[Aflaai] Epub Al Norte: Agricultural Workers in the Great
Lakes Region, 1917-1970
By Dionicio Nod?n Vald?s
"... ranks with the best scholarship in Chicano history. ... Al Norte emerges
as the most extensive discussion of migration, settlement, and
entrenchment of Mexicanos in the Midwest." --Arnoldo De Le?n, author of
They Called Them Greasers: Anglo Attitudes toward Mexicans in Texas,
1821-1900.In the early part of the twentieth century, the productive
agricultural lands of the upper Midwest attracted the interest of
industrialists. They did not buy agricultural lands but, instead, geared up
for mass production by constructing refineries and food processing plants,
while contracting with family farmers to grow sugar beets, fruits, and
vegetables. As a result, many agricultural jobs were created, and workers,
especially from Texas and northern Mexico, rushed to fill them. Dennis N.
Vald?s' pioneering study is the first social history of these workers. Al
Norte is a unique work in several respects. To begin with, it is the first
extended history of Latinos in the Midwest, as well as the
