Introduction
In the United States, Mexicans form a substantial part of the population mainly due to the continued migrations of the Mexicans into the country and through the increase of population of the indigenous Mexican communities that have lived in the United States ever since some of the Mexican states were ceded to the United States after the Mexican War with the Americans. However, the inhuman treatment that the Mexicans and Mexican Americans, as well as other minority communities experienced during the 19th and early 20th centuries in the Us plus their response and movement for social change, define the history of America; indeed, according to Leon and Castillo (2006, p. 100), the former “undertook efforts to improve conditions in the workplace, increase dismal wages and reduce the length of the workday.”
As a result of the growing populations of the Mexicans in the US, there was a need to explore the kind of relationships the two groups have with each other and the possibilities of the assimilation of the Mexicans into the mainstream American society so as to form a homogeneous society (Gutiérrez 38).
Due to the perceptions of the Anglo-Saxons about the Mexicans as being inferior and different from white Americans, the idea of homogeneity has been abandoned and banded impossible and most of the white Americans see assimilation as impossible. This has led to the emergence of other theories of integration where the Mexicans are to be allowed to exist in the American society, but as a distinct entity, a situation that has led to the emergence of the term cultural chimera,
This paper seeks to establish the causes of the rifts between the two groups that have resulted in the inability of homogenization by looking at the social, political and economic causes of the rivalry
Mexicans history before 1850
During the expansion of the United States as a result of increased populations following population growth and the increase in the rates of migrations into the US, the government had a mandate on the lands held by Mexico. The migration of the Americans into Texas which was under Mexico led to rebellion against Mexico and Texas got its independence through a war with Mexico in 1836. The rebellion was a result of a fear that the Mexicans would put an end to slavery or would make it difficult to continue to levy them with taxes. Indeed, in 1845, the state of Texas was incorporated to be a part of the United States (Englekirk and Marín Para 10)
This was seen by the Mexicans as a threat to their independence and sovereignty as the law had not yet accepted the independence of Texas, the result of which was the stoppage of any diplomatic ties between the US and Mexico. The war was fought and since the US was superior militarily, it occupied Mexico; but in a bid to end the war, the US and Mexico made a deal about the lands that were held by Mexico as they had to surrender some of the states to the US, thus a border was drawn at the Rio Grande in 1848 (Englekirk and Marín Para 9).
Moreover, this is the year that marked the genesis of a surge in Mexican immigration to the US, more so following the emerging opportunities in the mining, farming, ranching and construction in the western economies including the US, although others migrated to reunite with “the descendants of the first Spanish and Mexican pioneers” (Leon and Castillo, p. 228).
The Mexicans living in the lands surrendered to the Americans either moved down south into Mexico or remained in the United States. These lands that totaled to more than half of the former Mexican territory with the inclusion of Texas had the original inhabitants some of whom were of Mexican descent. Moreover, the promise of citizenship included land ownership but this was scrapped before the treaty was legislated.
Mexicans and Mexican Americans between the 1850s and the 1920s
This was the period after the Mexican government had signed a treaty with the US, allowing the latter to take part of the lands that were formerly held by Mexico as an incentive to end the long time occupation by the US after it had run over the Mexican forces during the American Mexican war.
According to Leon and Castillo (2006, p. 90), the Mexicans and Mexican-Americans predominantly inhabited the states that bordered Mexico and the US although they further migrated to the interior states in the later years after the 1930s. The Mexican had lost its bargaining power when it lost the war and even its lands were bought at much lower cash than originally offered. The US dictated the terms and conditions of the treaty and that is why it had the authority to change the terms of the treaty regarding Mexicans land ownership in New Mexico (Friday Lecture notes 9).
Barriers to integration
Though living in the same country, the Mexicans and the Anglo-Saxons shared a different worldview from each other. They are different culturally and ethnically and in order to survive together amicably, the need to define the nature of their relationship arose. This has shown the reasons why it has been difficult to integrate the two and these reasons are in the realm of the following aspects.
Economic barriers
The increased migration of the Mexicans to the United States created a steady supply of cheap labor to the American industries, building, mining and agricultural sector and this acted to keep the prices for labor down. This was not well accepted by the American workers who could not complain to their employers about the cheap labor for they would have been substituted with the cheaper labor from the Mexicans (Englekirk and Marín Para 24).
The American workers also argued that the Mexican cheap labor acted to make the working conditions worsen as they were subjected to bad working conditions with no or little complaints. This in return acted to worsen the conditions for the American workers. The Americans though, against the labor inflow from Mexico, conceded on the argument that the Mexicans were the only willing people to do the tiresome jobs that the American workers would find demeaning or that which required the no skills. This was argued by the employers who painted the immigrants as people who need not be worried about as they were not citizens and moved for rules regarding them to be made on a need basis as legislation would indicate they were there to stay (Gutiérrez 35).
The use of the word peon to describe the Mexican workers is indicative that the white did and do not consider them their equals. Peon is used in this case to refer to a landless laborer or a person working for a master out of gratitude. They argued that the American workers need not worry about the Mexicans for they worked on the areas or jobs that were below the American’s expectations.
When the work was off-season, the municipalities were obliged to subsidize the workers so that they can be able to sustain themselves. The monies used came from the taxpayers. This brought about resentment from the white Americans as they had to subsidize the existence of the same people who were making their salaries remain low (Gutiérrez 32).
Social barriers
The Mexicans in the states surrendered to the US stayed in those areas before anyone else hence they regard themselves as the original settlers hence should not be forced to accept new ways of life brought by the visitors hence they maintain their original languages.
The continued immigration patterns of the Mexicans into the US have resulted in the new fresh blood of Mexicans and these trends maintain the Mexican identity. This has further been increased by the marrying back home by the Mexican males. Although they may be a minority, the Mexicans in America command a very big part of the population and this has led to a lack of the need to fit in the mainstream society as they have a sub-society of their own of Spanish speakers. Indeed, the large numbers, therefore, have led to the persistence of the Mexican culture because they have other people from their homes to associate with even though they are in a foreign land (Englekirk and Marín Para 29).
The United States borders Mexico with a two thousand-mile border and this enables the Mexicans in America to have close ties with their counterparts across the border. In addition, most of them have families across the border, to whom they send money; this reinforces their cultural identity and hinders integration (Englekirk and Marín Para 30).
Although the Mexicans worked for a fee, they were treated as if they were inferior to their employers and were not considered citizens of the United States. They were at times given the same treatment that the black Americans were given during the slave trade. Indeed, they were denied the right to citizenship (Gutiérrez 36).
There was even more discrimination in relation to gender where. Like the other minority communities, Mexican women were always discriminated against in the society; indeed, “the story of their struggle to be heard and to work with men to give meaning to life in the US” continues to be narrated up to date (Leon and Castillo, 2006, p. 231). The Mexican Americans viewed the increased immigration of the Mexicans with scorn as they saw this as an impediment to them in terms of citizenship and their upward mobility.
This resulted in the incorporation of LULAC which is associated with only Mexicans who are citizens. As peon was the images of the Mexicans that the employers portrayed to the public, such were the overall accepted views about them. Their view was hence of lesser standards than those of other races for they were considered to be submissive. This made the integration of them into the mainstream society difficult for it would mean the joining of different traits to form a single homogeneous society (Gonzales 93).
The predominant religion of most of the immigrants was catholic while the Anglo-Saxons adhered to Protestantism and there was still a rivalry between the two that emanated from the religious wars in Europe. This made it harder for the two groups to be together and associate freely with one another (Englekirk and Marín Para 23).
The language was and still is a barrier to the integration of the two groups. The Mexicans have Spanish as their prominent language and some of them especially those who lived in the ceded states have maintained Spanish as their only language. This is in contrast with the Anglo-Saxons who use English as their language. Moreover, most of the Mexicans who learn English as a second language do not perfect it much as they speak with the Spanish accent. This has led to the differentiation of the two groups and sometimes has resulted in barriers to communication (Kanellos 169).
The language barrier has also been perpetuated by the aspect of code-switching. This is where a person uses more than one language while communicating either between words or sentences. This is especially the combined use of English and Spanish in a sentence which in this case may make it difficult for the predominant English speakers to infer meanings from these talks (Gonzales 89; Kanellos 169).
The ancestry of the Mexicans was often associated with the Indians and who as the white Americans argued had no decency and did not take personal health seriously hence were the main causes of the wide preference of diseases among the workers. They were also associated with crime (Gutiérrez 32).
The white Americans argued that the Mexicans would lead to destabilization of the American social structure through the formation of a caste system with the Mexicans in the lower ranks pulling the higher ranks down with them (Gutiérrez 32).
Political barriers
Politically, the increase in the Mexicans in the US is a result of the need to expand the territory. From the beginning when the pact was signed the Americans excluded the clause on protection of land ownership intentionally knowing what it would result into.
After the surrender of the northern states to the US, the changes in the 1948 treaty started affecting the Mexican landowners for the law gave the Anglo Saxons a loophole to take the lands away from them as they were required by law to produce proof of their ownership of the lands. This process which was to be performed in courts was itself proof of this. This process was performed in English and the language barrier made it difficult for the Mexicans to prove themselves as the landowners (Englekirk and Marín Para 20).
The taxes charged on the Mexicans lands also acted as a trap to drive them away from their farms due to the inability to pay them and these were changed when the lands were acquired by the whites. The cases were also heard in a different court and constitution from that which had facilitated their existence.
Compared to the Anglo-Saxons, the Mexicans were less knowledgeable in the terms of procedures especially those who practiced small skill farming. These Mexicans, probably out of ignorance, did not register their lands with the authorities a fact exploited by the Anglo-Saxons in their quest to take the lands away from the Mexicans (Gonzales 87).
Violence against the Mexicans in the newly formed Mexican states made these Mexicans recognize the disparity in their treatment by the law. They were subdued by the authorities and discriminatory laws were put in place that gave the Anglo-Saxons the ultimate authority over the Mexicans. Some of these legal restraints were aimed at the traditional Mexican practices hence stripping them of their sense of belonging and togetherness. Contravening these laws resulted in unjust trials on the part of the Mexicans and this led to them hating the Americans. The law required only the white people to testify against other whites as seen in the case of people vs. Hall in 1854 (People v. Hall 4 Cal. 399 Para 1).
Further persecution of the Mexicans led them to be more sensitive to their origins and identify themselves more with the people of the same status as them. This resulted in an effort by the Mexicans to relate more with other Mexicans with whom they shared the same fate and this acted to alienate the two groups more.
The increased rates of immigration were perpetrated by the building of the railway line that interconnected the southern US and northern Mexico. This brought about development in these areas due to the speedy movement of goods. People moved to these places to better themselves, the railway line increased the movement of the labor force from Mexico into the United States (Gonzales 95).
The 1910 revolution brought about the need for the citizens of Mexico to look for a calmer political setting where they can concentrate on bettering themselves. The obvious option was the United States as they were sure of finding works there hence the increased exodus.
The decline of the Mexican economy at the start of the 20th century together with the insecurity of the Mexicans also precipitated the move into the US. This was later increased by the need for more laborers to implement the reclamation act (Englekirk and Marín Para 4).
Conclusion
The US-Mexicans relations on the basis of labor is an association that is not about to end as the Mexicans have integrated themselves into the US labor market with vigor. The Mexicans took the jobs that were considered as a low class or lowly paying by the white Americans and with time came to monopolize the job markets in these areas as they became more experienced. In addition, the immigration of Mexicans in the US is still an ongoing process as they come in to look for work opportunities. Since most of the Mexicans are not landowners as they were displaced from their lands by the Anglo-Saxons, they have to work so as to gain a better chance of living.
The integration of the Mexicans into the US society has faced many hurdles as the whites view them with scorn while the Mexicans see the latter as overbearing and only considerate of their own social groupings and regard them as having no consideration for other races.
Works Cited
Englekirk, Allan and Marín, Marguerite. ”Mexican Americans.” Countries and Their Cultures. 2010. Web.
Gonzales, Manuel G. Mexicanos: A History of Mexicans in the United States. Indiana: Indiana University Press, 2009. Web.
Gutiérrez, David Gregory. Between two worlds: Mexican immigrants in the United States. NY: Rowman & Littlefield, 1996. Web.
Gutierrez. Lecture Notes: An Associated Students Enterprise USCD. 2010.
Kanellos, Nicolás, et al. “Handbook of Hispanic Cultures in the United States.” Anthropology, Volume 4. Texas: Arte Publico Press. 1994. Web.
Leon, Arnoldo D. and Castillo, Richard G. North to Aztlán: a history of Mexican Americans in the United States. Edition 2. Harlan Davidson. 2006.
“People v. Hall 4 Cal. 399 (California Supreme Court 1854).” California: the University of California, Hastings College of law. 2009. Web.