takaki chap 12 question and answer

Takaki Ch. 12 “El Norte: The Borderland of Chicano America.”

1. How did this group come to be in the U.S.? How much of this was “by choice” and how much as a result of pressure or force? Identify drivers or motivations for coming to be in the U.S.

The Mexicans came to the U.S because of the revolution in Mexico there were no jobs anymore. More or less, the Mexicans were forced to come to America if they wanted to make a living and be able to survive. The U.S. had jobs available, mainly railroad and agricultural work.


2. What is the significance of the title of the chapter?

El Norte (the north) is what the Mexicans called the U.S. “The Borderland of Chicano America” basically says that America became the place that Mexicans immigrated to and because Texas is right on the border, it was very easy for them to “jump the border”. So the significance is that it describes how both the Mexicans and the Americans felt about the situation. It was good for both: Mexicans were able to get a job and Americans were able to get cheap labor. But the Americans soon wanted the Mexicans to go back to Mexico because they were “infecting” their land.

3. What mechanisms of social construction are discussed in the chapter?

Social construction is used here by limiting the amount of money that the Mexicans can make and by limiting them to very few jobs.


4. How did these groups resist discrimination and racialization?

The Mexicans resisted discrimination and racialization by demanding better wages for the jobs no one else would do. The whites that did work with the Mexicans received about $1 more. By demanding their wages the Mexicans went against what was “known” about them; that they were docile, patient and cheap.

5. Give one example in the chapter of “race” and one example of “ethnicity.” What is the difference between the two as they are discussed here?

An example of race would be calling people Mexican; this is a broad term that identifies anyone from Mexico. Ethnicity is used when Takaki calls them Chicanos; he says they are rural people. Think of in terms of a person’s race is Middle Eastern but their ethnicity is Lebanese.