Summary Of Juan Gonzales Harvest Of Empire

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Latino presence is at an all time high in the United States. In the 1970’s there was only a few million Latinos living in the United States, representing only 4% of the population. In 2009 there were 46 million Latinos, and the census Bureau predicts that by 2050 this number will triple to 132 million. In Harvest of Empire, Juan Gonzalez sheds light on the reasons for this astounding growth in population. He believes that there is a great lack of knowledge and a big misunderstanding of why this is happening, and argues that the main reason for the large Latino presence is U.S. economic and political domination over Latin America. Reading this book was sometimes difficult and tedious because of all the facts Gonzales uses to present his argument,…show more content…
Ever since I took classes where I learned about various countries and their cultures, it has always been my dream to be bilingual. In so many places around the world, children begin to learn English at a very young age. This has always been very important because the United States is a very powerful independent country, unlike many of the smaller countries with failing economies. This brings me to one of Gonzales’s main points, that immigrants don’t want to come to the United States, but have to for a better life. Many people think immigrants are willingly “taking over” the United States, but I agree with Gonzalez. No one wants to leave his or her culture, family, and land behind. Immigrants are forced to leave everything familiar to them just to survive. In many parts of the world poor government leads to deaths of innocent people, and an unfair treatment of citizens. Our country is a super power, and we owe a part of that to immigrants from Latin America. Throughout history they have come to America seeking the American dream of freedom and a chance at a better life. They have worked in poor conditions, for little pay, farming and working in factories building things that we use every day. They take the time to learn our language, and I believe that we should show the same respect. I think Spanish classes should be mandatory, and that they should start at a young age. People should be more accepting of immigrants who speak different languages, because they have helped our society and lead to a positive growth of our country. Gonzalez did an amazing job of opening my eyes to the real reason for
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