COLORADO'S REGRETTABLE BLOCKADE

by Pam North

Like many other western areas, Colorado suffered intensely during the Great Depression.  Unemployment was at its height in 1936, and migrant workers from Mexico and New Mexico, on whom Colorado farmers depended to help in the cultivation and harvesting of crops, began to face increasing racial prejudice.  The transient workers were willing to accept lower wages to work the fields, incurring the resentment of those seeking the same jobs but wanting higher pay.  Tension built until even the Hispanics who had been residents of Colorado for generations were subject to the same hostility.

"Big Ed" Johnson, then the Colorado governor, made a decision on April 18, 1936 to declare a blockade at the state's southern border; any aliens attempting to cross the state line would be turned back.  Checkpoints were established at Trinidad, Durango, Conejos and Campos, with guard troops in place to enforce the action.  All incoming vehicles were ordered to halt, and the passengers had the burden of proof that they had enough money in their possession to enter the state.  Any person who was not an American citizen was denied entry, and even Americans carrying insufficient funds faced the same order to return home.   The blockade affected the railroad as well, stopping incoming trains from New Mexico and expelling the down-and-out hobos who had ridden the rails.  It was a vendetta against both Hispanics and the poor.  The repeated expulsions soon had the desired effect, and discouraged migrants began to give up trying to enter the state.

The troops guarding the state line were treated well, in contrast to the misery they were enforcing, with accomodations in fine hotels such as Trinidad's Columbian and Durango's Strater, and meals of hearty food.

Denver's newspapers took public stands on the policy.  The Denver Post gave its enthusiastic support, but the Rocky Mountain News held a more reserved stance, seriously questioning the validity and ethics of the practice.

"Big Ed" Johnson's war on "wandering job thieves" almost expanded further, as he soon threatened to close the other three borders of Colorado as well, but conflicting pressure held him in check.  New Mexico's governor was outraged at the practice because many of the rejected travelers were United States citizens who should have had the  freedom to enter any American state, and he demanded an explanation for the offending practice.  Constitutional questions concerning the blockade were raised, with considerable merit, and thus, two weeks after its initiation, martial law enforcement was abandoned, ending the blockade.

A few years later, World War II brought a completely reverse situation.  A national ruling had been instituted to place Japanese Americans in internment camps.  Colorado's Governor Ralph Carr opposed the plan, and publicly defied the policy by refusing to evacuate any citizens of the targeted race.  He even extended a welcome to Japanese Americans residing on the west coast, inviting them to come to Colorado to live.  Despite his views and efforts, however, he was unsuccessful in the prevention of the establishment of an internment camp at Amity (an ironic name for the location of such an endeavor) in the southwestern part of the state.

Political and social circumstances often seem to create extra hardships for certain ethnic or economic groups who become victims of the climate of the times.  After September 11, 2001, similar animosities
were shown to American citizens of Middle Eastern background.  By looking back at the past and learning lessons from regrettable incidents that never should have occurred in the first place, perhaps we can avoid making mistakes of the same nature today.
 

Resource:  More That I Never Knew About Colorado, by Abbott Fay.