Mexican Americans and Politics Class 2 January 12, 2006 How Do You Start History? Are There Consequences to When You Begin the Story? Mexican Americans and Politics Class 2 January 12, 2006

Is There A Consequence to Where You Begin the Story? 1835 1848

The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo The U.S.-Mexican War (1845-1848) The negotiations Provisions Repatriation and retention of Mexican citizenship U.S. citizenship Land rights Partial abrogation Federalism Administration of land rights

Mexican (American) Politics and Society in 1848 Choice of citizenship Mexican American elites central to state politics Spanish a language of governance Economics Southwest and California incorporated into U.S. economy Small Mexican (American) middle class Society Mexican class system and social institutions Mexican American population small – 75,000-100,000

Dynamics of Change (1848-1860) Politics Economics Society Reduction of Mexican American elite political rights Removal of Spanish from political discourse Economics (Beginning of) Mexican American loss of land Labor shortage spurring migration from East (not South) Gold rush Railroads Society Replacement of Mexican elites and institutions with Anglo elites and institutions

Partial Exceptions New Mexico Texas border (the Rio Grande Valley) Greater Mexican American population concentration Small Mexican American middle class Less incorporated into U.S. economy than Texas or California Mexican American dominance of politics into 1900s Texas border (the Rio Grande Valley) Smaller Anglo population Some cross-border migration Mexican Americans retain control of land into 1900s

Mexican American Politics at its Nadir (1860-1900) Destruction of Mexican American political leadership Disenfranchisement of poor and minorities in South Emergence of political machines dependent on Mexican American votes Some local resistance – Las Gorras Blancas

Nadir (Economic) Economic Decline in Mexican American elite / continued loss of land No Mexican American middle class Patron-client relationships among landless Emergence of unions in Mexican American areas Economy of Southwest dependent on land and land was a poor investment in this era Few economic opportunities for the poor

Nadir (Social) Social Mexican Americans predominantly rural “Whitening” of elite / exogamy Few cooperative institutions Little contact across Mexican American communities Little new migration (domestic or international)

Mexican Immigration to Permanent Residence

Blacks & Mexican Americans in the late-19th Century Both lost politics rights Blacks—formal denial of political rights Mexican Americans Loss of economic resources that allowed for leadership Manipulation of Mexican participation Roots of division with Blacks—Mexican Americans recognized by courts as “white” Each has “exceptions” (that proved the rule)

For Next Time How were Las Gorras Blancas able to challenge Anglo domination in Northern New Mexico? What resources did they have? Was it a movement primarily of the socially/economically disadvantaged?