Mexican American History 1848-present Chicano= Mexican American

Mexican-American War, 1846-1848 Causes: -disputes over border -American settlement of Mexican territory Result: -U.S. Army seized Mexico City -Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo signed to end war

Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo, 1848 Mexico gave nearly half its land to USA (Entire Southwest U.S.--Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado) U.S. promise to Mexicans living in new terr.: 1) to respect their right to the land 2) U.S. citizenship (nearly 80,000 stayed)

Transformation to Second-Class Citizens, late 1800s Loss of Land: Mexican land owners had to prove right to their land in U.S. court -U.S. gov’t did not recognize Mexican or Spanish land grants -Landowners often had to sell their land to pay legal fees No land to ranch or farm work for whites Barrios: segregated Mexican American neighborhoods, U.S. cities often built around Mexican settlements

Immigration to U.S., 1900s •1910 Revolution in Mexico caused wave of immigration to U.S. 1920s: Over 500,000 Mexicans came to U.S. on permanent visas (work permits) Benefits: Higher pay, more safety in U.S. Segregation: Schools, restaurants, theaters, other public places “whites only” until 1940s

Great Depression=Deportation Dust Bowl: major drought in Midwest; 2.5 million farmers migrated west to find work Repatriation Program: U.S. gov’t pressured Mexican farm workers to return to Mexico -Search for “illegal aliens” began, those without legal residency permits deported

World War II: Bracero Program WWII: Chicano farm workers got jobs in factories Bracero Program (1942-1964): U.S. gov’t shipped in more Mexicans, under contract to U.S. growers and ranchers -Temporary workers: expected to return to Mexico Operation Wetback (1953): INS swept Mexican American communities, deporting over 1 million illegal immigrants

Farm Workers’ Movement, 1960s Cesar Chavez led push to unionize farm workers (strike/better conditions) UFW founded 1962 (United Farm Workers union) 1966: 340-mile march from Delano, CA to Sacramento, CA 1966: Grape Boycott 1968: Hunger Strike 1970: grape growers accepted contract with UFW

Present Day 2000 census: 13% of Americans identified as Hispanic (59% of them Mexican) 87% of these live in West and South Issues: 1) Crackdown on illegal immigration (Border Patrol, AZ profiling law) 2) Guest-worker program, amnesty for some illegal immigrants?