Apple Capital
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APPLE CAPITAL: GROWERS, LABOR AND TECHNOLOGY IN THE ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE WASHINGTON STATE APPLE INDUSTRY, 1890-1930 By TONY ZARAGOZA A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY Program in American Studies December 2007 © Copyright by Tony Zaragoza, 2007 All Rights Reserved © Copyright by Tony Zaragoza, 2007 All Rights Reserved To the Faculty of Washington State University: The members of the Committee appointed to examine the dissertation of TONY ZARAGOZA find it satisfactory and recommend that it be accepted. ___________________________________ Chair ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ii ACKNOWLEDGMENT This dissertation has been aided in many ways by a long list of people who helped directly and indirectly. I wouldn’t have finished it without their wisdom, guidance, kindness, and support. In fact, if any one person listed below had not offered what she did, this dissertation very well would not have been completed. Each person helped me realize this project and for that I owe each one sincere thanks. I would like to thank Laurie Mercier who chaired this dissertation committee and offered extensive feedback, guidance and advice throughout the writing and helped me to significantly reshape and expand the first draft. I am also very grateful to the dissertation committee José Alamillo, Joan Burbick, and Bob Eddy. José’s knowledge, revision suggestions and humanity were crucial to the work in this dissertation. Joan asked key questions that greatly expanded my conceptualization of the project and its future. And Bob was instrumental in helping me finish with his encouragement and ability to draw out my ideas. My understanding and knowledge were enabled by many exceptional WSU faculty. I would not be where I am today without Victor Villanueva and Shelli Fowler. I owe an incalculable debt to Victor for all that he taught me. Shelli was an inspiration and showed me that is possible for academics to be real. E. San Juan Jr., and Delia Aguilar each in their own way strengthened my analysis. Thanks also go to Barbara Sitko, TV Reed, John Streamas, Alex Hammond, Dave Holland, and Phil Wandschneider. My analysis was shaped and sharpened by many dynamic, knowledgeable and talented scholars, teachers, and activists who formed an important community of learners at WSU. I benefited immensely from many long conversations and debates with them. Marta Maldonado iii was instrumental in helping to make this project possible and to giving me opportunities to learn about the apple industry and the relationship between race and class through working on her project, presenting papers with her, and exchanging many important ideas. William Takamatsu Thompson helped to form my approach of examining what growers were doing, and he taught me much about the importance of developing research that help build the knowledge of the people. Azfar Hussain introduced me to many new ideas, including political economy itself, and was an example of what engaged scholarship could be. Jesú Estrada supported Jeannette and me in innumerable ways that would be impossible to list, she also helped me to keep all of my work real and grounded, and helped to copy edit the final version of this dissertation. May Penuela, John Hausdoerffer, and José Anazagasty each helped advance my understanding of history and the world. Thanks also to Carmen Lugo-Lugo, Carlos Adams, Susan Webber McDowall, Matt McDowall, Rachel Peterson, Joel Wendland, Chris Harris, Erik Carter, Melissa Hussain, Mike Egan, Patty Verstrat, Kelvin Monroe, Miguel Marquez, Maria Cuevas and Doreen Ames. There are many good people at libraries and archives who went well out of their way to offer advice and assistance on this project. They include: Howard Fox, Linda, and Martin in Periodicals at the Seattle Public Library; Larry Landis, Erika Castano, and Karl McCreary at the Oregon State University Archives; Carla Rickerson, John Bolcer, Mark Carlson, Nicole Bouche, Eilene, and Gary Lundell at the University of Washington Special Collections, and Matt Parsons at UW Maps; Cheryl Gunselman and Trevor Bond at Washington State University Manuscripts, Arcives and Special Collections, and Jill Pamer, Robbie Giles, and Ed Odell at the WSU Library; and the very special people at The Evergreen State Library, Carlos Diaz, Liza Rognas, Ernestine Kimbro, Miko Fancis, Jason Mock, Barry Woslum, Joel Wippich, Mindy Muzatko, Jean Fenske, Shelly Swellend, Sarah Pedersen, Paul McMillan, and Lee Lyttle. Without their help I would not have been able to locate and use the information that this dissertation is built iv on. My thanks go to each. I also want to thank the Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections department at WSU for their permission to use many of the photos in this dissertation. Evergreen colleagues Jeanne Hahn, Peter Bohmer, Larry Mosqueda, Therese Saliba, Ted Whitesell, Zoltán Grossman, Dan Leahy, Carol Minugh and Rita Pougiales each helped me in so many ways. I appreciate fully how much we learned together and their support and encouragement. My teaching team in the final quarter of writing this dissertation Alice Nelson and Martha Rosemeyer were especially supportive at the point I needed it most and helped create time for me to put toward this project. I would not have been able to finish without their support. The students in the programs that I have worked in at Evergreen have also taught me a lot and helped me think through concepts crucial to this dissertation: Cultural Landscapes, Political Economy and Social Change, Political Economy and Social Movements, Reconstructing New Orleans, Atlanta ’07, and especially Seeds of Change, who helped formulate some of the analysis along with me as we read various texts on apples, sugar and bananas. I have also benefited greatly from working closely with Aaron Mallory, Korrinna Jordan, Gabe Hoffman, Ying Saephan, Brooke Stepp, Antonio McClinton, Puanani Jeffery, Marcus Maceo, Danielle Kenan, Kaite Dunn, Karolina Anderson, Doug Dietz, Maria Garner, Philip Spencer, Riley Woodward-Pratt, Crystal Lorentzson, Elizabeth Hendron, Mia Ibarra, Maria McDonald, Harleigh Gabrielson, and Jessica Eskelson. I want to thank my cooperative colleagues who have helped inspire vision and advance my thinking tremendously. Brooke, Nelson, Beth, Sandy, Laura, Chris, and all the other colleagues really helped me to make a leap in my thinking. Also a special thanks to our group of committed colleagues in Pullman: Brett, Chris, Jeannette, Jesú, Joey, Joslyn, Kenny, and Lee. v Finally, I want to thank my family. Gabi and Jeannette, I give love and thanks to you both for your patience and support, for your love and tenderness, for your smiles and laughter, and for all the food you brought me. Jeannette also gave me advice throughout the project and offered feedback on various drafts. I offer love and appreciation to my Grandmother Juanita, Auntie Mary, Aunts Brenda, Cathy, Trish, Terry, Becky, Mary, Uncles Butch, Joe, and Jerry, my stepfather Mike, my brothers George and Gary, and my cousins Raquel, Heather, J.J., Diane and Joe. I am especially grateful to my mother Bobbi Lori, and my father Alex Zaragoza. And I wish peace to the memory of my great grandmother Nena, my great grandfather Popi, my grandmother Anne, my grandfathers Alex and Bob, and my cousins Rob and Timmy, who left us too soon. I love you all. vi APPLE CAPITAL: GROWERS, LABOR AND TECHNOLOGY IN THE ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE WASHINGTON STATE APPLE INDUSTRY, 1890-1930 Abstract by Tony Zaragoza, Ph.D. Washington State University December 2007 Chair: Laurie Mercier It is important to investigate the origin and development of apple production in the Pacific Northwest because the story is as American as apple pie itself. This dissertation examines the history and political economy of the apple industry in Washington State during the period from 1890-1930. The apple industry was aided—even nurtured—by two of the most powerful institutions in the world at the time, the U.S. federal government and transcontinental railroads. These two institutions secured the foundational elements of agriculture—land and water. Once these basics were established through dispossession and reclamation, settlers became orchardists and apples became a commodity. Settlers planted vast acres, and apple growers formed cooperative associations to create and maintain the necessary conditions to make their growing industry more profitable and competitive, including marketing the fruit nationally and globally. As the industry grew beyond five and ten acre plots, growers needed larger amounts of seasonal vii labor to pick and pack the fruit. As the demand for more workers continued to increase, growers found ways to obtain the labor they needed by using various social groups, at first local men, women and children, predominantly European Americans, and then later European American migrants. Prior to World War I, Native American, Chinese, and Japanese workers in small numbers also picked and packed apples, and during the war, the roots of migrant labor by Filipinos and Mexicanos began. At the same time, however, the industry also found ways to reduce the amount of labor necessary and the costs of production through the scientific management of the labor process, and through the implementation of a vast array of labor-saving and labor-replacing technologies. These three solutions to the labor