Bittersweet Harvest: The Bracero Program 1942-1964

The latest exhibit at the Park City Museum focuses on the Bracero Program.  Bracero is a term used in Mexico for manual laborer.  Betwen 1942 and 1964, an estimated two million Mexican men came to the United States on short-term labor contracts to help fill the labor shortages on farms and railroads caused by World War II.

Dependence on Mexican labor has been a source of great opportunity as well as great conflict for Mexicans and Americans. In 1942, facing labor shortages caused by World War II, the United States initiated a series of agreements with Mexico to recruit Mexican men to work on U.S. farms and railroads. These agreements became known as the bracero program. (Bracero is a term used in Mexico for a manual laborer.)

Between 1942 and 1964, an estimated two million Mexican men came to the United States on short-term labor contracts. A little-known chapter of American and Mexican history, the bracero program touched the lives of countless men, women, families, and communities. Both bitter and sweet, the bracero experience tells a story of exploitation but also of opportunity.

Bittersweet Harvest: The Bracero Program was organized by the National Museum of American History in partnership with the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service. Funding was provided by the Smithsonian Latino Center.
Cosecha Amarga/Cosecha Dulce fue organizada porel museo nacional de historia historia americano Historia en colaboración con la Smithsonian Institution Servicio de Exposiciones Itinerantes. Financiamiento fue proporcionada por el Centro Latino del Smithsonian.