Mexican-Americans

1. Mexican-Americans • The first Mexican-Americans became Americans with the Annexation of the Southwest and part of the Northwest after the Mexican-American war • The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo of 1848 • Under the treaty the new Americans were guaranteed rights to property and their cultural traditions. • The loss of land and the lack of legal protection after the treaty • Land conflict between Anglo ranchers and Mexican-American ranchers • Mexican-Americans became outsiders in their own land

2. Immigrant Experience • Immigration from Mexico has been continuous in part because of the proximity of the two borders • Lack of restrictive immigration policy directed towards Mexicans until the second half of this century • The proximity of the two countries and the maintenance of cultural ties. • Mexican-American immigration both documented and undocumented is a function of a combination of push and pull factors • Mexican Revolution and conflict and immigration • Mexican immigration has been tied closely to the economies of Mexico and the United States

3. Immigrant Experience • Agribusiness interests • Migration patterns to the Midwest and elsewhere • Population growth and immigration • The Great Depression of the 1930’s and the push for repatriation • The economic effect and personal impact of repatriation on Mexican-Americans • Demand for labor during World War II and the los braceros program • Conflict between the braceros workers and Mexican-American workers • Economic competition for jobs and Special Forces or Operation Wetback - and undocumented workers from Mexico

5. The Economic Picture • The culture of poverty • Developed by Oscar Lewis • Cultural traits as the cause of poverty • Blaming the victim • César Chavez and migrant farm workers movement • Economic and social conditions

6. Political Organization • La Raza - pride in one’s Spanish, Native American and Mexican heritage. • Texas La Raza Unida Party

7. Political Organization • Chicanismo - emerged in part among Mexican-American college students during the 1960’s • Chicanismo was influenced by the civil rights movement • Chicanismo - emphasized political self determination and ethnic pride

8. Political Organization • Reies Lopez Tijerina - in 1963 formed the Alianza Federal de Mercedes (Federal Alliance of Land Grants) • Purpose of the organization was to recover lost land • In 1967 Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund was formed (MALDEF) • Pursue issues through the courts

9. Puerto Ricans • Puerto Rico was annexed by the United States from Spain after the the Spanish-American War of 1898 • Puerto Rico has been a United States colony since 1898 (Commonwealth Status since 1948) • Puerto Ricans have been subjected to bureaucratic (Political) control by the United States

10. Puerto Ricans • Initial colonial policy had a devastating effect on • Language • Puerto Rican cultural institutions • Jones Act of 1917 and United States citizenship • Have most rights except do not pay federal income taxes and do not vote for President or have voting members to Congress/Senate • In 1948 it became a commonwealth

11. Island and the Mainland • A number of push and pull factors have led to migration from the Island to the mainland • Economic underdevelopment and the pull of jobs on the mainland • Farm labor contracts • Overpopulation • Cheap airfares • Puerto Rican communities (New York City) on the mainland

12. Island and the Mainland • Neoricans - term used by The Islanders to refer to Puerto Ricans that have lived in New York • Neoricans are often better educated and have more money than Puerto Ricans from the Island • Often resented by long time Islanders

13. Figure 10-2 Intergroup Relations Continuum

14. Island of Puerto Rico • Commonwealth status and neocolonialism • Issues of Statehood and Self-Rule • In 1998 in the last vote over the issue 50% favored commonwealth status , 47% statehood and 3% favored independence • Only Puerto Ricans on the Island may vote • The debate goes on….

15. Social Construction of Race • Color gradient among Puerto Ricans • Adapting to the meaning of race between the Island and the Mainland • On the Island factors such as social class determine race • On the mainland race is more likely to determine social class • NFTA and growing competition with Mexico and Canada for United States dollars

16. Mexican-Americans and Puerto Ricans Today • Educational status and issues • Increasing segregation 1. Function of residential segregation in large metropolitan areas 2. Increase in population as desegregation movement began to decline 3. Desegregated schools have become re-segregated

17. Education • Isolation in the classroom because of tracking (tracking is placing students in specific classes or curriculum groups on the basis of testing or other measures) • Educational effect of tracking • Bilingual educational programs • Higher education • Adjusting to college and campus life dominated by Whites • Dealing with prejudice • Economic cost of college

18. Family • Emphasis on Familism 1. Godparent - Godchild relationship 2. Intrafinancial responsibility 3. Inclusion of other family relatives in family roles 4. Involvement of the elderly • Upward mobility and poverty have led to changes in familism and family roles

19. Healthcare • Hispanic community lack of access to healthcare resources • Function of poverty and employment patterns • Use of folk practitioners - traditional folk remedies or curanderismo • Form of holistic medicine

20. Figure 10-3 Religious Preferences

21. Religion • Religion is the most important formal organization in the Hispanic community • Roman Catholic church • Early on, took an assimilation role • Today, more community oriented • Hispanic role in the church has grown • Worship (more expressive) • Hispanics underrepresented in the clergy • Pentecostalism—Evangelical Christianity within Hispanic American communities