| Sumario: | This paper analyzes the situation that arose from the draft campaign in the United States between 1917 and 1918 among the Mexican community in that country, mainly in Texas. it shows that this campaign prompted an exceptional variation in the behaviour of Mexican migration during the period of the Mexican Revolution, since a considerable number of migrants left the United States for fear of being recruited.Moreover, this essay offers a balance of the number of Mexican and US citizens (of Mexican descent) who joined the US Army. It shows that the draft among both groups was less alarming than some rumors and sensationalist news of the time made it sound. Equally important is the examination of the reasons why the US authorities were cautious when recruiting Mexicans massively: the international context, the anglosaxon perception of Mexicans and, mainly, the increasing demand of labor. Overall, this work reviews a relevant passage in the history of Mexican migration to the US and of the Mexican community already living in that country, in other words the “outside Mexico”, whose relevance was beginning to be recognized by the revolutionary governments. Also acknowledged was the fact that Mexico –the country, the nation, its culture and inhabitants– went beyond its territorial frontiers.
|
|---|
