1. Mexican American History
1848-present
Chicano=
Mexican American

2. 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

3. 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)

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. World War II: Bracero Program
WWII: Chicano farm workers got jobs in factories
Bracero Program ( ): 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

10. 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

12. 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?