puerto Ricans to establish
strong cultural ties to an area because of the constant economic uncertainty of
possibly being unemployed.
Once soldiers began to come home
from war, white soldiers expected to retake their jobs on the assembly lines.
The Puerto Rican minority was once again being pushed away from the jobs they held
to help the war cause. Signs even showed up that read “No Dogs or Puerto Ricans
Allowed” in shops (Manuel). Eventually
migration from Puerto Rico slowed down as economic conditions got better on the
island. However, in New York, as discriminatory conditions got worse reverse migration from New York back to Puerto Rico began
to occur (Ve'lez 2005).
As the years went on, upward mobility for Puerto Ricans was achieved and
persecution eased up. The strong will of Puerto Ricans showed they were a force
to be reckoned with and we see that in the video shown in class. Through civil
disobedience the community was even able to do things such as take back their
church and get the garbage men to pick up the trash. Labor issues are important
to discuss because they force people to open up their eyes and see that not
everyone is well off in our society. We don’t live in a bubble believing
everyone is as well off as we are. But, even today the Puerto Rican people
still face hardship in the workforce as discrimination still lingers.
Works Cited:
Ve'lez, Edgardo.
"The Puerto Rican Journey." Centro.
(2005).
5061298_1/courses/2139-TLCS-288-9065/puerto_rican_journey_2005.pdf
(accessed
September 25, 2013).
Jaffe, Rivke.
"Space, ethnicity and capital in reterritorialised Puerto Rican
neighbourhoods." University
of Leiden (The Netherlands). http://home.uchicago.edu/~mariosmall/documents/VV_rev_SA.pdf
(accessed September 25, 2013).
Marchan, Rafael.
"Puerto Rican Laborers during World War I: The Deposition of Rafael
Marchán."Washington, D.C.: National Archives.
http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5064/
(accessed September 25, 2013).
Manuel,
Roig-Franzia. "A Terrorist in the House." The Washington Post Magazine.
.
http://www.yasminhernandez.com/lolitastory.html
(accessed September 25, 2013).
Well done you. This post was well written and interesting. You brought up civil disobedience and how many Puerto Ricans took part in the action to achieve access to public spaces, which got me thinking about the film we watched in class. The Young Lords met their adversity with peace. The majorities anticipated "the heat" while the Young Lords sought no such aggression. Do you think there have been times in our modern world where the majority's anticipation of violence from the minority has led to an unnecessary uproar?
ReplyDeleteI also believe that this post was rather interesting. Within your introduction, you pointed out that after the 1930s, Puerto Ricans faced opposition to their immigration into the States that they didn't experience before. This reminds me of the Asian immigrants who faced the same problem soon after the gold rush in California. Why do you think that this always is the outcome: a loss in opportunity equals violence towards the man who is different?
ReplyDeleteReading this post, I was yet again surprised by the way people can treat other people. The fact that "white soldiers expected to retake their jobs on the assembly lines", says something. The Puerto Ricans were used when they were needed, and when they were not needed anymore, they had to leave.
ReplyDeleteCommenting on nlindor87's question why a loss in opportunity always equals violence towards the man who is different: I think that this has to do with power and the threat to lose power. It is for example shown by the history about the Asians in San Francisco and by the view about Latino's. People were afraid that they would take over the country, even though the conditions the communities were in would not have made this a possibility. In every moment in history, no matter how far back, power has been what people want. Power has been, and still is, the cause of wars. Until the urge for power does not exist anymore, I think that people will still continue fighting wars and discriminating the man who is different, discriminating 'what they do not know'. I believe that if we could rule out the need for power, we would solve many problems. Unfortunately, I have no idea how.
Merel Hermans