Brief History of Mexico
Early Border History
The Texas independence struggle, also known as the Texas Revolution, occurred in 1836 and resulted in Texas' formal separation from Mexico. After Texas won its independence from Mexico, it was annexed by the US in 1845. However, there were disputes between the governments of the US and Mexico over the true borderline dividing the two territories. The US maintained that it was the Río Grande but Mexico claimed it was the Nueces River. In an attempt to secure the territory retrieved from the annexation of Texas, President James Polk ordered US troops to occupy the territory between the two rivers. Both sides then declared war against one another. The Mexican-American War, fought between the United States and Mexico, lasted from 1846 to 1848. To Mexicans, the war was and is still known as the US Intervention or Invasion of Mexico. This is significant because Mexicans view the war as an infringement on the sovereignty of their state. The US, led by General Taylor, defeated President Santa Anna and his troops in the key battles of the war. In turn, the Mexicans were forced to concede and signed the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo to formally end the war in 1848.
The Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo, signed on February 2, 1848 by Santa Anna and Nicolas Trist, ended the Mexican-American War. It forced Mexico to cede fifty-five percent of its territory, known as the Mexican Cession, in exchange for fifteen million US dollars as repayment for war-related damage to Mexican property. This treaty claimed parts of present day Texas, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, Wyoming and all of California, Nevada and Utah. Other provisions included the creation of the Texas border at the Río Grande and the protection of civil and property rights for those living within the new boundary. The Gadsden Purchase, essentially an extension of the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo, was signed by Santa Anna and James Gadsden in 1853 for ten million US dollars. This purchase secured the remainder of the present day states of Arizona and New Mexico.
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
Mexican Revolution
The Mexican Revolution (1910) began as an attempt to overthrow President Porfirio Diaz, a dictator who restricted free expression and free elections. Another reason for the revolution was the unequal distribution of wealth among the population. Young leaders, such as Francisco I. Madero, were opposed to the Diaz regime and formed the "Anti-reeleccionista" party. This party promoted Diaz's renunciation of power and his decision to not seek re-election. Madero's strong political ideas led to his imprisonment in San Luis Potosi. After fleeing to the US in 1910, he issued the "Plan of San Luis" that declared the elections void and refused to acknowledge Diaz as the legitimate President of the Republic. Madero promised to return all appropriated land to the peasants, voting rights and to limit each president to only one term. He called for an uprising on November 20, 1910, which marked the official beginning of the Mexican Revolution. In 1911, Emiliano Zapata led one of the peasants' uprisings for local rights causing the outbreak of many armed revolts throughout the country. The troops from Diaz's army were defeated within six months. The capture of the Cuidad Juarez signified the end of the revolution. Diaz resigned as president, was exiled and Francisco I. Madero became Mexico's president. The economic and political crisis in Mexico at the time of the revolution forced more than a million Mexicans to migrate to the United States in the two decades following the revolution. This migration dramatically increased the Mexican influence in the American Southwest and facilitated the union of Mexican and Anglo-American culture.
The Chicano Movement
The year 1950 marked the beginnings of the Chicano movement, mainly in California. In 1958, the Mexican-American Political Association was the first organization that attempted to gain ground within the movement. In the past, the word Chicano had been used as a derogatory term to refer to Mexican-Americans. However, during the 1960s, the militants and Mexican-Americans wanted to change the meaning of the word and began to use it to fuel a sense of empowerment and pride in their identity. These groups began to call themselves members of La Raza in order to identify themselves with an indigenous past. The word Chicano is derived from mexica, a term the Aztecs used to identify themselves. Aztecas implied that these people originated from Aztlan.
Chicano high school and college students began to form groups such as the Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlán. Those who felt they were directly participating in the movement called the Chicano movement La Causa. In the 1960s, Chicanos saw Martin Luther King, Jr. working for civil rights for African-Americans living in the United States, and they decided to organize to better their economic, civil and social situation. During the beginning years, Reies Lopez Tijerina led the Chicano movement because of his involvement with civil rights. Another leader named Rodolfo "Corky" Gonzales proclaimed that the Chicano people of the southwest were Aztlan. This implied that they were in need of liberation from the dominant society and must achieve this liberation through sacrifice and isolation. The followers of Gonzales' organization later became militants within the Chicano movement.
The movement reached its peak in the 1960s, demanding equal employment opportunities and voter registration. In 1970, the Raza Unida political party was formed and most of its members were radical youth. Cesar Chavez was another important leader of the Chicano movement. He was peaceful yet an activist. Chavez became the president of the United Farm Workers Association to fight for higher wages and benefits, and against economic and racial discrimination.
Throughout the history of Mexico, the border has become a central issue. Early Mexican history was a struggle for territorial domains that demonstrate the physical significance of the border. The early treaties and negotiations between the Mexican and US governments displaced many Mexicans not in a physical sense but in a political and cultural one. They found themselves under a new government and included as members of the rest of the US population. They gained the same rights as the US citizens and were forced to share their culture with the angloamerican culture of the Southwest.
The Statue of Liberty labeled with the word Aztlan symbolizes the influence of the Mexican culture on the United States. The indigenous figures that make up the lower half of the statue demonstrate Mexican resistance to full assimilation into the Anglo-American culture. Chicanos and Mexican immigrants strongly maintain their cultural identity while living under the influence of US culture.
