August 4, 1942
The United States government signed the Mexican Farm Labor Program Agreement with Mexico, the first among several agreements aimed at legalizing and controlling Mexican migrant farmworkers along the southern border of the United States. Conceived as a temporary measure to supply much-needed workers during the early years of World War II, the bracero program continued uninterrupted until 1964. The agreement guaranteed a minimum wage of thirty cents an hour and humane treatment (in the form of adequate shelter, food, sanitation, etc.) of Mexican farmworkers in the United States. It has been estimated that in the 1950s the United States imported as many as 300,000 Mexican workers annually; Between 1942 and 1964 more than 4.5 million braceros entered the United States.
August 4, 1985
Peace Ribbons made by thousands of women were wrapped around the U.S. Pentagon, the White House and the Capitol. Twenty thousand people participated, and the 27,000 panels making up the ribbon stretched for 15 miles.
