Harvest of Empire by Juan Gonzalez
The book Harvest of Empire offers many examples of the factors leading to migration, which include economic and political persecution. The book has a direct connection between the hardships Latinos faced economically and military in their perspective countries. By reading this book it is clearly stated that Latinos are on the verge of becoming the largest minority group in America. Juan Gonzalez presents a devastating perspective on U.S. history rarely found in mainstream publishing aimed at a popular audience. Few of those countries were immigrants from Puerto Rico, Mexico, Dominican Republic and Central Americans. Gonzales develops his thesis by asserting that Latin American immigration and Latino presence in the United States are markedly different from European immigration history to this country in at least three main ways: Latino immigration is closely tied to the growth and needs of the U.S. empire; race and language attitudes in this country have had the effect of moving Latin Americans not from immigrant to mainstream status, but rather from an immigrant to a racial caste status and how Latin Americans have arrived when the United States is already the dominant world power. “Harvest of Empire” mentions how since the 1820’s Mexicans have migrated to the United States. They’re the second largest immigrant nationality in our history. Meixco is the most populous Spanish speaking country in the world. Most of the country’s wealth flows outside of Mexico, meaning the U.S. After the tragedy of World War II , the United States reached an agreement with Mexico to import Mexicans for a certain period of time and after their harvest was done they’ll go back to their country. This was the bracero program, which brought millions of immigrants into the United States only for seasonal work and once they were supposed to leave, they managed to stay illegally in order for them to provide to their families. World War II also made Mexican Americans active in the U.S