Chapter 12 El Norte: The Borderland of Chicano America

In Ronald Takaki's chapter 12, his thesis is that each group had their own positive saying towards the United States while they were coming over. The Jewish, America was the Promise Land. To the Mexicans it is "El Norte, A land across the river, this country became the stuff of boundless dreams for Mexican migrants. The movement was by choice because they believed that their lives would become better with better opportunities in the United States. They wanted better jobs and a better life and to stray away from the Mexican revolution.
"El Norte, The Borderland of Chicano America" is about how the Mexicans began to migrate into the United States. It started with Mexican Revolutions that led to economic depressions and terrible living conditions. The Chicanos wanted a new life and living style so they built a rail road that led from Mexico to the state of Texas of the United States. Most were looking for better jobs to supports their family others were just trying to escape the horror of the revolutions and just trying to stay alive. The Mexicans were discriminated against with working wages along with working similar jobs they did in Mexico.
There were many different mechanisms of social construction. One of them is education. They were taught labor and manual training. They were told that "employees must be pliant, obedient,, courteous, an willing to help enterprise"(328.) Race was also a factor because the American Federation of Labor saw Mexicans as cheap labor and would never fully become American (331).
I thought this chapter was interesting. It taught me a lot of things I was unaware of and did not know. The way they migrated is interesting from he difference they have ti migrate today.