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U.S. Conquest and Mexican American Communities

. . . . , U s Southwest can trace their origins to th Several Mexican communities m today s · · b t bl· h · E e • 1\ r S · Mexico l egan es a is mg uro'Pean Spanish colonial era. Colonists from 1 vew pain 11 'I .

settlements m New Mexico m the ate sixteen cen · ' 66 · · · l · th tury However New Spam struoafed to colonize its Far North due to resistance from American Indians and the region's distance

from other Spanish settlements. To overcome these difficulties, ojficials used missions to convert Indians into Spanish subjects, forts to defend Spanish settlements, and towns to promote civilian populations. Nevertheless, the Far North remained unappealing due to its isolation and the danger of Indian attacks. Worried about its inability to attract colo- nists and facing advancing French and Euro American settlements, New Spain allowed

foreigners to settle in its Far North.

Mexico's successful war for independence .from Spain ( 1810-1821) left the young nation's economy devastated. During the colonial era, the isolated northern settlements lack:d regular communications and dependable trade with central New Spain, whose ?ffiaals .frequently neglected to pay eq~'.P soldiers. The devastation caused by the independence war exacerbated Mexico s inability to provide military dfi • l

. . an znancza support to its northernmost settlements. Feeling neglected by their central · h 'd • • . government nort ern res, ents gradually began estabhshing economic and soda/ ties with E ' .

Mexico's leaders expanded the colonization program by effering land d uro Amenc~ns. to foreigners willing to settle in its Far North. Euro A.,,,, . an tax exemptions . 11iencans wh • . d into Texas legally and illegally, were the largest groun to parti' . .' 0 immigrate

. r cipate in Me • , l . zatzon program. They soon outnumbered Mexican Texans (Ti . . xico s co ont-h C]anos) in Ti t e newcomers spread U.S. culture, manufactured goods and 1 . . exas, where l ' po itical · ,,11 contra the flood ef Euro Americans into Texas, Mexico curtai/e . 'f!J,uence. To

program. d Us colonization The US. conquest of Mexico's Far North began with Texas' sep . l

aratist reb ll' aunched by Euro Americans and Tejanos. Nine years later the ad,,,,.• . e ton (18361 . , ,, itsszon ef Tt 'h Union, combined with a border dispute, triggered the US-Mexican w, exas into the

ar (1846-J848). 34

U.S. CONQUEST AND MEXICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITIES 35

Although most Tejanos remained neutral during the separatist struggl:, Euro Ar:iericans accused them of siding with Mexico . The negative portrayals of Mexicans resul!ing from the Texas rebellion combined with the belief in manifest destiny generated public sup~ort for the war. "Manifest destiny" encapsulated Euro Americans' beliefs that the United States was predestined to expand westward and justified to spread its "superior" cul~ure, ideas, and institutions throughout the conquered lands of American Indians and Mexicans who had long resided there. . .

The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ended the war and redrew national boundaries, as the United States acquired half of Mexico's territory. The Mexican residen~ of t~e annexed territory confronted a vastly dijferent environment under U.S. rule, i~ which they struggled to defend their property and lost political power. This chapter examines the dramatic changes experienced by Spanish Mexican residents during the first part of the nineteenth century, as well as the U.S. conquest of Mexico and its implications for those made "Mexican American" by the moving of the border.

'3 oocUMENTS

Mexican residents of the distant and isolated northern settlements grew apart from those living in central areas of Mexico . In Document 1, Jose Maria Sanchez, a Mexican military official visiting Texas, expresses alarm about U.S. influence on Mexicans, and about Euro Americans' disregard for Mexican laws and customs. Mexicans in San Antonio offer a more optimistic view in Document 2, which argues for more Euro American immigration to augment the city's population, and promote trade. Such trade provided the northern set- tlements with inexpensive and plentiful U.S. manufactured items. During the U.S.-Mexican War, the U.S. Congress debated how much of Mexico's territory to acquire. In Document 3, Senators John C. Calhoun and John A. Dix share similar views of Mexicans but they disagree about the pending territorial acquisi- tion. The selected passages from the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in Document 4 describe various promises made to the Mexicans who resided in the annexed territories. The U.S. occupation of Mexico and the terms of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo generated widespread debate among Mexican citizens and politicians concerning the nation's future relationship with its northern neighbor. Document 5 contains Mexican politician Manuel Crescencio Rej6n's arguments against Mexico's acceptance of the treaty. The treaty transformed Mexicans living in the ceded lands into Mexican Americans with U.S. citizenship, and guaranteed them property rights. Throughout the U.S. Southwest, Mexican Americans, like Maria Rita Valdez in Document 6, struggled to defend their property in courts. The political and social turmoil resulting from the Texas rebellion and the U.S.-Mexican War led Juan Seguin, the former mayor of San Antonio, to describe himself, in Document 7, as a "foreigner" who no longer recognized his native city.

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J(> J l' A .& •J -

1. Mexican MiJitary Officer Criticizes M . and Anglos in Texas, 1828 e:ro.cans

BEJAR h ·nhabitants do not cultivate it becaus . · h t e 1 e of th Although the soil 1s very ric ' ks for months, and even years at . e dian attac · · · · . . tlllle danger incurred from In alary or supplies, constantly 1n active . s,

ithout s servic [the] troops have gone w r-. their subsistence on buffalo meat dee e

di d ndent ror . 1 ' r, and against the In ans, epe cure with great difficu ty. The goveni-b able to se . ~• ... .u1ent other game they may e d h . condition in spite of repeated and frequ '

h h lpe t eir ent nevertheless, as not e f the people is care-free, they are enthusia . . Th character o st1c

remonstrances• • • • e d the worst punishment that can be inflicte dancers very fond of luxury,. an . d' 'd 1 f h d ' . btl there are some 1n 1v1 ua s, out o t e 1 425 upon them 1s work. Dou ess, h f ili' ' h k h tal Popula

tion who are free from t ese a ngs, but they t at ma e up t e to , are very few. . . . · f · all

The Americans from the north have taken possess~o? 0 practic Y the eastern part of Texas, in most cases without the penmssion of the authorities. They immigrate constantly, finding no one to prevent them, ~nd take possession of the sitio Vocation] that best suits them without either asking leave or going through any formality other than that of building their homes. Thus the majority of inhabitants in the Department are North Americans, the Mexican population being reduced to only Bejar, Nacogdoches, and La Bahia del Espiritu Santo, wretched settlements that between them do not number three thousand inhabi- tants, and the new village of Guadalupe Victoria that has scarcely more than sev- enty settlers ....

NACOGDOCHES

. . . The population does not exceed seven hundred persons, including the troops of the garrison, and all live in. very good houses made of lumber, well built and forming straight streets, which ma~e. the place more agreeable. The women do not number one hundred. The civil administration is entrusted to an Alcalde, and in his absence, to the first and second regidores, but up until now they have been, unfortunately, extremely ignorant men h f

, . more wort y o pity than of reproof From this fact, the North American inhab ·t ( h . . . fc d ill . . f h i ants w o are m the maJonty) have orme an opm10n o t e Mexicans • d . . their pride, incapable of understanding laws, arts, etc. They' ju ~ng them, 1n entangle the authorities in order to carry out the policy rno ton~muaily try to

. s suitable t h · perverse designs. . . . o t e1r

Jose Maria Sanchez, "A Trip to Texas in 1828," trans. Carlos E. Castaiied Quarterly 29, no. 4 (April 1926), pp. 249-288. a, Southive•t

J em :t_r , r11storica/

% . '\., 'f:: Vyft1 U.S. CONQUEST AND MEXICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITIES 37

( ~~The Mexicans that live here are very humble people, and perhaps their intentions are good, but because of their education and environment they are ignorant not only of the customs of our great cities, but even of the occurrences of our Revolution, excepting a few persons who have heard a~out them. Accustomed to the continued trade with the North Amencans, they have adopted their customs and habits, and one may say truly that they are not Mexicans except by birth, for they even speak Spanish with marked incorrectness ....

2. San Antonio's Tejanos Support North American Immigration, 1832

What shall we say of the law of April 6, 1830? It absolutely prohibits immigrants from North America coming into Texas, but there are not enough troops to enforce it; so the result is that desirable immigrants are kept out because they will not violate the law, while the undesirable, having nothing to lose, come in freely. The industrious, honest North American settlers have made great improvements in the past seven or eight years. They have raised cotton and cane and erected gins and sawmills. Their industry has made them comfortable and independent, while the Mexican settlements, depending on the pay of the soldiers among them for money, have lagged far behind. Among the Mexican settlements even the miserable manufacture of blankets, hats and shoes has never been established, and we must buy them either from foreigners or :from the interior, 200 or 300 leagues distant. We have had a loom in Bexar for two years, but the inhabitants of Goliad and Nacogdoches know nothing of this inge- nious machine, nor even how to make a sombrero.

The advantages of liberal North American immigration are innumerable: (1) The colonists would afford a source of supply for the native inhabitants. (2) They would protect the interior from Indian invasions. (3) They would develop _roads and commerce to New Orleans and New Mexico. (4) Moreover, the ideas of government held by North Americans are in general ~etter adapted to those of the Mexicans than are the ideas of European immigrants.

It is unquestionable that the lack of a government which shall feel directly the needs o~ Texas and understand the means necessary to multiply its population and p_rotect its welfare has been, is, and will continue to be the chief source of our suffenngs.

Eugen~ C. Barker, "Native Latin American Contributions to the Colonization and Ind Texas, Soutl1westem Historical Quarterly 46, no. 3 Qanuary 1943), pp. 317-335. ependence of

p 38

MAJOR PROBLEMS IN L

1-1 1s roR Y ATJNA / O

-r1 tablishes Rights for J-Iidalgo _pS

3 The Treaty of Guadalupe d 1,ands, 18 48

· . h _Annexe Mexicans 1n t e

F GUADALUPE TRANSCRIPT OF TREATY O HIDALGO (1848) Article I h United States of America

al between t e . . .

Th hall be firm and univers peace . ctive countnes, temtones,

ere s . d between their respe and the Mexican Republic, an . f laces or persons .... cities, towns, and people, without exception o P

Article Ill t ty by the Government of

·fi · f the present rea Immediately upon the ratl catwn ° ders of their land · d to the conunan the United States, orders shall be trans~tte . 1 t desist from blockading and naval forces, requiring the latter . . . urunediate y o at the earliest . . h :6 to commence, any Mexican ports and requmng t e onner . . . . d St tes and such moment practicable, withdrawing all troops of the Urute a_ h h. · · l t . . . hall b 1 ted wit t e eas pos- evacuation of the mtenor of the Republic s e comp e

sible delay ....

Article VIII Mexicans now established in territories previously belonging to Mexico, and which remain for the future within the limits of the United States, as defined by the present treaty, shall be free to continue where they now reside, or to remove at any time to the Mexican Republic, retaining the property which they possess in the said territories, or disposing thereof, and removing the pro- ceeds wherever they please, without their being subjected, on this account, to

any contribution, tax, or charge whatever. Those who shall prefer to remain in the said territories may either retain the

title and rights of Mexican citizens, or acquire those of citizens of the United States. But they shall be under the obligation to make their election within one year from the date of the exchange of ratifications of this treaty; and those who shall remain in t~e _said t~rritories a~ter the expiration of that year, without having declared their mtention to retam the character of Mexicans shall b ·d d . . , e cons1 ere to have elected to become citizens of the United States.

In the said territories, property of every kind, now belon · M · bli h d h hall b

. . 1

gmg to exicans not esta s e t ere, s e mVIo ably respected The prese t h h ·

all . · n owners, t e ell'S

of these, and Mexicans who may hereafter acquire said b

all · · h · property y contract,

sh enJOY wit respect to 1t guarantees equally ample as if th citizens of the United States. e same belonged to

S elections from the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo Us C ' · · ongress S

30th Congress, 1st Session, 1847, no. 52. (Accessed at www ou d ' enate Executive Documents akin

c N . · r ocuments d ' "A Century of Lawm g 1or a ew Nanon: U s C . .gov an at memory Joe gov: · · ongress1onal D · · 1774-1875.") ocuments and Debates,

CONQUEST AND MEXICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITIES U.S . 39

Article IX . f

. . £ . d hall not preserve the character o The Mexicans who, _in the temtones a 0;:::ab( with what is stipulated in the citizens of the Mexican Republic, conh y U • n of the United States,

• • b · t d into t e mo preceding article, shall e mcorpora e . d d of b the Congress of the and be admitted at the proper tlme (to be JU ge . ·ze~ of the United States, United States) to the enjoyment of all the nghts of citi . hall b

. . . h C · · . nd in the mean time, s e according to the pnnc1ples of t e onst1tut1on, a

. . • h fr · t f their liberty and property, mamtamed and protected m t e ee eilJoymen o . . and secured in the free exercise of their religion without restnctton. · · ·

Article XII

In consideration of the extension acquired by the boundaries of the United States, . . . the Government of the United States engages to pay to that of the Mexican Republic the sum of fifteen millions of dollars.

4. Congress Debates Incorporating Mexicans, 1848 Mr. CALHOUN said: ... [l]t is without example or precedent, either to hold Mexico as a province, or to incorporate her into our Union. No example of such a line of policy can be found. We have conquered many of the neighboring tribes oflndians, but we never thought of holding them in subjection-never of incorporating them into our Union. They have either been left as an indepen- dent people amongst us, or been driven into the forests.

I know further, sir, that we have never dreamt of incorporating into our Union any but the Caucasian race-the free white race. To incorporate Mexico, would be the very first instance of the kind of incorporating an Indian race; for more than half of the Mexicans are Indians, and the other is composed chiefly of IIDXed tribes. I protest against such a union as that! Ours, sir, is the Government of a white race. The greatest misfortunes of Spanisli. America are to be traced to the fatal error of placing these colored races on an equality with the white race. That error desttoyed the social arrangement which fanned the basis of society .... [WJe are the only people on this continent which have made revolutions with- out being followed by anarchy. And yet it is professed and talked about to erect these Mexicans into a Territorial Government, and place them on an equality with the people of the United States. I protest utterly against such a project.

Sir, it is a remarkable fact, that in the whole history of man, as far as my knowledge extends, there is no instance whatever of any civilized colored races being found equal to the establishment of free popular government, although by far the largest portion of the human family is composed of these races .... Are we to associate with ourselves as equals, companions, and fellow-citizens, the Indians

John C. C,lhoun, ),nu,cy, 4, 1848, Th, Cong,mfon»! Cfob,, pP. 96--!00, ond John A. Dix, Jmu,cy 26 1848, Tiie Congressional Globe, pp. 250-257. '

40 MAJOR. PROBLEMS IN LATINA/0 HISTORY

. d r such a thing as fatal to our and mixed race of Mexico? Sir, I should conSl e

institutions . ... . tin her into our Union .... You I come now to the proposition of mcorpora g • Mexico, and there are

can establish a Territorial Government for every St~tedm nd maoistrates y 0 · ors JU ges, a t:r • u some twenty of them. you ca? appomt govern ' owin them to legislate for

can give the people a subordmate government, all alg b tw thi d themselves whilst you defray the cost .... There is no an °J,Y } een s an our Territ~rial Governments. Our Territories are only an ouset O oulr ?wn ~eo

1 -

fr h . fr which we came. . . . t 1s entire y ple, or foreigners om t e same regions om T . . . different with Mexico. You have no need of armies to keep your erntones _m subjection. But when you incorporate Mexico, you must h~v~ powerful armies

k h · b " · y all · tion but 1t 1s a forced annex-to eep t em m su ~ection. ou may c 1t annexa , . . ation which is a contradiction in terms, according to my conceptwn. You will be in~olved in one word in all the evils which I attribute to holding Mexico as a province. In fact, it will.be but a Provincial Government, unde~ th_e name of a Territorial Government. How long will that last? How long will it be before Mexico will be capable of incorporation into our Union? Why, if we judge from the examples, before us, it will be a very long time. Ireland has been held in subjection by England for seven or eight hundred years, and yet still remains hostile, although her people are of kindred race with the conquerors . . ..

But, Mr. President, suppose all these difficulties removed; suppose these people attached to our Union, and desirous of incorporating with us, ought we to bring them in? ... Are they fit for self-government and for governing you? Are you, any of you, willing that your States should be governed by these twenty-odd Mexican States, with a population of about only one million of your blood, and two or three millions of mixed blood, better informed, all the rest pure Indians, a mixed blood equally ignorant and unfit for liberty, impure races, not as good as the Cherokees or Choctaws?

We make a great mistake, sir, when we suppose that all people are capable of self-government. We are anxious to force free government on all; and I see that it has been urged in a very respectable quarter, that it is the mission of this country to spread civil and religious-liberty over all the world, and especially o-~er this continent. It i~ a great ~stake. None but people advanced to a very high state of moral and mtellectual improvement are capable, in a civilized state, of m~ntaining free government; and amongst those who are so purified, very few, mdeed, have had the good fortune of forming a constitution capable of endurance ....

~r. DI~ said: ... Having thus declared myself in favor of the occupation of Mexico u~til s~e sh~ consent to make peace, I deem it proper to say, in con- nection with this subject, that I have been uniformly opposed, and that I am still oppo~ed, to all schemes of c~nquest for the acquisition of territory ....

Sir, no one :"ho has paid a moderate degree of attention to the laws and elements of our mcrease, can doubt that our population is de t· d d

. . . . s me to sprea itself across the Amencan contment, filling up, with more or less 1 · f il d li comp eteness, according to attr~ct1ons o so an c mate, the space that intervenes between the

Atlantic and Pacific oceans . . ..

U .S. CONQUEST AND MEXICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITIES 41

. · · · Our ~h~le southern line is contemunous, throughout its whole extent, with the tem~ones of Mexico, a large portion of which is nearly unpopulated. Th~ geographical area of Mexico is about 1,700,000 square miles, and her pop- ulation something more than 7,000,000 souls .... The aboriginal races, which occupy and overrun a portion of Califonua and New Mexico must there as h , , everyw ere else, give way before the advancing wave of civilization, either to be overwhelme~ ~y . it, or to be driven upon perpetually constructing areas, w~ere, from a dimmution of their accustomed sources of subsistence, they must ul~ately become extinct by force of an invincible law. We see the operation of this law m ev~ry portion of this continent. We have no power to control it, if ':e would. ~t 1s the behest of Providence that idleness, and ignorance, and barba- nsm, s?all give place to industry, and knowledge, and civilization. The European :1°d mIXed races, which possess Mexico, are not likely, either from moral or phys- ical energy, to become formidable rivals or enenues. The bold and courageous enterprise which overran and conquered Mexico, appears not to have descended to the present possessors of the soil. Either from the influence of climate or the adnuxture of races-the fusion of castes, to use the techmcal phrase-the conquer- ors have, in tum, become the conquered. The ancient Castilian energy is, in a great degree, subdued; and it has given place, with many other noble trails of the Spamsh character, to a peculiarity which seems to have marked the race in that country, under whatever combinations it is found-a proneness to civil discord, and a suicidal waste of its own strength.

With such a territory and such a people on our southern border, what is to be the inevitable course of empire? It needs no powers of prophecy to foretell. Sir, I desire to speak plainly: why should we not, when we are discussing the operation of moral and physical laws, which are beyond our control? As our population moves westward on our own territory, portions will cross our southern boundary. Settlements will be formed within the unoccupied and sparsely-peopled territory of Mexico. Uncongemal habits and tastes, differences of political opimon and principle, and numberless other elements of diversity will lead to a separation of these newly-formed societies from the inefficient government of Mexico. They will not endure to be held in subjection to a system, which nei- ther yields them protection nor offers any incentive to their proper development and growth. They will form independent States on the basis of constitutions identical in all their leading features with our own; and they will naturally seek to umte their fortunes to ours. The fate of Califonua is already sealed: it can never be reumted to Mexico. The operation of the great causes, to which I have alluded, must, at no distant day, detach the whole of northern Mexico from the southern portion of that republic. It is for the very reason that she is incapable of defending her possessions against the elements of disorder within and the progress of better influences from without, that I desire to see the inevi- table political change which is to be wrought in the condition of her northern departments, brought about without any improper interference on our part. I do not speak of our military movements. I refer to the time when our difficulties with her shall be healed, and when she shall be left to the operation of pacific influences-silent, but more powerful than the arm of force .... Acquisition by

,,,.- I ,

I hi . l'

I

I, I/

42 MAJOR PROBLEMS IN LATINA/O HISTOR y

• . . For the sake of the national honor force is the VIce of arbitrary governments• • • • . . . . , 11 h f liti.cal institut10ns, I desire not to see It. The as we as t e permanency o our po nl b t d 'f d

extension of free gove1nment on t is contmen · h' · t can o y e arres e , i arreste at all b b · · r: h rt of peace Leave it to itself, and nothing can , y su stitutmg war 1or t e a s • .

f 1 · the contment. prevent the progress o our popu ation across

5. Mexican Liberal Manuel Crescendo Rej6n Opposes the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, 1848

[O]ur national government has entered into those neg?tiations which ~re so humiliating to us, thus committing us to grave impu~ations of perfidy if we should reject the treaty, which we should surely do. This _go:7ernment ha_s dem- onstrated its misunderstanding of the nature of the institutions by whi~h we live .... The result is that we are unable to disapprove a shameful treaty without rendering our country almost defenseless against the disasters of a war which has been so disadvantageous to us because the government has not prepared the country to resist and to continue the war to a successful end. Ultimately, the very nationhood of the republic will be undermined. Now is our last chance to sustain it. Otherwise, it will disappear within ten or fifteen years with the loss of the rest of the national territory, without there being either the means or the sense of national glory with which to resist.

. . . The social advantages which would accrue to us by accepting a peace now have been exaggerated, as well as the ease with which we would be able to maintain our remaining territories. It would be necessary, in order to sustain such illusions, to underestimate the spirit of enterprise of the North American people in industrial and commercial pursuits, to misunderstand their history and their tendencies, and also to presuppose in our own spirit less resistance than we have already shown toward the sincere friends of progress. Only through such illusions might one maintain that the treaty would bring a change that would be advantageous to us-as has been claimed.

With the borders of our conquerors brought closer to the heart of our nation, with the whole line of the frontier occupied by them from sea to sea, with their highly developed merchant marine, and with them so versed in the system of colonization by which they attract great numbers of the laboring classes from the ol~ worl~, w~at can we, who _are so backward in everything, do to arrest them m their rapid conquests, their latest invasions? Thousands of men will come daily to establish themselves under American auspices in the new ter- ritories with which we_ will have obli~~d them. There they will develop their commerce and stock~il~ large quantit~es of merchandise brought from the upper states. They will mundate us with all this, and our own modicum of wealth, already so misera~le and deplete~, will in the future sink to insignificance and nothingness. We will not accomplish anything by lowering our maritime

i1 R b . on ed The View from Chapultepec: Mexican Writers on the M • A . Cec o ms , ·, 95 97 ex,can- mencan War (Tucson: . . f Arizona Press 1989), pp . - · Uruvers1ty o '

U.S. CONQUEST AND MEXICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITIES 43

duties, abolishing our internal customshouses, or suppressing our restrictive laws. The Anglo Americans, now situated so close to our populated provinces, will provide these areas with the marvels of the world, passing them from the frontier zones to our southern states, and having withal the advantage over us of attract- ing our own merchants as well as our consumers, who will favor these foreigners because of the low prices at which they will be able to buy American goods.

6. Los Angeles Board of Land Commissioners Confirms Mexican Woman's Land Title, 1852

Case No. 371 SD San Antonio (o Rodeo de las Aguas), Maria Rita [V]aldez, Claimant.

Petition to Land Commissioners. Nov. 4, 1852. . "Valdez . . . claims . . . [ name of ranch] containing one square league . . . she

clauns the same under a title from the Mexican government in long ownership ~rstly by virtue of property in the said tract of land acquired under a temporary title extended to herself and Luciano Valdez in 1831 and constant occupancy under the same in conformity with the Mexican customs until 1838. Secondly by virtue of a grant under the Mexican Government on 1838 by [Governor] Alvarado. . . since which time the claimant and those under her have been in constant occupancy with this date and without any knowledge of any interfering claimant .... " Henry Hancock, Attorney for Plaintiff.

Deposition of Valdez. " ... That she after receiving the [title] from Monterey ... [no date] always

kept it stored in a certain trunk of hers which was left with other things in her house at the time of the political disturbances of 1846 at or about the time of the Americans corning to this place .... That on their approach herself and family fled and her house had been pillaged and the said trunk rifled by some unknown part either of Californians Indians or Americans since which time the deponent has not been able to find the said grant ~apers] .... " Nov. 11, 1852.

7. San Antonio's Former Mayor Juan Seguin Identifies Himself as a "Foreigner in My Native Land," 1858

A native of the city of San Antonio de Bexar, I e~braced the cause of Texas at the sound of the first cannon which foretold her liberty, filled an honorable role

· h. h k of the conquerors of San Jacinto, and was a member of the wit m t e ran s . . . · 1 · b d f th Republic In the very land which m other trmes bestowed legis at1ve o y o e ·

. . s Southern District, Bancroft Library, Berkeley, California Case No. 371, U.S. D1stnct Court, Land Cdase1, A ) Maria Rita Maldez, Claimant, November 4, 1852. SD San Antonio (o Rodeo e as guas '

M · ,rj / N Se•ou/n From the Year 183 4 to the Retreat ef General , emo1rs OJ om . ,. , Juan Nepomuceno Segum, Pers~na\ 842 S Antonio· Ledger Book and Job Office, 1858) . Copy from Woll from the City of San Anto~10, R (band· Tiie M~moirs and Selected Correspondence ef Juan N. Seguin

, F d 1 TeJ·a A Revolution emem ere . Jesus • e a • 73-74 90 (Austin: State House Press, 1991), PP· ' ·

J 44 MAJOR PROULEMS IN LATINA / 0 HI ST O RY on me such bright and repeated evidences of trust and e_steem, I no w find myself exposed to the attacks of scribblers and personal enenues who , to serve political purposes and engender strife , falsify historical fact with which they are but imper- fectly acquainted ....

I have been the object of the hatred and passionate attacks of a few trouble- makers who, for a ti.me, ruled as masters over the poor and oppressed population of San Antonio . Harpy-like, ready to pounce on everything that attracted th e notice of their rapacious avarice, I was an obstacle to the execution of their vile designs. They therefore leagued together to exasperate and ruin me, spread malignant calumnies against me , and made use of odious machinations to sully my honor and tarnish my well earned reputation.

A victim to the wickedness of a few men whose false pretenses were favored because of their origin and recent domination over the country, a foreigner in my native land, could I stoically be expected to endure their outrages and insults? Crushed by sorrow, convinced that only my death would satisfy my enemies, I sought shelter among those against whom I had fought. I separated from my coun- try, parents, family , relatives and friends and, what was more, from the institutions on behalf of which I had drawn my sword with an earnest wish to see Texas free and happy . In that involuntary exile my only ambition was to devote my time, far from the tumult of war, to the support of my family who shared in my sad condition.

Fate , however, had not exhausted its cup of bitterness. Thrown into a prison in a foreign country, I had no alternatives left but to linger in a loathsome con- finement or to accept military service .

On one hand, my wife and children, reduced to beggary and separated from me; on the other hand, to tum my anus against my own country . The alterna- tives were sad, the struggle of feelings violent. At last the fathe r triumphed over the citizen; I seized a sword that pained my hand. (Who among my readers will not understand my situation?) I served Mexico ; I served her loyally and faithfully . I was compelled to fight my own countrymen, but I was never guilty of the barbarous and unworthy deeds of which I am accused by my enemies . ...

*** I will also point out the origin of another enmity which , on several occasions, endan- gered my life. In those evil days, San Antonio swam1ed with adventurers from every quarter of the globe . Many a noble heart grasped the sword in the defense of the liberty of Texas, cheerfully pouring out their blood for our cause , and to them ever- lasting public gratitude is due . But there were also many bad men, fogitives from their country who found in this land an opportunity for their criminal designs.

San Antonio claimed then, as it claims now, to be the first city of Texas. It was also the receptacle of the scum of society. My political and social situation brought me into continual contact with that class of people . At every hour of the day and night my countrymen ran to me for protection against the assa ults or exactions of those adventurers. Sometimes, by persuasion, I prevailed on th em to desist; some- um. es also, force had to be resorted to . How could I have done otherwise? Were

' l h 111 C the victims my own countrymen, friends , and associates? Could I eave t e no . h h were defenseless, exposed to the assaults of foreigners who , on th e pretext t at t ey

U .S . CONQUEST AND MEXICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITIES 45

Mexicans, treated them worse than brutes? Sound reason and the dictates of humanity precluded any different conduct on my part.

~ESSAYS

rv:iexican citizens living in Texas and California faced complex choices in the early mneteenth century. By the 1830s, Tejanos had forged social and economic ties with Euro American immigrants, grown dependent on U.S. manufactured goods, and become disenchanted with the policies of their central government. Mexico sus- pended Euro American immigration into Texas and the centralists gained control of the presidency during the early 1830s. Both developments had far-reaching repercus- sions in Texas as Raul Ramos, professor of history at the University of Houston, explains in the first essay. The outbreak of the separatist rebellion in Texas forced Tejanos to make a choice among siding with the rebels, remaining loyal to Mexico, or attempting to stay neutral. An individual's class, social contacts, and political ideology influenced this choice. Ultimately, the outcome of the Texas conflict affected Tejanos' identity, in which ethnicity increasingly played a larger role than nationalism.

American property laws introduced significant changes to landownership prac- tices throughout the U.S. Southwest. As a result, Mexican Americans lost property as they struggled to have their Spanish and Mexican land titles confirmed in U.S. courts. Their loss of land was uneven-it occurred more rapidly in regions with a large Euro American presence, and more slowly in majority Mexican American areas. The reasons for the loss of property included the owners' unfamiliarity with paying property taxes (which did not exist under Mexican law), and their inability to weather economic downturns and natural disasters. In addition, Mexican Americans lost land to pay for legal fees in lengthy property litigation and prop- erty confirmation. According to Miroslava Chavez-Garcia, professor of Chicana/ o Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara, these losses were most acute for Mexican American and Native women, as described in the second essay.

Tejanos and the War of Texas Secession in 1836 RAUL A. RAMOS

In early fall of 1835, the citizens and government o~cials of Bexar gathered to prepare for the upcoming Independen_ce Day ce~~bratlo~ .... A mo~th before the celebration, fifty Bexarefios gathered m the political chiefs council hall to elect the junta patri6tica, ~r patriotic commissi~n, in _charge of organizing th~ event:.:.

. . . The men elected to serve in the Junta mcluded the most promment civil and military elite in Bexar . ...

From BEYOND THE ALAMO: FORGING MEXIC!'N _ETHNICITY IN _SAN ANTONIO , 1821- 1861 by Raul A. Ramos. Copyright© 2008 by the Umvemty of North Carolina Press. Used by pemus- sion of the publisher. www.uncpress.unc .edu