SpanishAmerican War Essay Research Paper Spanish America free essay sample

Spanish/American War Essay, Research Paper Spanish America Part ONE THE CONQUEST AND COLONIZATION OF THE SOUTHWEST 1 Legacy of hatred: The conquering of Mexico # 8217 ; s northwest A. The invasion of Texas-Not all the Anglo-americans favored the struggle. Eugene C. Barker states that the immediate cause of the war was # 8220 ; the overthrow of the nominal democracy by Santa Anna and the permutation of centralised oligarchy # 8221 ; which allegedly would hold centralized Mexican control. Texas history is a mixture of selected fact and generalised myth. Historians admit that runners were upset with Mexico # 8217 ; s enforcement of her import Torahs. B. The invasion of Mexico- In the mid-1840s, Mexico was once more the mark. The enlargement and capitalist development moved together. The two Mexican wars gave U.S. commercialism, industry, excavation, agribusiness, and stockraising. The truth is that the Pacific Coast belonged to the commercial imperium that the United States was already constructing in that ocean. C. The principle for conquest- the Polk-Stockton Intrigue, Americans have found it instead more hard than other peoples to cover rationally with their wars. Many Anglo-Americans historiographers have attempted to disregard it merely as a # 8220 ; bad war # 8221 ; , Which took topographic point during the epoch of Manifest Destiny. D. The myth of a nonviolent nation- most surveies on the Mexican # 8211 ; American war dwell on the causes and consequences of the war, and covering with war scheme. Mexicans attitude toward Anglo-Americans has been influenced by the war and vice-versa. E. The pact of Guadalupe Hidalgo- By late 1847 the war was about at an terminal. Scott # 8217 ; s licking of Santa Anna in a difficult fought conflict at Churubusco put Anglo # 8211 ; Americans at the Gatess of Mexico City. Although Mexicans fought valorously, the conflict left 4,000 dead, with another 3,00 captives. February 2, 1848 the Mexicans ratified the Treaty of Guadeloupe Hidalgo, with Mexico a ccepting the Rio Grande as the Texas boundary line and yielding the Southwest. 2 Remember the Alamo: The colonisation of Texas A. The creative activity of a Dominant Class- Before 1848, the vale of the Rio Grande supported many 1000s of cowss. Commerce between the people on both sides of the river bound them together. As technological alterations took topographic point in the parts economic system, category divisions became more marked within the Mexican community ; the upper category more frequently aligned themselves with the new elite. In many instances the rich Mexicans became agents for the opinion elite and helped command the Mexican multitudes. B. Politicss of Gender- Social dealingss between Mexicans and the dominant society became more stiff with the transition of clip. Exogamy between the native nobility and the white opinion elite was non uncommon ; both because of deficiency of white adult female and for control of the native population. C. Controling Mexicans- the railw ay played a cardinal function in the economic development of San Antonio after the Civil War. The railway encouraged the development of cowss trade and brought tourer to the metropolis. Newspaper accounts inflamed occupants, distributing rumours that Mexicans had armed themselves. D. Divide and Conquer- In August 1894, Blacks attacked Mexicans at Beeville, Texas. Mexicans were brought at that place to drive down rewards of inkinesss and to make a labour excess. The federal authorities encouraged this hostility by posting black soldiers in Mexican countries. E. The Historian as an Agent of Social Control- Texas had a history of force. This brought panic toward the Mexicans since they didn # 8217 ; t have the same protection under the jurisprudence. In South Texas, Mexicans outnumbered the North American, latter controlled political relations and the land. F. The Revolt of # 8220 ; Cheno # 8221 ; Cortina- Mexicans did non accept North American regulation and they barely felt like l iberated people. They called them wetbacks and denied them the chance to get belongings, to excerise political control over their ain lives, and to keep their rights within the society. But many took to the route. G. The People # 8217 ; s Revolt- The El Paso Salt War of 1877 is an illustration of the people # 8217 ; s revolt. Mexicans in the state banded together along lines of race and category taking direct action in the response to the political trickery of aliens. It was a category battle against the rich, powerful gringo constitution. 3 Freedom in a Cage: The colonisation of New Mexico A. The Distortion of History- We are white excessively! Many New Mexicans have historically found security in believing that they assimilated into Anglo-American civilization and that they efficaciously participate in the democratic procedure. In order to last economically, many posterities of the original New Mexican colonists found it easy to divide themselves from Mexicans who arrived at the bend of the twentieth century. And they called themselves Hispanos. B. The Myth of the Bloodless Conquest- Another myth is that Mew Mexicans peacefully joined the Anglo state an # 8220 ; became a willing enclave of the United States. # 8221 ; By this dexterity of manus New Mexicans are non seen as victims and, accordingly, the enemies of the Anglo-Americans, but instead their willing friends. No 1 liked the idea of the U.S. occupying his or her land. C. The Land Grab- Land, New Mexico # 8217 ; s basic resource, was at bosom of the Pueblo Indians grudges against the Spaniards. The Santa Fe Ring # 8217 ; s power rested in its control of the territorial bureaucratism. D. The Santa Fe Ring- The ring controlled the governor and the most of the officers in the district and was supported by Max Frost, editor of the Mew Mexican. An inflow of fledglings and capital formalized and extended the scope of the North American elite and the anti-racketeering law, with the creative activity of a web of speculators. E. The Lincoln County War- The causes of the Lincoln County War were similar to those in the Colfax County. This contention indirectly involved the Santa Fe Ring, focus oning on one of its smaller orbiters and its rivals. The power functions were led by the Anglo-Americans one Republican and other Democrate. It has frequently been portrayed as a personal feud or as a cowss or scope war. F. The Americanization of the Catholic Church- The Roman Catholic Church, the most of import establishment to New Mexicans straight touched their lives from cradle to sculpt. Soon after the church limited its maps to purely religious affairs. Antonio Jose Martinez was a strong leader in the church. G. The Resistance- The 1880s proverb increased resistance to land encrachments. Mexicans suffered from the impact of the railway, private contractors stripped the lumber from the land. So by the center of the decennary, Mexicans organized the association of the Brotherhood for the Pro tection of the rights and Privileges of the People of New Mexico, whose stated intent was to free New Mexico from corrupt politicians and monopolies. H. The End of the Frontier- The Santa Fe Ring # 8217 ; s flower lasted from 1865 to 1885. Government corruptness, warfare, and political favouritism all marred these old ages. Drew national attending to the anarchy in New Mexico forced alterations. 4 Sonora Invaded: The Occupation of Arizona A. Constructing a Myth- The major part of the Mesilla Valley was in northern Sonora, aka Arizona. The United States did non desire it entirely for the intent of a southern railroad path. The chief attractive force was the Mesilla # 8217 ; s mineral wealth. B. Euroamerican Colonialism- Until 1863, Arizona was a frontier of New Mexico isolated from Santa Fe by 100s of stat mis of comeuppances, mountains, and Apache land. Arizona # 8217 ; s geographical isolation presented a barrier to its economic development. Capitalists needed inexpensive labour and cheap transit. C. The Polarization of Society- Relations between the Apache and North Americans bit by bit deteriorated. Self-government did non make Arizona. From the beginning, Anglo-Americans in Arizona formed a privileged category. Mining was large and needed big capital investings. D. Ending the Frontier- After the Civil War, machine political relations became popular in Arizona. The Federal Ring, centered in Tucson. The ring brought limited prosperity, and by the 1870s, Tucson every bit good as the remainder of Arizona culturally became Anglo. E. The Industrializing of Arizona- With the reaching of the railway, chance for upward mobility became more restricted, and as Arizona became more industrialised, many little Mexican concerns could non vie. Racism toward Mexicans increased with the terminal of the Apache menace. Mexicans more often became whipping boies for social jobs. F. Nativism and La Liga Protectora Latina- At the province constitutional convention in Phoenix o n October 10,1910, Labor organisers demanded the restriction of foreigners because, harmonizing to them, foreign labour offered unfavourable competition, drove rewards down, and stiffed brotherhood organisation. At the convention labour leaders introduced declaration to except non-English talking individuals from mine working occupations coercing mines to use 80 % U.S. citizens. 5 California Lost: America for Anglo-Americans A. The Conquest- In 1821 California became portion of the Mexican democracy. Mexico trades and in-migration constabularies, and thenceforth the figure of aliens come ining the state increased. During the first old ages the mission chiefly benefited from the new trade. Rancho system was contributed to the growing B. The Occupation- The business relied about on the market place and the dealing of capital. Before the conquest the California economic system had merely begun to come in the international market place. C. The Changing of Elites- Capitulation at Montere y exposed Mexican workers to higher degrees of Exploitation. The lower category mestizes and mulattoes joined the Indians in this labour pool. In the northern portion of the province, the gold haste made them instant minorities. While in the southern portion they remained the bulk for the following 20 old ages. The gold haste established a form of North American- Mexican dealingss. D. The Legitimation of Violence- Vigilante rabble set the tone for a kaleidoscopic series of violent experiences for Mexicans and Latin Americans. The most crying act of vigilantism happened at downieville in 1851, when after a kangaroo trail, a rabble lynched a Mexican adult female they called Juanita. She was the first adult female hanged in California. E. Currents of Resistance- From 1855 through 1859 El Clamor Publico was published in Los Angles by Ramirez. 1859 the paper went out of concern. F. The Underclass- The railway Substantially changed societal dealingss in California. Mexicans were affected in obvious ways. Over the following three decennaries Mexicans played the function of a little and politically undistinguished minority. Mexican labour made a passage from pastoral businesss to humble pay work. Separate TWO THE CEMENTING OF AN UNDERCLASS: THE MEXICAN IN THE UNITED STATES 6 The Building of the Southwest: Mexican Labor, 1900-1930 A. Background to the Migration North from Mexico, to 1910-The first U.S. industrial revolution spread to agriculture in the Southwest by the 1859 # 8217 ; s with McCormick # 8217 ; s machine harvesting grain in Fieldss that had one time belonged to the Mexicans. Mining bonanzas attracted may Anglos. Railroad involvement laid track associating West and west, greatly increasing, the development of involvements of the Southwest. The Southwest supplied natural stuffs for the East. B. Nativist Reactions to the Mexican Migration, 1910-1920-By 1920 the population of Mexico reached 15.16 million. In that twelvemonth, at least 382,002 individuals of Mexican extraction lived in the US. In 1913 chiefly due to an economic depression, the commissioner sounded the dismay, bespeaking that Mexicans might go a public charge. The Mexican Revolution intensified favoritism against immigrants. From the beginning of the struggle, in 1910 U.S. corporations and individuals making concern in Mexican called for military intercession. C. Mexican Workers, 1910-1920 # 8211 ; Production in the Southwest conditioned the work experience and colony forms of Mexican workers. Because the part was developing, it needed big ground forcess of migrators or insouciant workers # 8211 ; for case, for ranching, agribusiness, railway work, irrigation building, and other choice and shovel labour. When they moved to the Southeast they did non hold the advantage of the labour organisation. The labour was besides affected the many who went to the United States. D. Mexicans Move to the City: the 1920s # 8211 ; Dramatic alterations occurred during this clip that a ffected all labour. North American rapidly shifted to the metropoliss as the in-migration from Europe slowed. During the 20 # 8217 ; s about 20 million North American left the farm for the metropolis. Mechanization wholly contributed to the big crop, which increased demand for impermanent labour. The new in-migration policy kept unskilled workers out of the state, promoting the in-migration of skilled workers. Mexicans besides became really urbanised during this clip. San Antonio and Los Angeles were favourite finishs. Religious refugees besides joined the expatriate community. These refugees were largely in-between and upper category in contract to the bulk of those who worked as labourers. E. Mexican labour in the 1920s # 8211 ; In 1921 California manufacturers formed the Valley Fruit Growers of San Joaquin County every bit good as a labour agency in Arizona, the Arizona Cotton Growers Assn, merely to call a few. Railroads paid Mexicans the lowest industrial wages runing from 35cents to 39 cents an hr. Packing houses were higher at 45 to 47 cents, while in steel they earned 45 t0 50 cents. In the workss direction Blacks and Mexicans were played against each other. In agricultural countries the White planted, irrigated, and cultivated, while Mexicans did heavier work of weeding, hoeing, thinning, and exceeding. The labour battles of the 1920’s proved that Mexicans were neither manipulable nor docile. A pronounced rise in the consciousness of Mexican workers took topographic point. F. Greasers Go Home: Mexican Immigration, the 1920s – Opposition to Mexican in-migration came to a caput in the 1920s. Reaction toward Mexicans intensified, as their Numberss became larger. Industrialist imported Mexicans to work in the Millss of Chicago – foremost as an ground forces of modesty labour and so as scabs. In 1921 when the Depres sion came the underside fell out of the economic system their was heavy unemployment. During the times of prosperity the Mexicans created ill will but in a clip of crises the Mexicans became the whipping boies for the failure of the U.S. economic system. Nativist attempts to curtail the entry of southern and eastern Europeans bore fruit with the transition of the Immigration Act of 1921. Many wanted to include Mexicans in the commissariats of the act. Thingss had changed by 1929 and the migration of Mexicans to the United States had well slowed down due to the fact that agriculturists and other industrialists joined forces with the section of Sate, Agriculture and Interior and formed a solid forepart to overpower limitation heading off the transition to a measure puting Mexicans on a quota. 7 Mexican American Communities in the Devising: The Depression Years A. The Nativist Deportations of the 1930s – After the stock market clang occupation chances dried up and nativism resur faced with renewed energy. Even though legal migration slowed down to a lower limit during the Great Depression, undocumented Mexicans continue to get continuously. Mexicans were unwanted and Euroamentican governments shipped over 500,000 back to Mexico. A hysterical populace treated even Mexican Americans, who were citizens as foreigners. At the start of the 1930’s merely fewer than 55 % lived in urban centres. Migration to the metropoliss quickened during the following 10 old ages, as chances in agribusiness dried up, with husbandmans engaging white over the Mexicans in California. In Texas the husbandman relied to a great extent on the Mexicans to deject rewards even furthers. B. Mexican American Rural Labor – New Deal plans in the 1930’s, which were to assist agribusiness, had a negative impact on Mexican workers. The supplanting of proprietors and sharecrop farmers contributed to the puffiness of the ranks of rural labour. A series of work stoppages of unpr ecedented range and strength throughout the state caused the Mexican workers to endure greatly from the restructuring which took topographic point in the sou-west in which production became concentrated in the custodies of a few. C. Mexican American Farm Workers’ Revolt – Given the industrialisation of agribusiness, the development of Mexican labour, and the maltreatments of the contract labour system, struggle would hold occurred without the depression ; the events of 1929 simply intensified the battle. Farm industrialists determined to do up their losingss. They fixed rewards every bit low as possible. In California, rewards went from 35 – 50 cents an hr in 1931 to 15 to 16 cents an hours by mid-1933. Once once more, Mexicans became angry strikers. There were several work stoppages so violent it led to killing. After the work stoppage was settled, with the provinces intercession, it was decided to raise the rate of the workers to 80 cent per hr. D. Mexican Ame rican Urban Labor – Los Angeles’s assorted farm and industrial economic system encouraged the motion of workers to the metropolis. In the mid-1930’s, 13,549 farms operated in the county, with 100s of 1000s estates devoted to agriculture. Competition between the AFL and CIP helped in the unionisation of Chicanos in other metropoliss and parts. Prior to 1937, the AFL cared small for unskilled minorities or adult females workers. It became less discriminatory ; nevertheless, given the successes of the CIP, whose industrial unionism was more attractive to Chinanos so the AFL’s trade orientation. E. The Mexican American Miners’ Revolt – Gallup, New Mexico, was one of the first excavation territories of predominately Mexican workers to arise. The depression had hit the country badly, and, by August 1933, 2,000 coiners were reduced to a two to three twenty-four hours workweek. Unions that promoted policies of cultural and racial equality attracted Mexicans. The Mexicans concentrated themselves in limited industries. The CIP was indispensable in the edifice a strong Mexican American labour motion. Independent brotherhoods merely did non hold sufficient musculus against the elephantine corporations. F. Survival in a Failed Utopia: Chicanos in the City – The Mexicans’ battle for endurance was non limited to in-migration and/or labour. The 1930’s proverb increased urbanisation among Mexicans in the U.S. Many new metropoliss comers shifted from the rural Southwest to topographic points like San Antonio, Los Angeles, and Chicago where they formed barrios that reflected the personalities of those metropoliss. Adjustments to the new environment were hard and increased Numberss generated tensenesss as new and old competed for infinite. 8 World War 11 and the â€Å"Happy Days† : Chicano Communities under Siege A. World War 11 and the Chicano – Many Chicano soldiers felt they experienced treachery beca use of the racism at place. They were treated as 2nd category citizens. Mexicans earned more decorations of award than any other cultural or racial group in WWII. B. The Spy Game – During WWII, constabulary governments sought to beef up societal control of the barrios and spied extensively on the Mexican community. Despite its thoroughgoing examination of the Chicano activities FBI studies did non bring out any grounds of Mexican American disloyalty. Basically it was a waste of taxpayers’ money. C. Mexican American Workers: The War Years – WWII did non stop occupation favoritism and few Mexicans were employed even in defence industries. Fewer were in supervisory places. D. Pull offing the Flow of Labor E. Keeping America Pure – Historically, Congress has passed in-migration Torahs to command thoughts and to protect the hegemony of the white race. The McCarran-Walter Act, which reflected this political orientation, provided the mechanism for political cont rol of established citizens and laid the foundation for a constabulary province. It was passed in 1952 over President Truman’s veto. He protested that it created a group of second-class citizens by separating between native and established citizens. This act besides intimidated Mexican trade union members. F. Against All Odds: Continued Labor Struggles G. Politics of the G.I. Generation – The GI measure encouraged the suburbanization of the Chicano in-between category. However there was much racism and indifference. Veterans frequently became frustrated by the Veterans Administration because they did non have their benefits on clip. H. Post-World War 11 Human Rights Struggles – The battle for civil and human rights was intense during this period. The defacto exclusion of Mexicans from public installations, schools, trade brotherhoods, juries, and vote as common in many subdivision of the state. The Mendez v. Westminster School District declared the segregation o f Mexican kids unconstitutional. I. Bulldozers in the Barrios – During the 1950’s urban remotion menaced Mexicanos. By 1963, 609,000 people nationally had been uprooted as a effect of urban reclamation, two-thirds of who were minority group members. For Chicanos, Los Angeles was the proto-type, but other metropoliss mirrored its experiences. 9 Goodbye America: The Chicano in the 1960s A. A Profile: San Antonio Chicanos, 1960-1965 – During the first half of the 1950’s, a decennary of rapid alteration, the battle for civil rights led to public acknowledgment of poorness and forced the Kennedy and Johnson disposals to patronize plans intended to pacify the Black multitudes. The Black-white confrontation produced a whirlwind of events that caused Mexican American and other minorities to intensify demands for similar human rights and political additions. B. North from Texas – The migration of Chicanos to the Midwest continued in the 1960s where farm pro duction was undergoing a transmutation. In the 1960s the cost of mechanization decreased. Government research grants cut the cost of the machinery, and the cost of nutrient production decreased while net incomes increased. C. The Mexican Connection: Un Pueblo, Una Lucha – The migration itself had multiple effects on the Chicano. First, after WWII a pronounced tendency toward assimilation had occurred and many Mexican American parents refused to learn their kids Spanish. Rather than a rejection of Mexican heritage, cultural patriotism created a Renaissance in Mexican consciousness. D. The Road to Delano: Making a Movement- Many Chicano have falsely labeled the 2nd half of the sixtiess as the birth of the Chicano motion. By the mid-1960s traditional groups such as LULAC and the G.I. Forum along with late formed political groups such as MAPA and PASSO, were challenged. Cesar Chavez gave the Chicano motion a national leader. He was the lone Mexican American to be recognized by th e mainstream civil rights and antiwar motions. E. Echoes of Delano – Texas remained a brotherhood organizer’s incubus. Its long boundary line ensured agriculturists entree to a changeless and abundant supply of inexpensive labour. Attempts to unionise farm workers had been literally stomped to decease by the open abuse of the Texan Rangers, the local tribunals, and the right-to-work Torahs. F. The Legitimation of Protest – The civil rights motion and the ghetto rebellions of the mid- sixtiess greatly affected the way of the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 and the subsequent war on poorness. The act emphasized instruction and preparation occupations: Job corps, Neighborhood Youth Corps, work-study and community action plans. G. The Day of the Heros – The sixtiess produced heroes at every degree of protest, from Joan Baez, to Che Cuevara, to Stokeley Carmichael, to Herbert Marcuse. With the growing of patriotism, it was natural for Mexican Americans to pla ce leaders who best expressed their defeats. During the late sixties Chicanos for a brief clip had heroes that were legitimated by them and non the province. H. On the Eve of the Storm – In the 2nd half of the 60s governments at all degrees of authorities tightened up on dissenters. They moved to command alleged â€Å"revolutionaries.† As a effect, everyone of colour became fishy. I. Chicanos Under Siege-The war in Southeast Asia propelled combativeness in the Chicano barrios. The Vietnam War united Mexicans and moved even the in-between category and chauvinistic groups like the Forum to the left. In Los Angeles, community-police dealingss polarized even before the moratorium on August 29, 1970, a major anti-Vietnam presentation. A casualty was intelligence newsman Ruben Salazar.6 J. The Provocateurs K. After the Smoke Cleared- In malice of existent alteration for most North Americans, Chicanos had made really small advancement. The importance of militant, young person , and grass-roots organisations declined after this point. The 1970s restored to the in-between category its hegemony over the motion. The 1970s would witness the outgrowth of the concern and professional categories in the Mexican American community and the return of the agents. 10 The Age of the Agents: The New Hispanics A. In Search of Aztlan – B. Sin Fronteras ( Without Borders ) C. The Celebration of Success: The Legitimation of a Broker Class- Organizational and leading alterations occurred in the Chicano community by the mid-70s. Agents as such are non new. Clearly LULAC and the American G.I. Forum had received heavy authorities support since the 1960s. In 1964, LULAC and the Forum began administrating the Service, Employment, and Redevelopment Agency ( SER ) . LULAC and the Forum obtained these grants because of their Washington connexions. D. Education: Inventing an American Tradition- U.S. education’s began with the innovation of the myth that it is every bit unfastened to all North Americans, a myth that is rooted in the Euroamerican belief that North America is the land of chance and that if person fails to do it, the mistake is his or her ain. Within the Euroamerican schools, category battle is regulated ; society is neatly stratified. By the terminal of the decennary, an all out war had been declared against bilingual instruction and educational quality. E. A Challenge to Male Domination – Chicano consciousness of the oppressive effects of sexism increased. Mexican adult females took leading functions in most groups. F. The Dialectics of Space: Communities Under Siege G. Justice USA 11 The Age of the Agents: The Rambo Years A. The Celebration of Success, Hispanic Style B. Sal Si Puedes ( â€Å"Get Out If You Can† ) C. The Urban Nightmare D. The Catholic Church: A Counterhegemonic Force? E. Final Portrayal: the Rambo Years F. Defending the American Way G. Central America: Another Vientam H. The Decline of the Blue-Collar Sector and its Impact on Chicanos I. Tendencies 32f