Written Assignment 1
Globalization - Term 4 2017-2018

Globalization Case Studies

Liberian Plantation Workers Allege Poor Conditions
Globalization changed the lives of the Liberian people by creating a pathway for government sanctioned exploitation which solidified the nation’s position as a periphery country. Liberia was founded by the American Colonization Society (ACS) in 1817, to promote and provide finances for newly emancipated slaves from the USA to migrate there (Ricks, 2003). There were about 13,000 immigrants that settled there during that period, but the indigenous population viewed these new immigrants who were compromised of mixed-raced Americans, as enemies. On their part these new citizens, called Americo-Liberians, born …show more content…
Rubber manufacturer Harvey Firestone was looking for a new source for his rubber supply. He capitalized on the Liberian government’s naiveté regarding business dealings as well as their desperation for protection from assimilation into neighboring colonies. In 1926 the Firestone Concession Agreement which favored Firestone and the U.S. government was created. Firestone was granted a one million acre concession for a 99 year period, granted exclusive rights upon the land he selected and exempt from payment of all taxes, present and future. Also built into the agreement was the Liberian government’s obligation to ensure that Firestone had the laborers he needed. The government under President Charles King begin sending soldiers to villages to intimidate people to go to work at the Firestone plantations. This agreement became the first and arguably the longest examples of the Liberian government’s support and sanctioned exploitation of its citizens, designed to protect the ruling class (Van Der Kraaij, …show more content…
The Unites States created a second version of the Bracero Program in 1942 (Rural Migration News, 2006) to circumvent a labor shortage in agriculture due to World War II. This policy enabled Mexican workers to work the fields and railroads in America, and provided cheap labor for the U.S. Although the policy ended in 1947 the practice of workers migrating illegally to work the fields seasonally continued. Consequently illegal border crossings from Mexico appears to peak seasonally, from spring to early summer. This suggests that Mexicans cross the border for work and a chance at a better life, and not for the purpose of draining America’s government aid. In response to this in 1965 the U.S. enacted the Immigration and Nationality Act, which prohibited unskilled laborers from Mexico to gain legal permanent resident visas (Planas, 2014). In 1977 Congress capped the number of immigrant visas given out to Mexico to 30,000. This resulted in a surge of illegal border crossings. The DREAM Act legislation was introduced in 2001 (Lawlogix, 2013) and DACA was introduced in 2012 (Robertson, 2018) to offer a pathway for children brought to America