Transcript Texas and the Great Depression Governor Dan Moody (1927-1931) Calvin Coolidge 1923-29 “The chief business of America is business” expressed his concept of the nation's.

Texas and the Great Depression
Governor Dan Moody
(1927-1931)
Calvin Coolidge 1923-29
“The chief business of
America is business”
expressed his concept of
the nation's destiny.
The Presidential Election of 1928.
New York Governor Alfred E. Smith
(1873 - 1944)
Herbert Hoover 1929-33
UNDERLYING ECONOMIC WEAKNESSES IN A TIME OF APPARENT PROSPERITY:
The prosperity of the 1920s camouflaged serious weaknesses in the U.S.
economy. Agriculturists suffered from low prices, a fact that had been
mitigated by expanding production. Big business held down wages and
increased its profits at the expense of workers and the producers of raw
materials. Wealth was unequally distributed: 2 percent of the population
controlled 28 percent of the national wealth. The consolidation of money in the
hands of the few depressed consumer purchasing power and limited savings,
thus weakening most citizens’ ability to weather an economic downturn. By the
mid-1920s, the railroad, textile, and coal industries were in trouble, and housing
starts and automobile purchases had begun to decline. International trade
dropped as the U.S. policy of protective tariffs limited the growth of an already
weakened European economy. Consequently, European nations defaulted on
their international debts and withdrew investments from the United States.
Calvert, De León and Cantrell, 4th ed., 316.
Main Street, Cisco, Texas in the 1920s
Trade Days in Taylor, Texas, ca. 1920's
THE COLLAPSE OF THE STOCK MARKET ON OCTOBER 23, 1929. Heavy speculation in
the stock market in the late 1920s created an illusion of prosperity that disguised
both industrial weaknesses and a shaky financial network, and although only about
2 percent of all Americans owned stock, the market’s collapse on October 23, 1929,
exposed the nation’s economic weaknesses and threw its citizenry into a panic.
Calvert, De León and Cantrell, 4th ed., 316.
Bread lines during the Great Depression.
By 1932, at least one of every four American workers
was unemployed, median family income had dropped
by 50 percent, a hundred thousand businesses had
failed, corporate profits had plummeted from $10
billion to $1 billion, and the gross national product
was cut in half.
Calvert, De León and Cantrell, 4 ed., 316.
th
1929
1933
Banks in operation
25,568
14,771
Prime interest rate
5.03%
0.63%
Volume of stocks
sold (NYSE)
1.1 B
0.65 B
$45.5B
$23.9B
$15.3B
$2.3B
Privately earned
income
Personal and
corporate savings
Relief line waiting for commodities, San Antonio, Texas.
March 1939. Photographer: Russell Lee.
Countless thousands of honest, hard-working people lost their homes and farms
to the foreclosure’s hammer. Breadlines formed, soup kitchens dispensed food,
and apple sellers stood shivering on street corners trying to peddle their wares
for five cents. Families felt the stress, as jobless fathers nursed their guilt and
shame at not being able to provide for their households. Breadless
breadwinners often blamed themselves for their plight, despite abundant
evidence that the economic system, not individual initiative, had broken down.
Mothers meanwhile nursed fewer babies, as hard times reached even into the
nation’s bedrooms, precipitating a decade-long dearth of births. (The American
Pageant, 13th edition, pp. 761-762.)
Selling apples, Jacksonville, Texas. October, 1939.
Photographer: Russell Lee. Many tried apple-selling
to avoid the shame of panhandling. In New York City,
there were over 5,000 apple sellers on the street.
In the 1930s, countless thousands of
honest, hard-working people lost their
homes and farms to the foreclosure’s
hammer. The federal government responded
by paying farmers to leave their land fallow.
This policy helped to reduce the oversupply
of agricultural goods, but it also motivated
landowners to evict tenant farmers. Many
of these farmers then became migrant farm
laborers.
In the late 1930s, signs on Route 66 outside of
Tulsa, Oklahoma proclaimed:
NO JOBS in California
Oklahoma Sharecropper
Stalled on California Highway
(1937)
IF YOU are looking for work-KEEP
OUT
6 Men for Every Job
No State Relief Available for NonResidents
From 1930 to 1940, the number of
African American tenants in Texas
decreased from 65,000 to 32,000,
while the number of black farm
laborers rose by 25,000; some
20,000 other blacks left the state
for better job opportunities.
Squatters in Mexican section in San Antonio, Texas. House was
built of scrap material in vacant lot in Mexican section of San
Antonio, Texas. March 1939.
Photographer: Russell Lee.
Dust storm in the Panhandle, April 14, 1935. Prints and Photographs Collection,
Panhandle--sandstorm file, The Center for American History, The University of Texas
at Austin; CN 02655. In 1935 the Dust Bowl covered 100 million acres across the
western United States. Visibility in Amarillo that year dropped to zero seven times
during the first three months, with one blackout lasting eleven hours.
Dust Storm near Dalhart, Texas, 1936
Dust storm approaching Stratford, Texas. Dust bowl surveying in Texas
Image ID: theb1365, Historic C&GS Collection. Location: Stratford, Texas.
Photo Date: April 18, 1935. Credit: NOAA George E. Marsh Album
Hoover believed that charities and local government
should provide limited relief to the needy. The dole,
he said, diminished a man’s character. As the
depression worsened, however, many Americans
realized that optimism, private charities, and local
and state governments could not cope with the
impact of the mass unemployment.
Calvert, De León and Cantrell, 4th ed., 317.
Herbert Hoover, Financing Relief Efforts (1931)
Main Points:
1. The best way to help people during times of
national difficulty is through mutual self-help and
voluntary giving.
My own conviction is strongly that if we break
down this sense of responsibility of individual
generosity to individual and mutual self-help in the
country in time of national difficulty and if we start
appropriations of this character we have not only
impaired something infinitely valuable in the life of
the American people but have struck at the roots of
self-government. (p. 109)
Herbert Hoover, Financing Relief Efforts (1931)
2. Federal aid to the hungry and poor encourages expectations of future
paternal care and weakens Americans’ self-reliant character. It also
weakens Americans’ willingness to help each other and give to each
other, and thus enfeebles the bonds of common brotherhood.
Quotation of President Grover Cleveland by President Herbert Hoover: The
friendliness and charity of our countrymen can always be relied upon to
relieve their fellow citizens in misfortune. This has been repeatedly and
quite lately demonstrated. Federal aid in such cases encouraged the
expectation of paternal care on the part of the Government and weakens
the sturdiness of our national character, while it prevents the indulgence
among our people of that kindly sentiment and conduct which
strengthens the bonds of a common brotherhood. (p. 110)
President Herbert Hoover: The help being daily extended by neighbors, by
local and national agencies, by municipalities, by industry and a great
multitude of organizations throughout the country today is many times
any appropriation yet proposed. The opening of the doors of the Federal
Treasury is likely to stifle this giving and thus destroy far more resources
than the proposed charity from the Federal Government. (p. 110)
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Roosevelt consciously abandoned the term
“progressive” and chose instead to employ
“liberal” to define himself and his
administration. In so doing, he transformed
“liberalism” from a shorthand for weak
government and laissez-faire economics into
belief in an activist, socially conscious
state, an alternative both to socialism and to
unregulated capitalism. (Foner, The Story of
American Freedom, pp. 201-204.)
Redefining Liberalism
Freedom, Hoover insisted, meant unfettered
economic opportunity for the enterprising
individual. Far from being an element of liberty,
the quest for economic security was turning
Americans into “lazy parasites” dependent on the
state. For the remainder of his life, Hoover
continued to call himself a “liberal,” even though,
he charged, the word had been “polluted and
raped of all its real meanings.” (Foner, The Story
of American Freedom, p. 205.)
Governor Ross Sterling, (1931 – 1933)
Former President of Humble Oil and Refining.
East Texas Oil Field
In 1930, Columbus Marion "Dad" Joiner drilled an oil well near Kilgore that tapped
into one of the greatest oil discoveries in history. Believing that the area held no oil
reserves, the "majors" had not leased mineral rights from local land owners.
Therefore, "independents" controlled 80 percent the Great East Texas field.
Economic effects of the East Texas oil boom
1.
2.
3.
Helped the poorest part of the state
Kilgore a boom town
Drove down the price of oil from over one dollar per barrel in 1930 to
eight cents per barrel in 1931
Why did independents continue to pump high amounts of oil?
1.
2.
Many lacked the capital necessary to limit production until prices rose.
They could not stop production if others did not or the oil would be
pumped from under their lease.
The East Texas Oilfield covers 140,000 acres and is
located in the east central part of the state. It was
discovered in 1930 and is one of the largest and most
prolific oil reservoirs in the United States. The field
encompasses 5 counties in North East Texas. It is 45
miles long and 18 miles wide, and has 11,000 existing
wells. (2007)
C.M. "Dad" Joiner (third from left) shakes the hand of
Dr. A.D. Lloyd, his geologist, in front of the No. 3
Daisy Bradford, discovery well of the East Texas oil
field. H.L. Hunt is third from right.
East Texas Field
Kilgore became the greatest
boom town of all oil strikes.
In 1931, the immense output
drove the price of oil down
from over $1 a barrel to 8¢.
The Texas Railroad Commission (TRC) had the authority to "prorate" oil to maintain
prices, conserve oil, and to protect the environment. In 1931, the TRC issued proration
order for East Texas because overproduction threatened to ruin the market for oil.
Because majors refused to refine East Texas crude, independents built their own
"teakettle refineries" which produced low-grade gasoline sold at independent stations.
Because these refineries handled oil pumped above proration levels, their product was
termed "Hot Oil."
The TRC had no power to enforce its proration guidelines and producers could not
agree to limit production voluntarily. Governor Sterling, formerly president of Humble
Oil, sent troops into East Texas to enforce the proration order. General Jacob F.
Walters, an attorney for the Texas Company (later Texaco), commanded the National
Guard troops.
Understandably, most East Texans considered Sterling's actions to be supportive of the
majors' efforts to destroy the independents. The National Guard and Texas Rangers
confronted resistance (sometime violent) as it attempted to stop the production of Hot
Oil. Federal and state laws restricted the production of Hot Oil. By 1940, the majors
owned 80 percent of East Texas field.
Texas Rangers
Gladewater during
the oil boom
Factors which brought conflict to a conclusion
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Texas Rangers
The National Recovery Administrations established codes for
the oil industry
Majors produced inexpensive gas
Law regulated refineries
Connally Act made it illegal to transport Hot Oil across state
lines
Impact of the East Texas Field
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
By 1935, the combination of federal and state laws enforced the
TRC's power to prorate oil to maintain prices
By 1939, the majors owned 80 percent of the East Texas Field
The stronger independents survived.
Independents established offices in Dallas
The boom helped Texans survive the Great Depression
When farmers planted their cotton crop in 1931, the market price of
cotton averaged 9 to 10 cents per pound; by harvest time, it had
fallen to 5.3 cents per pound, where it remained for the next year. p.
325.
A farmer needed at least three times the amount of production in 1931
than he needed in 1928 to pay off the same amount of loan. p. 326.
A farmer needed at least three times the amount of
production in 1931 than he needed in 1928 to pay off
the same amount of loan. p. 326.
Early efforts to reduce the
production of cotton and
raise the price failed. The
1931 cotton crop of 17
million bales was the
second largest in history,
which only added to the
existing surplus of 4.5
million bales held over from
1930 production. (See pp.
326-327.)
Texas Governor
Ross S. Sterling
Louisiana Governor
Huey P. Long
Huey Long, governor of
Louisiana, proposed a “drop
a crop” plan. Under this plan
farmers would plant no
cotton in 1932, thus solving
the cotton-glut problem and
raising cotton prices.
Huey Long’s proposal
to “drop a crop” failed
to due opposition from
Texas and other
states. Overproduction
continued to be a
problem.
The Texas Cotton Association,
an organization of shippers and
buyers, and most of the big
city dailies opposed Long’s
“drop a crop” plan.
The cotton-restriction
failure and the issue of
having sent troops to the
oil field damaged
Sterling’s reelection
campaign.
Cotton Problem: Over Production & Low Prices
THE RETURN OF “FERGUSIONISM,” 1933-1935
Governor Sterling attributed “Ma” Ferguson’s victory in 1932 to voter
fraud. In 132 counties, 40,000 more votes were cast than poll taxes
paid. Many of these votes came from East Texas, where the Fergusons
had strength and Sterling was disliked. Although there was fraud,
Ferguson’s victory also lay in the continued support of her husband by
poor folk and in the political despair generated by the widening
depression. (See pp. 327-328)
Miriam “Ma” Ferguson
Miriam "Ma" Ferguson is elected governor of Texas for the second
time. In protest over political patronage and corruption, 40 Rangers
quit the force and the remainder are fired. Political appointees replace
them. The governor issued “Special Ranger” commissions to 2,344
men, thus making the force a venue for political patronage.
Vice President John Nance Garner
(1933-1941)
A prominent Texans
becomes Vice President
A Brief Era Of Cooperation
Between An Old Texan Democrat
And A New Deal Democrat
Vice President Garner offered
President Franklin D. Roosevelt
(FDR) advice on a wide range of
matters. However, Garner and
FDR gradually split over the New
Deal’s swing to the left and the
president’s decision to run for a
third term. Nonetheless, the
crusty West Texan remained a
life-long Democrat, if not a
supporter of Roosevelt. (p. 329)
SHORT BIOGRAPHY: John Nance Garner was born in Red River County, Texas, on 22nd
November, 1868. After studying law he was admitted to the bar in 1890 and became a
lawyer in Texas.
A member of the Democratic Party Garner served as a judge in Uvalde County (1893-1896)
and in the Texas house of representatives (1898-1902).
Garner was elected to Congress in 1903. He served as minority floor leader in the 71st
Congress and as Speaker of the House of Representatives in the 72nd Congress.
In 1932 Franklin D. Roosevelt selected Garner as his running mate and on 8th November
was elected as Vice President of the United States.
Roosevelt upset Garner when in 1940 he announced that he intended to stand for a third
term. Garner resigned and Henry Wallace took his place. running mate.
FDR made the Houstonian Jesse H. Jones chairman of the Reconstruction
Finance Corporation (1933-1939). He also expanded Jones responsibilities with
assignments to the Export-Import Bank (1936-1943), the Federal Loan Agency
(1939-1945), and as secretary of commerce (1940-1945). Jones was more
conservative than were most of his New Deal colleagues, and his disagreement
with Roosevelt’s policies led in 1945 to his break with the Democratic Party.
(See p. 329.)
JESSE H. JONES:
AN INFLUENTIAL
TEXAN IN THE FDR
ADMINISTRATION.
JESSE H.
JONES
Jesse Jones, businessman and New Deal official, with President
Franklin D. Roosevelt at the opening of the Texas Centennial, Dallas,
1936. Jones helped save the nations' banking system as chairman of
the Reconstruction Finance Corporation.
Texan Congressman
Sam Rayburn
Texan Congressman Sam Rayburn chaired
the important Interstate and Foreign
Commerce during the FDR Administration.
Rayburn went on to become majority leader
and Speaker of the House for most of the
time from 1940 to 1961. His ability to
manipulate legislation and to work out
political compromises won him respect on
both sides of the House aisle. (See p. 330.)
Texan Congressman Maury Maverick
Congressman Maury Maverick received national acclaim as a New Deal
Democrat. After his defeat in the congressional race of 1938, he
became mayor San Antonio, and then served as an able administrator
of wartime mobilization agencies. (See p. 330.)
Congressman
Maury Maverick
The Maverick political family - Congressman
Maury Maverick, Sr., a liberal New Dealer, is
sworn in by his father as San Antonio mayor, as
Maverick, Jr. looks on.
Texarkana congressman
Wright Patman
Texarkana congressman Wright Patman won
acclaim as a progressive, particularly concerning
bank legislation and benefits for veterans. Patman,
Johnson (who went to congress in 1937), and
Rayburn were the most consistent supporters of
Roosevelt throughout his administration. (See p.
330.)
ESTABLISHMENT OF THE FDIC &
THE FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM
RESTORES CONFIDENCE IN
BANKING
RUN ON BANKS
"Let us unite in banishing fear. We have
provided the machinery to restore our
financial system; it is up to you to support
and make it work.” --FDR
President Roosevelt used executive emergency powers granted in World War I
to close the nation’s banks for a “bank holiday,” a hiatus that stopped runs on
banks. When the bank reopened, they fell under government regulations.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) guaranteed deposits up to
$5,000 and periodically audited the insured banks. By 1935, the Federal Reserve
System controlled interest rates, thereby limiting competition from new (and
possibly shaky) banks that might offer more attractive deals to prospective
customers. The government also mandated the periodic auditing of banks by
various state and federal agencies. These measures restored public confidence
in banking. (See p. 330.)
Wagner Act
In 1935, Congress passed the Wagner
Act, which guaranteed the right of
unions to organize peacefully. The New
Deal legislation spurred the growth of
unions in Texas.
Civil Works Administration (CWA)
Work Progress Administration (WPA)
Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)
National Youth Administration (NYA)
The CWA, WPA, CCC, and NYA all
were New Deal agencies that
provided employment to the
unemployed.
FDR
The CCC at work
Governor
Alfred
LBJ
FDR, LBJ and
Governor Alfred
The 26-year-old Lyndon Johnson
served the Roosevelt administration
for two years as state director of
the National Youth Administration.
The Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA)
The Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA), passed in 1933, applied restrictions to
cotton, wheat, corn, rice, tobacco, dairy products, and hogs; cattle products
were soon added to the list. In Texas, more farmers than in any other state
took advantage of crop-reduction contracts. The most significant result for the
Texan economy was a dramatic reduction in the amount of cotton produced.
Texans sold over 4 million head of cattle, sheep, and goats to the AAA, which
spent $27 million to buy these surplus animals, making Texas stockmen by far
the largest recipients of this type of aid. Approximately 1,750,000 of the
animals were destroyed, with the remainder going to the Federal Surplus Relief
Corporation for distribution to the needy. (See pp. 334-335.)
The Rural Electrification Administration (REA)
The Rural Electrification Administration (REA) provided lowinterest loans and WPA labor to electric cooperatives to lay
power lines to rural dwellings. Through these efforts, 17,712
miles of power lines reached 54,000 new customers in Texas at
a cost of $16 million. The work of the REA moved Texas farmers
into the era of modern amenities and communications and
helped break down the isolation of rural dwellings. (See p. 335.)
The New Deal helped
induce most African
Americans to switch
their political allegiance
to the Democrats.
LULAC's principal purpose
was to fight discrimination
against Texas Mexicans.
James V. Allred
As attorney general, James V.
Allred earned a reputation as
an opponent of monopolies
and political lobbies. His
image as a trust-buster made
him popular in Texas.
As governor, Allred strongly
supported the New Deal and
cooperated closely with
federal programs for
combating the Depression.
In 1937, Hatton Sumners in the House and John
Nance Garner in the Senate combined to defeat the
President Roosevelt’s plan to increase the number of
Supreme Court justices.
Texan Representative
Hatton Sumners and Texan
Senator Tom Connally help
to defeat an anti-lynching
bill in Congress in 1937.
John Nance Garner
led the new southern
Democrat-Republican
coalition that opposed
further expansion of
New Deal programs in
the late 1930s.
Martin Dies assumed
the chairmanship of the
House Un-American
Activities Committee,
and used his committee
to attempt to link FDR
and his program to
Communist subversion
in government and labor
unions.
W. Lee "Pappy" O'Daniel
became prominent in
Texas (and was later
elected governor)
because of his
popularity as a radio
personality. Rural
Texans were O’Daniel’s
strongest supporters.
In a controversial 1941 race
for the United States Senate,
Governor O'Daniel defeated
Lyndon B. Johnson by a razorthin margin.
"Texas furnished proportionally a larger
percentage of men and women for
military service than did any other state.“
(p. 351)
Thirty-six Texans won
the Medal of Honor.
The two most
decorated American
servicemen were Audie
Murphy and Samuel
Dealey.
Other Texans included
Dwight D. Eisenhower,
Chester A. Nimitz, and
Oveta Culp Hobby, who
commanded the
Women's Army Corps.
TEXANS IN
WORLD WAR II
Mrs. Oveta Culp
Hobby, first
commander of the
Women's Auxiliary
Army Corps
(WAC's) is shown
in front of a World
War II U.S. Army
Recruiting Poster.
Black troops stationed in
Texas were expected to
conform to demands of Jim
Crow segregation. Training
camps had separate and
inferior facilities for African
Americans. Doris Miller won a
Navy Cross for his service at
Pearl Harbor. (p. 352.)
"Negro messmen aboard a United States Navy cruiser who
volunteered for additional duty as gunners. They have been
doing proficient work under battle conditions on a task force in
the Pacific under the instruction of the officers at the right."
July 10, 1942. 80-G-21743.
"The Negro janitors
of the plant
maintenance
department in
North America's
Kansas City factory
in V-formation as
they start out on
their daily tasks."
February 4, 1942.
Carl Conley. 208-NP1KK-1.
"Fliers of a P-51 Mustang Group of the 15th Air Force in Italy
`shoot the breeze' in the shadow of one of the Mustangs they
fly." Left to right: Lt. Dempsey W. Morgan, Jr.; Lt. Car roll S.
Woods; Lt. Robert H. Nelson, Jr.; Capt. Andrew D. Turner; and Lt.
Clarence P. Lester. Ca. August 1944. 208-NP-6XXX-1.
"Christmas Dance at Negro Service Club #3. The dance was
sponsored by the 1323rd Engineers. They had their own
orchestra. Camp Swift, Texas." December 23, 1943. Pvt.
Greene. 111-SC-18834.
Coke Stevenson 1941-47: conservative financial policies and
limiting the power of the national government.
Stevenson's administration:
1. Improved the state highway system
2. Raised teachers' salaries
3. Building program at the University of Texas
4. Improved soil conservation
5. Sympathy for the labor movement
6. Manford Act (1943) labor organizers must register, no union
political contributions
7. Showed concern for discrimination against Mexican
Americans;
no sympathy for African Americans
8. Turned the state's deficit into a surplus
TEXAS REGUARS: Anti-New Dealers worked to control the state Democratic conventions, send
uninstructed delegates to the national convention, and nominate independent presidential electors.
When that strategy failed, they bolted the party and organized a third one, the Texas Regulars. Its
plans included a return to states’ rights “which have been destroyed by the Communist-controlled
New Deal” and a “restoration of the supremacy of the white race….” pp. 356-357.
Texas Regulars: 135,444 votes
The wartime economy benefited all Texans. Fifteen army
posts. Forty air bases. Over thirty prisoner of war camps.
German Prisioner of War Camp
Fort Sam Houston, Texas
New aircraft factories;
shipyards, steel mills, tin
smelter plant, oil fields, paper
and lumber products. Need for
new refineries and synthetic
rubber turned the Gulf Coast
near Houston into the largest
petrochemical industry in the
world.
A new industry that helped to turn the Gulf
Coast into the home of the world's largest
petrochemical industry was synthetic rubber.
By 1950, Houston had become the second
leading port in the nation.
The number of wage
earners tripled. 500,000
moved from rural areas
to cities. There was new
work for blacks and
women, and the standard
of living rose for many
Texas families.
During World War II, Texas farms became
larger, fewer, and more valuable.
Power farming displaces tenants. Texas panhandle.
Photographer: Dorothea Lange.
During World War II, the center of the cotton industry
shifted to South Texas and the High Plains.
Acres Planted: 1
dot = 1,000 acres.
Cotton had always
required a large amount
of hand labor.
The perfection of the
mechanical cotton
picker revolutionized
the cotton farm.
Harvest scene in the Corn Belt - a large combine
quickly unloads grain to a high-capacity grain cart
Number of Farms and Acres per Farm 1850-1997
The number of farms has decreased since 1935,
while the size of farms has increased
Source: Census of Agriculture, various years.
The Bracero Program
The term bracero (from the
Spanish brazo, which
translates as "arm") applies to
the temporary agricultural and
railroad workers brought into
the United States as an
emergency measure to meet
the labor shortage of World
War II. The Bracero Program,
also referred to as the
Mexican Farm Labor Supply
Program and the Mexican
Labor Agreement, was
sanctioned by Congress
through Public Law 45 of
1943.
Bracero card issued to Jesús Campoya in 1951 in
El Paso, Texas.
Why the number of Mexicans
working in Texas increased:
1. Many Tejanos moved to cities
because of low agricultural pay and
urban job opportunities.
2. Bracero program: contract labor
agreement between the USA and
Mexico
3. Rise of corporate, vertically
integrated farms that preferred cheap
migratory labor from Mexico
Operation
Wetback
In 1949 the Border Patrol seized nearly 280,000 illegal
immigrants. By 1953, the numbers had grown to more than
865,000, and the U.S. government felt pressured to do
something about the onslaught of immigration. What
resulted was Operation Wetback, devised in 1954 under
the supervision of new commissioner of the Immigration
and Nationalization Service, Gen. Joseph Swing.
Swing oversaw the Border patrol, and organized state and local officials along
with the police. The object of his intense border enforcement were "illegal
aliens," but common practice of Operation Wetback focused on Mexicans in
general. The police swarmed through Mexican American barrios throughout the
southeastern states. Some Mexicans, fearful of the potential violence of this
militarization, fled back south across the border. In 1954, the agents discovered
over 1 million illegal immigrants.
In some cases, illegal immigrants were deported along with their American-born
children, who were by law U.S. citizens. The agents used a wide brush in their
criteria for interrogating potential aliens. They adopted the practice of stopping
"Mexican-looking" citizens on the street and asking for identification. This
practice incited and angered many U.S. citizens who were of Mexican American
descent. Opponents in both the United States and Mexico complained of
"police-state" methods, and Operation Wetback was abandoned.