Proletarians of the North

by Pitt, Leonard

• ISBN13: 9780520219625
• ISBN10: 0520219627
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-03-01
• Publisher: Univ of California Pr

Summary

Between the end of World War I and the Great Depression, over 58,000 Mexicans journeyed to the Midwest in search of employment. Many found work in agriculture, but thousands more joined the growing ranks of the industrial proletariat. Throughout the northern Midwest, and especially in Detroit, Mexican workers entered steel mills, packing houses, and auto plants, becoming part of the modern American working class. Zaragosa Vargas's work focuses on this little-known feature in the history of Chicanos and American labor. In relating the experiences of Mexicans in workplace and neighborhood, and in showing the roles of Mexican women, the Catholic Church, and labor unions, Vargas enriches our knowledge of immigrant urban life. His is an important work that will be welcomed by historians of Chicano Studies and American labor.

Table of Contents

List of Maps, Graphs, and Tables
Foreword
Acknowledgments
Introduction: Coming to Work in Detroit	p. 1
Mexican Migration to the Midwest	p. 13
Mexicans in Working-Class Detroit, 1918-1921	p. 56
Mexicans and Factory Work in the 1920s	p. 86
Life in the Mexican Colonies of the Midwest	p. 124
Detroit Mexicans in the Great Depression	p. 169
Conclusion: Reinterpreting the History of Mexican Industrial Workers	p. 201
Notes	p. 211
Bibliography	p. 261
Index	p. 269
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