Harvest Of Empire Thesis

My overall awareness of Latino culture and immigration has increased greatly during this class. I believe Latinos are an essential part of the U.S. and its roots. Through my immigration project, I learned that my family is from Ireland, Germany, and other nearby countries. It was interesting to explore my family’s roots and ancestors. In the past, I haven’t thought much about my multicultural identity. After doing this project, I have a greater understanding of my family’s heritage and my roots. My research also helped fuel an interest in learning more about where my family is from. It was also interesting to watch classmates’ videos to learn more about their heritage and ancestry. Before this class, I had some knowledge of Latino immigration.

Before reading Harvest of Empire, I wasn’t aware Latin Americans contributed so much to the formation of the United States with their land, language, food, and culture. It contributed to my belief that Latin Americans are an essential part of U.S. culture and the establishment of the U.S. Before this class, I learned about indigenous groups in the U.S. and genocide, but never really learned about how that also happened to Latin Americans in the U.S. Gonzalez talked about how millions of Mexicans, Cubans, Native Americans, and Filipinos were pushed out of their land and homes by European colonists (Gonzalez, p. 33). Shortly after, they became foreigners in a place that used to be their homeland. After this colonization, Mexican Americans and Latin Americans contributed to the U.S. economy, jobs, and culture in multiple ways. Latin Americans have fulfilled many job positions in the U.S., served in WWII for the U.S., shared resources, such as tobacco and mines, with the U.S., and much more. Unfortunately, the U.S. often took advantage of Latinos and was unwelcoming. One way the U.S. took advantage of a Latin American group was by keeping Puerto Rico as a colony for economic