Chapter One
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.
The symbol of the melting pot originated in Israel Zangwill's play of the same name published in 1909. At that time Americans were beginning to question the effect of the stream of immigrants which had poured into the country during the nineteenth century. They wondered if alien ideas and customs threatened American institutions and unity.
Zangwill coined the "melting pot" phrase in answer to these criticisms. It symbolized his belief that representatives of the world's people, after arriving in America, were uniformly transformed and fused into a new and finer nation - the United States. This picturesque expression calmed the misgivings of the time; as a result, immigration quotas which had been contemplated were not imposed until after World War I.
In the 1970s ethnic Americans are becoming more aware of the culture they brought with them, and how they still express this in the United States. The melting-pot concept is being questioned. Have the immigrants to America really been absorbed in a melting pot? Is this desirable?
Many immigrant Americans still live in ethnic neighborhoods in our cities, although their children have often moved to the suburbs. Old customs, ways of worship and celebration, are still observed by these groups in their community. We may be familiar with fairs and other events where ethnic foods are sold, crafts and art work are displayed, and dances are demonstrated.
These expressions of their culture show how the ideas and ideals of a nation of origin have formed a people's customs and their own ways of doing things through a long history and tradition. Such expressions give visibility to the roots of ways of family and community life. They keep people together and give them the necessary stability and strength to go out to work and live with the other communities of a city.
We can appreciate why it is not necessary for the United States to be a melting pot. People can still preserve their own unique ways of expressing family and community traditions and values while cooperating with others in the civic and political affairs of a city toward the good of all.
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