Notes

Before the Great Depression, immigrants from other countries came to the U.S. in waves. In fact, historians recognize three major immigration movements in the United States. These include the first period between 1815-1860, the second between 1860-1890, and the third one between 1890-1914. Immigrants from Ireland, Germany and Great Britain were significant in the first two movements while Mexican immigrants were significant in the end of the third movement. In 1900, 100,000 people of Mexican descent lived in the U.S. By 1930 the Mexican population in the U.S. had reached 1.5 million. This increase is credited to "push" and "pull" factors. In 1910, the Mexican Revolution had begun. With the bad conditions in Mexico, thousands of Mexicans left their homeland. At the same time, Mexicans were attracted to better wages in the U.S.. During this period, industries like agriculture, transportation, and mining lobbied to prevent restrictions of Mexican immigrants and between 1910 and the start of the Great Depression, more than a million Mexicans came into the United States