Fear, Division, and Deportation in American History

 

Fear, Division, and Deportation in American History

David Buie, #OPEN_TO_WORK

David Buie

College History Professor | Historian of Reconstruction, Memory & American Conflict | Dual Credit & Higher Education Instructor | Writer | Curriculum developer

Periods of crisis often push societies to search for simple answers to complex problems. During the Great Depression, the United States faced widespread unemployment, fear, and economic collapse. In response, the federal government and local authorities carried out mass deportation campaigns that targeted Mexican immigrants and Mexican Americans, many of whom were citizens. These actions were justified as economic necessity, but they were rooted in fear and scapegoating rather than evidence.¹ Psychology helps explain why this happened. In times of stress, people often divide the world into “us” and “them.” This mindset makes it easier to blame outsiders for hardships that have deeper causes, such as structural economic failure. Once labeled as “them,” entire groups can be treated as threats instead of neighbors.² American history contains repeated warnings against this kind of thinking. George Washington cautioned that internal divisions could weaken the nation, while Abraham Lincoln warned that a country split by fear and hostility could not endure.³⁴ Theodore Roosevelt later argued that Americans shared a responsibility to protect the nation’s future through unity and ethical action, not panic-driven policies.⁵ The deportation campaigns of the 1930s reveal what happens when these warnings are ignored. Families were broken apart, civil rights were violated, and long-term damage was done to trust in government. Studying these events reminds us that history is not only about the past, it is about recognizing patterns. When fear replaces reason, and exclusion replaces empathy, the consequences are real and lasting. Understanding this history helps us ask better questions today and avoid repeating old mistakes.¹

Footnotes

1. The Deportation Campaigns of the Great Depression (compiled document).

2. “The Psychology of ‘Us-vs-Them,’” Psychology Today.

3. George Washington, Farewell Address (1796).

4. Abraham Lincoln, “House Divided” Speech (1858).

5. Theodore Roosevelt, “Conservation as a National Duty,” Voices of Democracy.

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