Research Paper on:
Carey McWilliams' Factories in the Field

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
Originally published in 1939 McWilliams "Factories in the Field" is an account of the social and environment damage wielded in the wake of the expansion of corporate agriculture into  California. Beginning with the scandals of the Spanish land grant purchases and continuing through the first three decades of the twentieth century, McWilliams paints a picture of the grim  experiences of the various ethnic groups who have been exploited by Californias agricultural industry. This picture includes the more commonly acknowledged workers such as the Chinese, the Japanese, and  the Mexicans, as well as lesser known groups such as the Filipinos and the Armenians. It etches the hardships of the Great Depression and the turbulent periods of labor  unrest deeply into out social cognizance. Interestingly, McWilliams "Factories in the Field" was published just a couple of months after John Steinbecks fictional  account of this same era in "The Grapes of Wrath". McWilliams account, however, is far removed from fiction. McWilliams provides both a factual and chronological account of this  most interesting time in history. What is revealed is that corporate agriculture in California has not always comprised the major industry which it comprises today. This utilization of  western lands actually didnt start until relatively recently in U.S. history, in fact. It is a history, however, which dates back to Spanish ownership of these western lands.  McWilliams illuminates the fact that prior to 1848 and the transition of the Spanish holdings in the Southwest to the United States  it was common practice for the Spanish crown to grant land to individuals, communities and parishes. With the Treaty of Guadelupe Hildalgo, signed on February 2, 1848, Mexico ceded