Reinventing Free Labor: Padrones and Immigrant Workers in the North American West, 1880 1930 (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9780521641609)

One of the most infamous villains in North America during the Progressive Era was the padrone, a mafia-like immigrant boss who allegedly enslaved his compatriots and kept them uncivilized, unmanly, and unfree. In this first-ever history of the padrone, Gunther Peck argues that they were not primitive men but rather thoroughly modern entrepreneurs who used corporations, the labor contract, and the right to quit to create far-flung coercive networks. Drawing on Greek, Spanish, and Italian language sources, Peck analyzes how immigrant workers emancipated themselves using the tools of padrone power to their own advantage.

Author: Gunther Peck
ISBN-10: 0521641608
ISBN-13: 9780521641609
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Language: English
Published: 05/29/2000
Pages: 332
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.41lbs
Size: 9.21h x 6.14w x 0.75d

Review Citation(s):
Choice 01/01/2001 pg. 968