ETHN 100: Chapter 9 notes
Mexican Americans: from colonized minority to
political activists
Introduction:
A. Southwestern or borderlands region settled
by Spanish-Mexican-Indian ancestors.
B. Today, this region is part of U.S.A.
Similar to the Native Americans, Mexican
Americans entered the society through direct
conquest of their homelands.
1. The Colonial Model: central point: minority
groups that are forced to join a society are
fundamentally different from those that join
voluntarily.
(i) Blauner (1994) argued that Mexican conquest
is an example of classical colonialism—British
style.
(ii) La Raza: Mexican American ethnic group
living in the U.S. in 1848.
(iii) Creation Generation: Mexicans who became
residents of the U.S with the signing of the treaty
of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848.
2.
Early Indian-Spanish relations:
(i) Spaniards came to Mexico in the 16th century
and established as a European group.
(ii) the melting pot process of assimilation was
more significant in Mexico than in the U.S., i.e.,
inter-group relations increased.
3. The Texas frontier: Spain’s claims to the
eastern portion of Texas was disputed by the
U.S. until 1819, when Spain and the U.S.
completed a treaty giving Florida to the U.S. and
Texas to Spain.
(i) In less than 15 years after Mexico gained her
independence from Spain, Texas broke away
from Mexico—independent Republic of Texas.
(ii) Tejano: are the native Mexicans living in
Texas, when it broke away from Mexico to form
an independent republic.
4. Conflict in the borderlands: Texas as part of
U.S. –considered by President Santa Anna in 1843
as an act of war against Mexico; and in 1846, U.S.
President Polk asked Congress to declare war
against Mexico.
(i) The date1848 is important because under the
terms of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, Mexico
surrendered to the U.S. nearly 1/2 of the territory
of Mexico; and Rio Grande –established as
boundary of Texas.
(ii) The Cortina Wars (1859-1873) under the
leadership of Juan N. Cortina increased the border
conflicts; and strained Mexican American and
Anglo relations for many years.
(iii) Sociological implication=ethnic stratification.
5. The immigrant model: central point
=migrants: Alvarez (1985) argued that it is more
accurate to say that Mexican Americans were
migrants rather immigrants.
(i) As a result of urbanization, many Mexican
Americans of the Southwest now live in large
ethnic barrios—ethnic communities.
6. Mexican immigration and native reaction:
Anglo employers took advantage of the Mexican
migrant labor force, i.e., poor housing and high
rents.
7. The great depression: many Mexicans were
deported—push-pull factors.
8. The bracero program: a legal program of
immigration for Mexican agricultural workers.—
called today guest worker.
9. The zoot-suit riots: occurred in June of 1943,
following a mysterious death in a gang fight in East
Los Angeles. This created a tension between the
Anglos and the Mexican Americans.
(i) The Sleepy-Lagoon Trial: was the trial of these
young men, which was conducted in a biased way
because it focused more on the defendants’ Mexican
heritage.
(ii) The “Pachuco” refers to a group of Mexican
youth who represented a defiance of authority
through style of dress and behavior.
10. The Mexican American civil rights movement:
(i) The most famous and successful organization of
Mexican Americans—the League of United LatinAmerican Citizens (LULAC) was formed in 1929.
LULAC emphasized both assimilation and the
elimination of discrimination.
(ii) PASO=Political Association of Spanish-Speaking
Organizations which put direct pressure on the major
political parties. These separate efforts were thought of
as part of a larger movement called La Causa (Valdez
1982:271).
(iii) The United Farm Workers (UFW) organized
in California by Cesar Chavez and Dolores
Huerta—very effective in advancing Mexican
American concerns to the national public.
(iv) The Mexican American Legal Defense and
Education Fund (MALDEF) established in 1967
by Pete Tijerina and Gregory Luna, with the help
of the African American Civil Rights
Organizations and funded by the Ford
Foundation—initiated organized legal attacks
against segregation of Mexican American
students.
11. The Post- Chicano era: Both pluralism and
cultural assimilation found among Mexican
Americans in Texas—“stirring pot,” (Richardson
1999).
(i) Cultural nationalism: central feature of
Mexican American movement in the 1960s.