Trends at the Turn of the Century Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Trends at the Turn of the Century - Essay Example This study stresses that  African Americans have a longer connection to the US and have a larger support group with well-known civil rights organizations safeguarding their rights. Therefore African Americans have the opportunity to obtain economic and social advancement.   While the ability to speak two languages gives Mexican-Americans an upper-hand in seeking cultural and economic integration, it can be a challenge once they begin school when for the most part, Mexican-Americans do not speak English fluently. This was particularly problematic at the turn of the century when opportunities for early education were not fully supported by Federal funding such as the No Child Left Behind Act 2001.From this paper it is clear that  Mexican-Americans were increasingly establishing a reputation for hard work at the turn of the century and were able to take advantage of a number of opportunities for work that were rejected by Americans including African Americans. This included jobs i n domestic services and in farming. There was and continues to be a large demand for those jobs.   However, Mexican-Americans were challenged by the stereotyping in that there was a public attitude that Mexican-Americans were all illegal and were all taking jobs from Americans.  The progressive era reformers sought to recruit members on the merits of their goals and thus much of their influence came from lectures, publications, exposing corruption and reforms from the bottom up.  ... African Americans by comparison would have had at least a head start settling in the US and establishing roots and connections for one hundred years or more. Like African Americans however, Mexican Americans have struggled to establish their rightful place in US society. The challenge was more pronounced at the turn of the century than it is today. Mexican Americans, like African Americans were struggling against a tide of marginalization in education, economics and in mainstream society in general. Many Mexican Americans however, do not have legal status and are unable to demand equal protection of the law and equal opportunities. African Americans however, are for the most part, citizens of America and may insist on equal protection of the law and equal opportunities. Even so, African Americans have been able to seek welfare protection in terms of economic marginalization. This was and remains a major challenge for illegal Mexican Americans who eventually end up taking on labor for excessively low wages as a means of surviving in the US and even then it has always been an improvement on the lives they left behind in Mexico (Vasquez). African Americans have a longer connection to the US and have a larger support group with well-known civil rights organizations safeguarding their rights. Therefore African Americans have the opportunity to obtain economic and social advancement. While the ability to speak two languages gives Mexican-Americans an upper-hand in seeking cultural and economic integration, it can be a challenge once they begin school when for the most part, Mexican-Americans do not speak English fluently. This was particularly problematic at the turn of the century when opportunities for early education were not fully supported by Federal