The Great
Arizona
Orphan Abduction
Reading
Questions
The following are some
questions that might guide your reading of Linda Gordon’s excellent book. I will
add more questions as we move through the book. This is not an exhaustive list;
other themes are also important.
Coming to class with short
answers or notes to these questions, along with page numbers that refer to
specific areas of the text, will help ensure our discussions are productive.
(through p. 148)
 | What
were the conditions that led to orphans being left at the Foundling?
 | How
did class, gender, and cultural expectations shape the orphanage
institutions? |
|
| What
social, political, economic, and technological dynamics shaped copper mining
and Clifton-Morenci? |
| What
was the relationship between capital, labor, and migration to Mexican workers?
|
What was the relationship between work and identity? |
|
| How
did various groups assign racial values to groups and individuals?
|
| How
did various groups assign gender values to groups and individuals? |
| How
and why did Anglo women create the crisis after the orphans had been placed
with Mexican families? |
| What
was the nature and structure of religious institutions in Clifton-Morenci?
| How
did that shape the orphan affair? |
|
| What
were the challenges that Mandin faced in understanding his new community and
church? |
| How
did women—Anglo and Mexican—gain and exercise power? |
| How
did class and gender shape one another? |
| How
did Mexican women shape their identity? |
|
Explain the dynamics in the marriages in Clifton-Morenci. |
| How
did Anglo men in the posse “know” Mexicans in town? |
| How
did women shape their citizenship? |
|
Explain the class structure among Anglos in Clifton-Morenci. |
| What
is the difference in social, economic, and political structure of Clifton and
Morenci? |
| What
is internal colonialism? How does it work?
|
According to Gordon, what are its theoretical strengths? Weaknesses? |
|
| What
purpose did social events or organizations serve? |
| How
did Anglo women use their gender and race in the community? |
| What
was at issue in the 1903 strike? |
|
Explain Mexican labor organizing, including the ideas that leaders espoused. |
| What
was the impact of the strike? |
|
Gordon suggests that vigilantes were “of the very essence of the democratic
spirit to which Americans owe so much” (254). What does she mean? How does she
analyze vigilantism and democracy? |
| What
is the importance of lynching? |
| How
was the law used?
| How
did “law” respond? |
|
