César Chávez: The Catholic Bishops, and the Farmworkers' Struggle for Social Justice (review)

244Southwestern Historical QuarterlyOctober immediately after the secularization decree of 1794 when in fact missionary work continued, albeit limited, at the mission until 1830. Furthermore, the reader will receive a heavy exposure to William A. Dunning's interpretation on Reconstruction and will be exposed exclusively to the Taylor side of the Sutton-Taylor Feud. Nevertheless , South ofthe Guadalupe overall is a worthy publication on local history. VictoriaCharles D. Spurlin César Chavez: The Catholic Bishops, and the Farmworkers' Strugglefor SocialJustice. By Marco G. Prouty. (Tucson: University ofArizona Press, 2006. Pp. 185. Illustrations , notes, bibliography, index. ISBN 0816525552. $40.00, cloth.) Few Chicano movement leaders have received the same depth ofattention as César Chavez. Thanks to die insightful works of historians like Richard Griswold del Castillo and Richard A. Garcia, among many others, we have developed a clear understanding ofChavez and his work.Just when one may have tfiought, then, diat the final chapter on Chavez's life had been written, along comes Marco G. Prouty with yet another book on Chavez and the farmworker movement in California, Cesar Chavez: The Catholic Bishops and theFarmworkers' Strugglefor SocialJustice. Employing the rich historical archives at the United States Conference ofCatholic Bishops, Prouty sheds new light on the farmworkers' struggle from the perspective of the Catholic Church. Digging through the papers of the Association of Chicago Priests Collection at Notre Dame University, the Bishops' Ad Hoc Committee on Farm Labor Papers at the United State Conference of Cadiolic Bishops' archives in Washington, D.C, the Collections of Labor and Urban Affairs-United Farm Workers atWayne State University in Detroit, and die Msgr. George G. Higgins Collection at the Catholic University ofAmerica in Washington, D.C, Prouty attempts to demonstrate the significance of the Catholic hierarchy in the farmworkers' movement. Through detailed readings of letters, official pronouncements, and other documents, Prouty shows the reader how clerical leaders built a broad base of religious support for the United Farm Workers movement based on Church teachings dating back to Pope Leo XIII's Rerum Novarum (1891). Prouty's book is divided into three chapters and an epilogue. The first chapter examines the roots of the conflict, by tracing the plight of the farmworker in California at mid-century, as well as the rise ofboth César Chavez and his eventual close ally, "the Labor Priest," Msgr. George G. Higgins. The second chapter explains the grape strike and boycott and shows how the intervention of the Catholic Church, four years into the process, finally helped secure an end to the dispute. The church entered the fray late because both the growers and the farmworkers were Catholic. As Prouty nicely puts it, "The farmworkers filled the pews, and the growers enriched the coffers" (p. 4). The third chapter studies the "battle ofthe salad bowl" as Prouty describes the lettuce pickers' strike. In this particular instance, the Cadiolic Church more openly backed Chavez and the farmworkers, because it did not face divided loyalties as it did with the grape strike. Overall Prouty takes a balanced look at Chavez and demonstrates that he too had a dark side, which in fact helped drive offkey leaders in the movement. Chavez 2007Book Reviews245 expected aposde-like devotion from his fellow union officers, paying them five dollars per week plus room and board. He drove the UFW as his own creation and took direction and criticism from no one. The book contains, however, some shortcomings. The author draws heavily and uncritically from Catholic documents. Attention to outside sources would have helped immensely by either supporting Prouty's thesis or complicating his story. The overuse of quoted material is quite distracting. Quotations appear in virtually every paragraph. Ironically, the strongest portions of the book are those in which Prouty expounds, in his own words, on the significance of his story and the actions of his characters. Despite such shortcomings the book provides a rich and interesting look into the relationship between the Church, Chavez, and the UFW. While its contribution to scholarly history is limited, readers interested in Catholic history, or in the farmworkers' movement itself, will find it attractive. Texas A&M University-Corpus ChristiAnthony Quiroz From Syria to Seminole: Memoirofa High Plains Merchant. By Ed...