The Road Toward Contemporary Latino Politics, 1500s-1970s UNEVEN ROADS, CHAPTER 4

Origins of Today’s Latino Community Colonial expansion of the Spanish empire – 16th Century – into what is today Southwestern United States Florida Spanish migrants mixed with indigenous populations and African Americans in the Americas Latino politics emerges over time Racialization of the Spanish-origin / Spanish-ancestry population by White majority created near absolute barriers for Latinos Latinos organized to assert rights in U.S. society Pre-Civil Rights-era Latino history shaped by Mexican Americans Puerto Ricans Cuban Americans

Colonial Beginnings Spanish exploration and conquest Spanish colonists predated colonization by Northern Europeans Spanish migration to what is now the United States at the far ends of the European trade routes Populations low Landholdings large Spanish conquest of Aztec Empire (1519) Mexican independence from Spain (1821) transfers sovereignty of what is now U.S. Southwest U.S. purchased Florida from Spain (1819) Adams–Onís Treaty

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848) Ended the U.S.-Mexican War (1845-1848) Provisions Transfer of one-half of Mexico’s territory to the United States Grant of U.S. citizenship to former Mexican subjects who remained in what became the United States Protection of land rights of new U.S. citizens Native Americans in former Mexican territory not granted U.S. citizenship State governments often failed to enforce Treaty provisions Example of an uneven road for Mexican Americans Pre-War Mexican elite – small to begin with – declined considerably and largely disappeared by 1900

Pre-War Mexican Elites and the Transition to U.S. Rule Texas an independent nation 1835-1845 Texas governance included Tejanos (Texans of Mexican/Spanish ancestry) and Anglos Tejanos among the signatories to the Texas constitution Initial California state constitution (1849) recognized Spanish-language Elite class interests ensured guarantees of land ownership protections in Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848) Manifest Destiny too easy an explanation – both Mexican subjects and Anglos worked together against Mexico.

Destruction of 19th Century Mexican American Politics Elite political decline Economic disempowerment Loss of Mexican American land holdings Proving ownership in court Squatters Property taxes Shift from ranch to farm model of agriculture Demographic changes in the Southwest Rapid in-migration of Anglos from the East Slow migration from Mexico Intermarriage between Anglos and Mexican elites

Rebirth of Mexican American Politics, Early 1900s New migration from Mexico and the emergence of a new ethnic identity Labor recruitment grows as Southwestern economy is integrated into U.S. economy Mexican government loses ability to restrict emigration Migration from Mexico increases from 31,188 (1900-1909) to 498,945 (1900-1929) Racialized disenfranchisement Civic organizing in Mexican American communities Mutualist organizations – meet specific collective needs Catholic Church – Junipero Serra – 18th century Union organizing in some trades – IWW (International Workers of the World) Civic organizing – regional organizations The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) (1929) El Congreso de Pueblos Que Hablan Español (the Congress of Spanish-Speaking Peoples) (1939) Different visions for Mexican American civic, political, and social incorporation

From Civic Activism to Political Engagement Electoral “firsts” Edward Roybal Henry B. Gonzalez Raymond Telles Community-based political organizations critical to these and other “firsts” Mexican American Political association (MAPA) Political Association of Spanish-Speaking Organizations (PASSO Community Service Organization Viva Kennedy! Targeted outreach Kennedy presidential campaign A first … that may have cemented the Kennedy victory

Different Paths Experienced by Puerto Ricans and Cuban Americans Empire building and the White Man’s Burden Spanish defeat in the Spanish-American War (1898) Puerto Rico established as a U.S. colony Puerto Ricans granted U.S. citizenship by statute (Jones–Shafroth Act, 1917) Rep. William Jones(D-Vir)/S. John Shafroth(D-Col) Cuba granted a tempered independence War sped what had previously been a slow migration from the Caribbean Florida New York Largely a labor / working class migration No pre-War elite to destroy Cuban and Puerto Rican labor quickly the target of union mobilization and New York ethnic politics

Puerto Rican Politics in the Pre-Latino Era Local electoral victories beginning in the 1930s Intermittent mobilization and disenfranchisement in New York politics Mobilization of Puerto Ricans in the United States by the government of Puerto Rico Economic and social challenges Surge in migration after World War II Urban economies in the U.S. cities begin to decline in the 1960s

The Cuban Revolution and the Rise of Cuban American Politics Long history of short-term political migration from Cuba to the United States after changes in Cuban government 1959-1960 migrants assumed a quick return Cold War policies spurred significant U.S. investment in Cuban refugee community $2-$4 billion between 1959 and 1980 Unintentional settlement policy Slowed the development of Cuban American politics Mariel boatlift and native responses

Civil Rights Organizing in Latino Communities, 1960s-1970s Post-War era characterized by economic gains and new opportunities for White ethnics, but not Latinos Political and economic discrimination linked experiences of Latinos and African Americans Latino civil rights organizing took a variety of forms Land rights claims Voter mobilization Youth organizing focusing on education Labor organizing Nationalist demand making Shared demand across new organizations – full incorporation regardless of ethnicity

Beginning of the Latino Political Era Emergence of a collective Latino identity Shared experiences with exclusion from U.S. society based on language and nation-origin based discrimination Begins as elite effort to demand redress PL 94-311 – Americans of Spanish Origin – Social Statistics Law (Collection of data similar to AA and Whites) Extension of the Voting Rights Act to language minorities, including Latinos (1975) Latino identity added to 1980 Census – ethnic not racial category

Latino Racialization Mexican Americans Puerto Ricans Cuban Americans Class based exclusion (early-post U.S.-Mexican War) Race/ethnicity as near absolute barrier (late 19th Century) Declining racialization in response to civic and political organizing (20th Century) Puerto Ricans Disenfranchisement based on race/ethnicity and class (early-20th Century) Civic organizing reduces group-based barriers (Civil Rights era) Cuban Americans U.S. government support for political objectives of post-Revolution Cuban émigrés make race/ethnicity an inconsequential barrier Local responses to Mariel and duration of Cuban migration raise salience of ethnic differences