Mexican Revolution and Immigration
In
1910, the Mexican Revolution began. It was the 20th Century’s first modern social
revolution, destined to change Mexico’s society and economy. It would result
in a flood of Mexican immigrants into the United States. The choices were simple
for Mexicans who opposed the fighting: hide away or leave the country. Many
of the Mexican citizens chose to head north, immigrating to the United States.
The turmoil of the war, the danger, the economic catastrophe and social chaos
surrounding the revolution pushed Mexican natives north. Some revolutionaries
and federals fled to the United States in order to plot further incursions into
Mexico.
More
than 890,000 legal Mexican immigrants came to the United States for refuge between
1910 and 1920. The Revolution had created a state of turmoil to the south, and
Mexicans sought the peace of the north. The railroads hired a bulk of the Mexicans
for construction and maintenance.
U.S. immigration officials noted that the poor and the sick constituted most
of the Mexicans fleeing north. In 1914, during the strongest flurry of fighting
in the revolution, the upper class of Mexico began to immigrate in big numbers
as well.
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In
1910, the Mexican Revolution began. It was the 20th Century’s first modern social
revolution, destined to change Mexico’s society and economy. It would result
in a flood of Mexican immigrants into the United States. The choices were simple
for Mexicans who opposed the fighting: hide away or leave the country. Many
of the Mexican citizens chose to head north, immigrating to the United States.
The turmoil of the war, the danger, the economic catastrophe and social chaos
surrounding the revolution pushed Mexican natives north. Some revolutionaries
and federals fled to the United States in order to plot further incursions into
Mexico.