Historical Foundation
In the United States, before there was New England, there was New Spain; and before there was Boston, Mass., there was Santa Fe, N.M. The teaching of American history generally highlights the establishment and development of the British colonies in North America, their appearance as an independent nation in 1776, and the change of the United States from east to west. This action easily overlooks the fact that there was important colonization by Spain of what is now the American Southwest from the 16th century on. It also tends to disregard, until the Mexican War is talk about, that the whole Southwest, from Texas westward to California, was a Spanish-speaking territory with its own individual heritage, culture, and customs for several decades. The Spanish-speaking citizens of the United States who were combined into the country as a result of the Mexican War are called Mexican Americans. Their numbers have since enlarged as a result of immigration. Other Spanish-speaking citizens came from Cuba and Puerto Rico, and smaller numbers are immigrants from Central and South America and from the Dominican Republic. All together, these are the people who are called Hispanics, or Latinos.
Today 's Mexican Americans are a produce of historical change that arose more than four centuries ago, when Spain ruled Mexico and made it a colony. Formerly the territory was populated completely by Indians. The Mexican Americans are, therefore, the second oldest element of
Traditionally history of the Americas and American population has been taught in a direction heading west from Europe to the California frontier. In Recovering History, Constructing Race, Martha Mencahca locates the origins of the history of the Americas in a floral pattern where migration from Asia, Europe, and Africa both voluntary and forced converge magnetically in Mexico then spreads out again to the north and northeast. By creating this patters she complicates the idea of race, history, and nationality. The term Mexican, which today refers to a specific nationality
In Edward L. Hudgins article, What is an American?, Hudgins defines an American in ways I had not thought of before. Hudgins stated all these ideas about Americans being driven to do their best and meeting challenges head-on. I would like to think that being an American means everything Hudgins stated, however I think Hudgins is giving the optimistic answer of what being an American means. What Hudgins explains as being an American is what I believe most Americans were like when the country was first founded. The idea of taking risks and working until the risks paid off is one that most Americans do not believe because the possibility of actually achieve one’s dream is extremely less likely today than it was when the country was first established.
The Hispanic population has experienced an incredible growth in the past decade in the United States of America. In 2006 it was estimated that the Hispanic cover 11 % of the population in North America. Their Origin is in Mexico and the few Spanish speaking countries in the Caribbean. American culture is derived from people who originated from the European nations like Italy and the Great Britain. Cultural identity is very important for every ethnic group as it shapes the culture of that particular faction and therefore, a certain culture cannot realize its own values until it is exposed to another one.
Hispanic culture can be traced in the United States for more than 500 years when California, Mexican states, Florida and the Southwest were discovered by Spanish explorers. Mexico’s legal immigration in the United States is around about 7.5 million in a census made in 2008. When Mexico was under the Spanish Rule, Jose Francisco Canales an immigrant from Spain settle in the town of Monterrey. Canale’s family expanded their roots all the way up north of the Rio Grande by the help of Jose de Escandon. Escandon established several settlements over the years and becoming one of the most successful colonization during that period. Nuevo Santander was one of the most well
Mexican Americans are americans that are partial or full mexican descent. In the 1920’s Mexican Americans legally and illegally immigrated to the United States, even to other countries.
criollos, and mestizos (a mix between Spanish and Indians) went past their ethnic differences and
In early 19th century America, there was a shared feeling of exceptionalism, often leading to egocentrism and prejudice towards foreigners. This egocentrism and prejudice belief system has been passed down, and ignorance towards reforming these beliefs is evident throughout history. Many Americans believe that the colonies of Jamestown and Plymouth were the first settlements in America, thus that the Europeans who traveled across the Atlantic were the first to inhabit the New World. In fact, St. Augustine was a Spanish settlement in Florida established in 1565, 42 years prior to the Jamestown settlement and 55 years prior to the Plymouth settlement. Historical accounts of the American nation tend to neglect this information, resulting in American citizens believing that people of Spanish and Mexican descent do not belong, when in reality, they settled America first. Furthermore, American history tends to neglect mentioning the resistance which Anglo-Americans met as they expanded westward into lands which Native Americans and Mexicans lived in. Accordingly, people of Mexican descent occupied present-day Texas when Anglo-Americans first arrived. Through brutal, immoral, and unjust conquering, Texas became a state separate from Mexico, disregarding the Tejanos of Mexican descent and forcing them to migrate elsewhere.
The Guadalupe Hidalgo Treaty in 1848 and the Gadsden Purchase in 1853 dictated the border between the United States and Mexico. The people of the region that surrounds both the United States and Mexican sides of the border have a very similar past. The original inhabitants were Native American societies, then the Spanish came to the “New World” and, by a perceived divine right, took the land away from the natives and claimed the land for Spain. After the Spanish settled into the area the English speaking nations came and claimed the lands from the earlier Spanish settlers and Native Americans who
| The United States citizens who are Spanish-speaking who were somehow brought into the country due to the end results of the Mexican War are considered as being Mexican Americans. Hispanic immigration into the United States is caused because of two reasons: an escape from any political persecution and for economic opportunities (Rodriguez, 1995).
Hispanic Americans are Americans of Spanish-speaking descent. Many Hispanic Americans are the descendants of Mexican people who lived in the Southwest when it became part of the United States. Almost all other Hispanic Americans or their ancestors migrated to the United States from Latin America. The three largest Hispanic groups in
The history of Hispanic/Latino Americans extends the whole way back to 400 years ago and differs between the regions in the United States. Their existence is the second longest, right behind Native Americans. It is not unusual to hear Spanish being spoken while walking down the roads of an American city. Less than 4 million U.S. citizens were from Spanish-speaking countries in 1950. If we look at this number today, it has gone up to 45 million people. About 50 percent of Hispanics have backgrounds in Mexico, while the other 50 percent come from an assortment of countries. These countries include Colombia, El Salvador, and the Dominican Republic. About 36 percent of Hispanics in the U.S. live in California. Many Hispanics populate states including
Hispanics have greatly influenced U.S. culture. Their contributions have impacted just about every aspect of society and they have become a part of our nation’s diversity. Hispanics are typically defined as people from Spanish speaking countries or directly from Spain. According the to U.S. Census Bureau (2015), Hispanics make up more than 17% of the population with 55 million living in the United States.
Mexican Americans were decedents of Mexico, or “Estados Unidos Mexicanos” as their culture would say. Mexico is bordered by the “United States to the north, the Gulf of Mexico to the east, Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea to the southeast, and the Pacific to the south and west” (Englekirk & Marin, 2014). In this area, the population consist of 75 million people between these locations. According to Englekirk and Marin (2014) Mexico’s earliest occupants were hunters from Asia. Prior to the 16th century civilizations such as Mayan, Aztec, Toltec, and more, built societies amongst themselves in these areas. In 1951 Hernan Cortes conquered this area, thus establishing Mexico and their culture. Three groups were mixed to form
Mexican Americans (Spanish: mexico-americanos or estadounidenses de origen mexicano) are Americans of full or partial Mexican descent. As of July 2013, Mexican Americans made up 10.9% of the United States' population, as 34.6 million U.S. residents identified as being of full or partial Mexican ancestry.[1] As of July 2013, Mexican Americans comprised 64.1% of all Hispanics and Latinos in the United States.[1]
American society is known for having the highest standard of living across the globe; this is solely due to the consumerist culture that is brought forth by capitalism. Americans in the U.S. take pride in these standards and in the freedoms that this democratic nation has established. The 20th century will always be remembered in American history as a century of radical changes on the social and political fronts of the nation. Literature, too, evolved quickly from specific, compartmentalized fields which fit into categories, to works which had no set definition—nobody knew what to do with them. These changes also took place in poetry; artistic expression began to change across the arts and so did the mediums. Poets across the nation