Essay on Mexican-American History: A Critical Response to Takaki

This essay offers a critical response to Takaki's Chapter 12, focusing on the experiences of Mexicans post the Mexican Revolution and the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. The author discusses the poverty, exploitation, and discrimination faced by Mexicans, who were often referred to as Chicanos, highlighting the harsh working conditions, racial tensions, and educational inequalities. The essay explores the historical context, emphasizing the impact of these hardships on contemporary society, particularly the challenges faced by Mexican children. The author reflects on the societal implications of these issues and calls for equal treatment, concluding with a sense of urgency to address the ongoing struggles of the Mexican community. References include Takaki: Chapter 12 summary (2016) and Valles & Villalpando (2013).

Critical response to “Takaki – Chapter 12 summary”
About the writing
The chapter talks about the condition of Mexicans post the Mexican Revolution and post the
treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. Mexicans have been referred to as Chicanos and they were living
in the poor conditions with lower wages ("Takaki: Chapter 12 summary", 2016). They were treated
as slaves by the Anglos and they did not let them come out of their miseries. So, the chapter talks
about the struggles, sufferings and the condition of Mexicans in which they were living.
The situation
After reading the chapter, I realized that I did not know about the extent to which the people of
Mexico were pushed to poverty after the revolution and the extent to which they faced the
horrors of the war. Mexicans did not have houses to live, nor did they have any way to earn
wages. So, they got encouraged to cross the border and reach US as they found that the labor was
required there. They not only found jobs there, but they also observed that wages were slightly
better in US than what they were getting earlier. Then, the Mexicans were very hard working
but they were exploited by the American and they were given tough jobs to do which no one else
was willing to do. They sent the Mexicans to “traque” and they were confined to routine and
backbreaking jobs. This made their condition very bad.
Not only this, the situation that concerned me in this chapter was the attacks on the Mexicans by
the Anglos. As the Anglos felt a pressure on the entry of the Mexican migrants, they put
1

immigration quotas on the entry of Mexicans; they started to train the Mexican children to
become obedient workers so that when they grow up, they can take the place of their parents.
Understanding the situation
On reading about the situation, it has been understood that Chicanos were living in miserable
conditions. They were underpaid as per the amount of work they were doing, their condition was
very bad in relation to other like the Americans and the Anglos. They were the victims of the
attacks by Anglos on them and their children. According to me, this does not make any sense
that the Anglos were trying to train the children of Mexicans to become slaves when they grow
up. This is because these people were doing the hard work because they did not have the option
of doing something else, they were less educated too. But, their children had the right to get
educated, enroll themselves in schools and develop their skills and knowledge, rather than grow
up and become slaves. So, according to me, it is not a right thing to do.
Relevance of the situation in contemporary society
The hardships that the Mexicans faced in the past are still felt in many parts of the world by
them. There have been many demographic changes in the population of Mexicans due to the
above situation and due to the miseries that they faced. It has been observed that one-third of
them descent under the age of fifteen which is very poor. The children do not enjoy the
childhood, they are not healthy, they stay deprived of the educational facilities etc. and they start
falling down from a very young age (Valles, 2013). Also, the children are not well taken care of
2

and they have very less future prospects. The children also face racial and ethnic discrimination
in schools; the educational policies are against them. So, whatever the Mexicans suffered in the
past has not gone far away, it still persists and affects their lives, especially the young Mexicans.
Effect of the situation on daily lives of people
This situation affects the society and community in a great way because the society is trying to
eliminate the racial and other differences. But, these practices still persist and it does not let the
people clean the society and broaden their thinking. So, all the efforts get failed due to one or
two practices still existing in our societies. Personally, I feel very depressed with these things. In
my opinion, everyone should be given equal treatment, regardless of their ethnicity, culture,
occupation, etc.
Due to the impact of these situations, the people are not able to develop themselves, they remain
uneducated and they are not able to develop themselves. So, the legacy continues and gets
evident today also. This has been one of the worst experiences. I feel that I should do something
for helping the Mexicans from coming out of this situation.
3

References:
Takaki: Chapter 12 summary. (2016). An LAS 284 Seminar Blog. Retrieved 15 December 2016,
from https://las284jose.wordpress.com/2008/04/21/takaki-chapter-12-summary/
Valles, B. G., & Villalpando, O. (2013). A critical race policy analysis of the school-to-prison
pipeline for Chicanos. Handbook of critical race theory in education, 260-269.
4