To what extent did Cesar Chavez advance the civil rights of Hispanic Americans in the United States after 1945?

Candidates will assess the impact of Cesar Chavez on Hispanic Americans after 1945 by considering the merits or otherwise of the suggestion that he advanced Hispanic American civil rights. The assessment will consider Chavez’s leadership within the labour movement in respect to both contributions and limitations. Issues that may be addressed include Chavez’s contribution toward the creation of the United Farm Workers (UFW) union which became aligned with the American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations, the use of boycotts, marches and hunger strikes to advance labour issues, and the 1966 march from Delano to Sacramento, which achieved the first worker’s contract with growers. Candidates may also argue that the gains were limited by hostile responses from growers and by conflicts with competing unions. While the UFW had over 50,000 members in the 1970s, membership declined to 15,000 by the mid-1980s.