The Migrant Experience

If you were a migrant worker you moved around to find work. The migrant workers were mostly farmers who had over extended and lost their farms. The dust bowl also moved lots of people down the California as it literally blew their crops away. It was very tough to  be a migrant worker because it was a long journey from Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, and Missouri.When they got there lots of people were looking for the same types of jobs as them. California was not the promised land of their dreams. California was also affected by the depression.The wages of the migrant workers was so small that they couldn't support their families even when all the family members were working. The migrant workers still moved even when they were in California they moved where the crops needed to be harvested. So when it was potato picking season they moved to potato farms and the same thing happened with things like cotton, lemons and oranges. When they had their jobs lots of derogatory language and stereotypical sayings were used when they were spoke to. When the The Arvin Migratory Labor Camp was set up the workers had a place to stay and when they weren't working or doing chores at the camp they often sang and told stories. As World War II started lots of migrant workers went off to fight in the army which was kind of the end of all the migrant working. Moving to California worked for the migrant workers because they had a job, but it didn't really work for them because of the really small wages, derogatory and stereotypical language and not being able to support their families as they would've wished.

What is the American Dream?

The American dream is the dream of a better life, mostly for farmers.The farmers wanted better lives for themselves and their families. They want to be their own bosses so that they are not treated badly because they are poor. They want to own their own land and house. Their dream is not to be wealthy and have motors it was personal success and their own property. The american dream was also the reason that so many people moved to California (the golden state) because it was said that you could have great success there.