SOC 101 Milagro Bean Field War PDF

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Running Head: MILAGRO

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Milagro Beanfield War & Rigging the Game: A Historical and Sociological Analysis

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2 Milagro Beanfield War & Rigging the Game: A Historical and Sociological Analysis

The Milagro Beanfield War book has a great importance in understanding the history of New Mexico. In this essay, I will not only relate it to our text book, The Sociology Project 2.5, I will also relate it to Rigging the Game, and other historical documents. Not only is this book historically important, the characters are understandable and relatable giving the reader insight in to what it was really like back in the day. The Milagro Beanfield War is about a rural area of New Mexico used for farming, Milagro, being over taken by a rich man, Ladd Devine, and his idea to build a resort. This causes the community of Milagro to band together to help get the man out. Ladd thinks he can leach off the farms irrigation system in order to provide water for his resort. However, Joe Mondragon, the main beanfield farmer, has other plans (Nichols, 1994). Since they live in a rural area, the idea of urbanization isn’t such a wild idea. Urbanizing the Milagro area would bring in more trading and even tourism which would help their economy grow (Sharkey, 2016). But when Devine caused the farmers to have a water shortage, Mondragon wasn’t going to take it. Not only is loss of water destroying his crop, it’s destroying the rest of the valley’s crops causing everyone to lose potential trading and food income (Nichols, 1994). In addition to stealing their water, Devine is adding inequality to the mix. Inequality is defined as “The unequal distribution of valued goods and opportunities in society (Sharkey, 2016).” This could be because of the different social classes between Devine and the other farmers. Since Devine has enough money to build this resort and still live comfortably, while the farmers rely on the year’s crops to survive. Devine may not understand what he is doing to them

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by opening this resort. Michael Schwalbe said, “Inequality doesn’t just happen, like the wind or the rain; it happens because of how people think and act (Schwalbe, 2015).” Another way to look at it is Devine needs to further his resources. A resource can be defined as “something that either directly satisfies, or helps us to satisfy, a need or a desire (Schwalbe, 2015).” In Devine’s case, it’s the money that this resort can bring in that is a resource. There isn’t any other gain, other than financially, that Devine has by building this resort. If he were to be the better person, he would need to make the game fair for everyone. This would mean that Devine would have to play by the same rules as the farmers and have the same equipment to survive. Which, if this were the case, Devine would never have the funds to support him building a resort (Schwalbe, 2015). When you look at The Milagro Beanfield War from a historical point of view, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo comes to mind. After the Mexican-American war this treaty was signed to set the boundary of the United States as Rio Grande. This not only gave the United States a lot more territory, but it also added to the oppression and hatred of the Mexican citizens that were converted to American citizens. Because of this change in citizenship, Mexican-American’s became a “second class citizen” causing the American’s that moved to the southwest to start the unfair treatment towards the Mexican-Americans. Article X in the Treaty would have made the land grants established before the war still protected by the Mexicans. However, there was another statement drafted which further protected their rights and guaranteeing their right to their legitimate land titles (Hernandez, 2001). When it comes to villages in New Mexico, Chicano villages are the most underrated. They’ve been put through so much, for the little amount that they get back. The Chicano villages have some of the most complex and diverse landscapes. Their communities started the gridded

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system. This grid kept famers closer to their crop and allowed for longer work days (Wright & Campbell, 2008). This is the same type of landscape you find in The Milagro Beanfield War book. The grid landscape was a pivotal moment given to the United States from the Mexican Americans. The Milagro Beanfield War has many ties to showing inequality, as well as showing the discrimination of Mexican-Americans. This book gives insight to the past times as long with help us understand where we are now. Not only did I show this with our textbook, The Sociology Project 2.5, but also with Rigging the Game, and other historical documents. After reading this book I have a better understanding of the past.

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References Hernandez, S. (2001). The Legacy of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo on Tejanos' Land. Journal of Popular Culture, 101-109. Nichols, J. (1994). The MIlagro Beanfield War. New York: Henry Holt and Company. Schwalbe, M. (2015). In M. Schwalbe, Rigging the Game: How Inequality is Reproduced in Everyday LIfe (pp. 1-98, 113-158, 186-223). New York: Oxford University Press. Sharkey, P. (2016). Cities and Communities. In J. Manza, The Sociology Project 2.5. Wright, J. B., & Campbell, C. L. (2008). Landscape Change in Hispano and Chichano Villages of New Mexico. Geographic Review, 551-565.

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