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A History of the Mexican-American People JULIAN SAMORA, Professor of Sociology and Anthropology, is director of the University of Notre Dame's Mexican-American Graduate Studies Program. He is the editor of La Raza: Forgotten Americans and author of Los Mojados: The Wetback Story. PATRICIA VANDEL SIMON holds a Master of Arts degree from Stanford University in Hispanic American and Lusa-Brazilian Studies. She is the researcher/director for a film series on Chicano history for Multi-Media Productions, Inc., and a frequent contributor to Hispanic American Report. Copyright © 1993 by Contents A History of the Mexican-American
People Contents PART ONE The Indian-Spanish Heritage CHAPTER
1 Introduction Chapter
2 The Mexican Americans CHAPTER 3 Conquest of Mexico CHAPTER 4 Dreamers and Schemers CHAPTER 5 Farms and Forts-The
Expanding Settlement CHAPTER 6 The Buffer State CHAPTER 7 Mission Settlements Acknowledgments We wish to thank the following persons and institutions for their help in the writing of this book: Juan Garcia and Kenneth Barber researched and drafted the preliminary versions of the chapters on Mexican-American organizations. The students in a seminar on The Chicano Movement read and criticized the total manuscript. Dr. Cordelia Candelaria, Professor of English at Stanford University, wrote the chapter on literature and the arts, "A Rich Tradition Continues." Prof. Alberto Pulido of Arizona State University wrote the new chapter on Mexican American religion. Irene Hinojosa typed innumerable versions of the manuscript. Mr. Raul Ruiz gave us permission to use the article on Rueben Salazar from La Raza Magazine. Stanford University Libraries and the Libraries of the University of California at Berkley gave access to resources which made much of the historical research possible. Multi-Media Productions, Inc., Palo Alto, California, provided access to photographic files accumulated in the production of audio-visual materials in Mexican American history. The editors at the University of Notre Dame Press, in particular John Ehmann and Ann Rice, were most helpful throughout the preparation of the book. We alone are responsible for the flaws in the final product. Julian Samora Patricia Vandel Simon Mexican American-an American of Mexican descent. Mexicano - strictly speaking a Mexican; it is also often used for a Mexican American. Chicano - a Spanish-speaking person of the southwestern United States; this term is derived from Mexicano and stresses historical and cultural ties with Mexico ethnic nationalism and activism. Hispano - a Spanish-speaking person; in the Southwest it often refers to the descendant of the 17th- and 18th-century colonizers. Latino - a person of Latin-American ancestry in general, including Mexicanos and Chicanos, among others. Mexicano, Chicano, Hispano, Mexican American, Spanish American, and Latino are often used interchangeably in the Southwest. La Raza - all Spanish-speaking people of the New World collectively, with overtones of a common spirit and destiny. Anglo - an American of Anglo-Saxon ancestry; a non-Mexican American. Gringo - a derogatory term for whites or Anglos. Rinche - a derogatory term for a Texas Ranger. Migra - a derogatory term for officials of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, generally members of the Border Patrol Our study of Mexican-American history stems from an interest in the subject which spans many years. During this time, the authors have been deeply concerned over the inadequacies of American history as it is taught in schools throughout the United States, whether at the elementary, secondary, or college level. Invariably, this history is biased because it begins with the Pilgrim fathers and English colonists, and emphasizes the - westward movement of English culture. It neglects almost entirely events which occurred on the North American continent prior to 1600. Furthermore, American textbooks, whether of history, political science, sociology, or social studies, tend to neglect present-day minority groups that make up a significant proportion of the population of the United States. Some groups are scarcely mentioned. If they are mentioned, their contributions to the development of American society are not treated adequately. What does an American Indian think when told that Columbus discovered America, yet his own ancestors inhabited the continent long before Columbus arrived? What does a black American think when being portrayed: as a person whose enslavement, was justified by the belief that Africa had no viable cultures? How does a Chinese American feel when being described as inscrutable, a "coolie," and part of a yellow peril? Similar questions can be raised about other minorities - Japanese, Puerto Rican, Filipino, Korean, and so forth. Mexican Americans are such a minority group. They have long been given minor roles in history books. More often than not, Mexican Americans do not appear in U.S. history textbooks, except for a brief mention of "Spanish" history and possibly in texts dealing with the Mexican-American War. It is our belief that any history of the United States - and specifically the southwestern United States - is incomplete and fails to provide a basis for understanding contemporary society unless the Mexican-American contribution is fully covered. Present-day American society is a consequence of fusions of various cultures which have occurred over a period of several hundred years. In order to understand the present, it is necessary to understand the factors contributing to its development. The Mexican American is an important element of modern American society. And he, too, is a product of cultural fusions which have occurred over the centuries. His culture, a significant aspect of southwestern American society, has developed from the fusion, first, of Spanish and Mexican Indian cultures and the subsequent introduction of northern Indian, European, Anglo American, and modern Mexican cultures. Thus, to understand the Mexican American, we must look back in history and trace the various influences that have created his unique, present-day culture. Our purpose in writing this book is to place in proper perspective the Mexican American contribution to the history of the United States and to fill the gap which exists in that history. Any book must have certain limitations imposed on it by the authors and the subject matter. Obviously, a comprehensive history of the geographical area that now comprises the United States should begin with the American Indian. It should then take up the sixteenth century explorations, settlements, and colonization efforts of Spain. Only later would the Pilgrim fathers and other English colonists appear on the scene. However, we are not writing a comprehensive history of the United States - an effort which would require many volumes - but rather of Mexican Americans. We must limit our discussion, then, to this population. We will not consider Indian history in its entirety, nor the history of the United States as such. But we will discuss those influences as they are related to the development of Mexican Americans. The text will follow an orderly progression of Mexican-American cultural development. In the second chapter, we will state as clearly as possible what we mean by the term "Mexican American." We will also present demographic characteristics and the current status of Mexican Americans in the United States in terms of numbers and concentration in geographical areas. Since a history of Mexican Americans must invariably begin with the Indian heritage and the Spanish heritage, we will review why Spain came to the New World and how the Spaniards met and conquered the native Americans. We will concentrate on the area that is now Mexico rather than on the total Western Hemisphere. We will briefly discuss the general culture and social organization of native Americans in Mexico at the time of the Spanish conquest of that area. The territory that comprises present-day Mexico was conquered by the Spanish very quickly; this is the subject of chapter 3. In chapters 4 through 7, we shall see how the Spanish explorers moved north into the land that we now call the United States and we will show what their motivations were. We will also indicate the groups of people they encountered, how they treated or mistreated them, what kinds of settlements and colonies they established, and what this meant to the native Americans as well as to the Spaniards. This period of approximately three hundred years, from the early 1500s to the early 1800s, constitutes Part I of the book, "The Indian Spanish Heritage." Part II is entitled "The Foreign Intrusion." These six chapters (chapter 8 through chapter 13) discuss what happened in the United States from the early 1800s to the beginning of the twentieth century. At the beginning of that period, Spain was fairly well entrenched in what is now the southwestern and western parts of the United States, having colonized areas that are now the states of California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. Events in other areas proved to be of great importance to the Southwest. During the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, European nations such as France, England, along with Russia, demonstrated a growing interest in the southwestern regions of North America. The thirteen original colonies, after rebelling against England and establishing a nation, began to show considerable interest in the territory beyond the first mountain frontiers. The United States eventually did acquire the territory between the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans, aided in the quest, to some extent, by the series of events which began with the revolt against England. After the American Revolution, other European colonies in the Western Hemisphere began to follow the American example, revolting against the mother country. During the early years of the nineteenth century, Portugal lost Brazil. And one after another of Spain's many colonies declared independence and began the battle for national sovereignty. The nineteen Spanish-speaking nations of Mexico and Central and South America resulted from these rebellions . Chapter 9 discusses in some detail the formation of the nation of Mexico. After Mexico won independence from Spain, the new republic included all of presentday Mexico as well as all of the territory that today constitutes the five southwestern states of the United States and more territory farther north. Chapter 10 examines the first American influx, describing how settlers from the United States came to Texas with the approval of the Mexican government. Within a few years, these settlers revolted against Mexico and formed their own republic. Then and in the years that followed, the United States pushed farther and father westward, as described in chapter 11. Under the banner of Manifest Destiny - the belief that God had destined the nation to be a territory bordered on the east and west by the Atlantic and the Pacific-the United States encroached upon Mexican territories and finally provoked a war in 1846 that enabled her to take more than half of Mexico's national territory. Chapter 12 examines the treaty which ended the Mexican-American War and the violations of this treaty by the United States. The consequences of these violations are still with us today and discussions of such topics as land claims and bilingual education are of continuing concern. The third section of the book, called "The Mexican Heritage," attempts to explain the modern-day Mexican influence on the history of the Mexican American. In chapter 14, we discuss the Mexican Revolution and its impact on both Mexicans and Mexican Americans. The first of the larger migrations from Mexico is presented. During the second decade of this century, events in Europe also had a considerable effect on the history of Mexican Americans. When the United States entered World War I and the defense industries began to develop, and as the industrial and agricultural development of the Southwest continued, improved job opportunities attracted increasing numbers of Mexicans to the United States. Mexicans and Mexican Americans became the main source of cheap labor in the southwestern part of the United States particularly, and in other parts of the country as well. It is primarily their labor that built the farms, the railroads, and the industries in the southwestern states. It is Mexicans who, in large proportion, continue to be the sowers and harvesters of the fields today. During the Great Depression of the 1930s, Mexicans were repatriated to Mexico in large numbers. World War II brought them back to the United States in even greater numbers as contract laborers and as illegal aliens. The consequences of this large movement of people are discussed in chapter 15. The last part of this book, Part TV, we call "The New Awareness." We attempt to show, in these chapters, the progression of events from the middle 1950s to the present time. Chapter 16 examines the Mexican American in an industrial and urban age. We see how two world wars and a great depression have changed the character of the Mexican American in terms of his status and situation. Often his entire way of life has been changed from that of a rural person to that of a person living in a large urban society. We show, too, how difficult this change has been for the Mexican American. In chapter 17, we discuss the question of discrimination and prejudice and the Mexican American's struggle for civil rights, justice, and an important place in the scheme of American society. Chapters 18 and 19 trace the beginnings and development of organizations within the Mexican-American community which are working for political, economic, and social betterment. Chapter 20 presents the Mexican American's contribution to art and literature. A critique is made of the various art forms: poetry, drama (in particular the teatros), and the novel. In conclusion, we provide a summary of the history of Mexican Americans. More important, perhaps, we have attempted to look into the future, to speculate on what the years ahead may hold for the Mexican-American population. It is our hope that all who read this book will gain an appreciation and understanding of the forces which have molded this frequently neglected segment of our population. We hope, too, that Mexican Americans may find themselves throughout this history and that, having read it, will have a greater appreciation of themselves, develop positive identity as a group, and gain pride in the tremendous heritage and the great contributions Mexican Americans and their ancestors have made to our society.
Chapter 2 The Mexican Americans There are no "pure" races in the world. In tracing the heredity of any group we soon discover that a great diversity of physical, social, and cultural traits are represented within a people. Mexican Americans are no exception. First among their ancestors, the Mexican Americans can count a great variety of native Americans - that is, the many Indian groups who once lived in Mexico and the American Southwest. Another major component is European, for Mexican Americans are also descended from the Spaniards who came to this hemisphere during the early periods of exploration, conquest, and settlement. But we must remember that the Indians themselves are a mixture of many groupings and the Spaniards are the product of the "melting pot" of Caucasian European peoples and Arabic and black admixtures from Africa. Some blacks were involved also in the early history of exploration and colonization of the Spanish territories in the New World. Finally, during the 1800s, another element was added to the ancestry and hence the physical makeup of Mexican Americans: namely, "Americans," who themselves are a mixture of all peoples of the world, even though they are predominantly of Caucasian, European background. Who then are the Mexican Americans? They are a mixture of diverse peoples. In many, the Indian racial types predominate. Most are dark of complexion with black hair, traits inherited in large part from their Indian ancestors. But many are blond, blue-eyed, and "white," while others have red hair and hazel eyes. This population is so varied physically that the stereotype of the Mexican who is short and stout, with dark brown complexion and black hair, does not really hold true. Thus the Mexican Americans are obviously not a distinct race. This fact is reflected in the names they bear. Most have Spanish surnames. But many Mexican Americans have surnames which are obviously not Spanish, such as Weaver, Gold, Taylor, McCormick, Glass, Von Robineau, Baptiste, and Davis. The mixing of peoples which has created the Mexican American continues today. Although we do not have accurate statistics regarding intermarriages, isolated studies suggest that in some areas, perhaps 25 percent of Mexican Americans have married non-Mexican Americans. The United States census of 1970, which enumerated people of Spanish origin (including Mexican Americans), indicated that 25 percent of those people of Spanish origin were married to people of non-Spanish origin. In numerical terms, it is difficult to follow the history of Mexican Americans in the United States because the U.S. Census Bureau has been inconsistent in its reporting. Beginning in the 1970s, the Census Bureau became aware of the Mexican-American population as an ethnic population and began to deal with it. To date, most other federal agencies have not performed as well. Before the 1930s, about the only estimate available concerning the numbers of Mexican Americans in the United States came from rather inaccurate statistics of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, which recorded Mexican immigrants. This, of course, tells us nothing about the population that was already here when Mexico was conquered in 1846. In 1930 the United States Census Bureau attempted to enumerate this population under the heading of "Mexican." Census takers were instructed to record all persons born in Mexico or having parents born in Mexico, if these persons were not definitely white, Negro, Indian, Chinese, or Japanese. This definition, of course, confused racial and cultural concepts and it excluded all persons who were not born in Mexico or who did not have parents born there. Further complicating the issue, the standards changed each time the census was taken. The Bureau of the Census dropped the classification of "Mexican" in 1940 and attempted to enumerate this and other foreign-language groups by using the criterion of language spoken in the home. This enumeration was again inadequate because for some persons of Mexican or Spanish descent the principal language was English while for others it was Spanish. Ten years later the Bureau of the Census again changed its criterion for enumerating the "Mexican" population. A list of several thousand Spanish surnames was compiled, to be used as the means of identification. But as we have seen, many people who would call themselves Mexican American do not have a Spanish surname. Moreover, the 1950 census survey was limited to the five southwestern states and the Mexican American population living outside of that geographical area was not enumerated. Further, many Native Americans in the Southwest have a Spanish surname. Thus it is impossible to compare the numbers of Mexican Americans before 1930 with those enumerated in the census of 1930 or 1940 or 1950. In none of those years was the same criterion for identification used, and in 1950 the enumeration was limited to the five southwestern states. In 1960 the Census Bureau used the same criterion as in 1950. For the first time it was possible to compare one enumeration with another. But this held true only for the five southwestern states. Although we do have some indication as to the number of Mexican Americans in the Southwest in 1950 and 1960, we have no indication of the population count for the rest of the United States. Before the next census was taken in 1970, the Bureau was persuaded, under pressure, to change its categories for the enumeration of the Mexican-American population. The results have given us a much clearer, although not ideal, demographic picture of Mexican Americans in the United States. It should be noted here that this particular population has been known by a variety of names. The descendants of those who explored and colonized the Southwest before the nineteenth century and who, in fact, lived under the flag of Spain, have often been called or have called themselves Spanish Americans. The name Spanish American described them well since the original settlers did come from Spain. But the name failed to take into consideration the admixtures with the native population. After the revolutions against the mother country, this area became Mexico and its inhabitants became Mexican. But as Anglo-Americans settled in this area, the term Mexican gradually took on disparaging connotations. Therefore, Spanish Amer7can-particularly for some areas of northern New Mexico, southern Colorado, parts of Arizona and parts of California- became the preferred term. When the term Mexican was used in English it was considered to be quite derogatory, yet when the term Mexicano was used in Spanish by the Spanish-speaking, it was quite acceptable. In Texas the term Mexican acquired such bad connotations that for years Mexican Americans have been known as Latins or Latin Americans. Other terms have been used to describe this population. In California, Californios has been used; in New Mexico Manitos (coming from the word hermano, meaning "brother") or Hispano; in Texas, Tejano. The term Spanish surname as used by the Bureau of the Census has not been popular and Spanish-speaking includes so many other people that it does not describe the Mexican-American population well. The term La Raza, which literally means "the race," but popularly means "the group" or "the people," seems to be acceptable to all, but it is as encompassing as Latino or Hispano. In recent years a new term has evolved and that is Chicano. It appears that even though some object to it, this term will become most popular and will be used in the future to describe the Mexican-American population. In recent years the term Hispanic has been widely used to include Mexican-American, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central American, and South American people. Before 1970, the United States Census Bureau had become aware that the criteria it was using for enumerating the population was less than adequate. In preparation for the 1970 census, a group of consultants was called in to give advice concerning the categories and the criteria to be used. The consultants suggested that Mexican Americans should be counted throughout the country, not just in the five southwestern states, and that a self-identification process be used whereby people would be asked if they considered themselves to be Mexican American. It was also suggested that the term Mexican American be broken down in such a way to include Chicano, Mexicano, and Spanish American and that other populations be enumerated on the principle of self-identification. When the question was finally worded on the forms, it asked: "Are you of Mexican descent?" This of course, would tend to confuse those who were not of Mexican descent but considered themselves Mexican American, namely those who were Spanish American. The question was placed under the category of persons of Spanish origin and this category included people of Mexican descent, Puerto Ricans, Central and South Americans, Cubans, and other Spanish and it was asked in all states. The enumeration of white persons with Spanish surnames, which was begun in 1950 and continued in 1960, was also made in 1970 for the five southwestern states. Thus, the five southwestern states will have comparable data for the decades of the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. Since the self-identification question was asked for the first time in 1970 throughout the United States on a sample basis, we now have new data for the entire country. A second question concerning the use of Spanish in the home was also included in the 1970 census for the total United States. Researchers will now have comparable data on Spanish surnames for the five southwestern states from 1950-1970. And regarding the entire United States, there will be data based on self-identification and language usage. The 1970 census estimated 9.07 million persons of Spanish origin, of whom 4.53 million were of Mexican origin. In March of 1973, the Census Bureau did a count but changed a few categories and methods of gathering data; the results showed a considerable increase in the population of Spanish origin (see Table 1). In April 1974, the United States Commission on Civil Rights published a report (Counting the Forgotten) in which the Census Bureau was charged with using procedures insensitive to this population. The commission further charged that uniform measures were not used, that adequate assistance was not provided, that bilingual census takers were insufficient in number, that the educational program was too small and that its failure to employ a sufficient number of persons of Spanish background contributed to the inability to enumerate this population effectively, leading to an undercount greater than that of the black population, which the Census Bureau placed at 7.7 percent for the 1970 census. Mexican Americans were a rural population before and during the 1940s. Today they have become a predominately urban population. The large concentrations of Mexican Americans are found in Los Angeles, the Bay area of San Francisco, San Antonio and other cities in Texas such as E1 Paso, Corpus Christi, Dallas, Fort Worth, and Houston. The cities of Texas along the United States-Mexico border also have considerable Mexican-American populations. In New Mexico the urban population of Mexican Americans is primarily in A1buquerque, Las Cruces, Santa Fe; in Arizona the urban Mexican-American population is centered in Phoenix and Tucson, and in Colorado the urban population is centered in Denver and Pueblo. In other parts of the United States, Mexican Americans have concentrated in Chicago and East Chicago Heights, Illinois; Gary and East Chicago, Indiana; Lansing, Saginaw, Flint, and Detroit, Michigan; Toledo, Ohio.; and Kansas City, Kansas. There are substantial numbers of Mexican Americans in some cities of Minnesota, Washington, Iowa, and in Washington, D.C. As to states, the majority of the population is in the five southwestern states with over 80 percent of those in the states of California and Texas. New Mexico and Illinois have the next largest concentrations, and Arizona and Colorado follow.
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