Latinos Facing Racism Book Report

After Texas won its independence from Mexico, the people who inhabited that area believed they were entitled to the entire land of, what was then, Texas. Manifest Destiny, or the belief of a God-given entitlement, was instilled in the hearts of many Americans; they believed God wanted them to expand outward. Yet the Mexicans weren’t prepared to give up all that land, and only allowed the Texans the area of land in which they inhabited. After the annexation of Texas in 1845, both the US and Mexico placed troops in the previously uninhabited land that the white Texans had believed they won. Thus began the Mexican-American war, and America, with its skilled military and greater population, easily defeated the Mexicans.

With westward expansion becoming more popular, and with people thinking it was their manifest destiny-or God given fate to go west, populations increased. But conflict arose with our southern neighbor Mexico. This conflict could’ve been prevented, or resolved, but instead it grew worse. This conflict is often called the “Mexican American War” but in Mexico it is called the “US Invasion”. On April 24th, 1836 63 American men and officers went just south of the Rio Grande when Mexico attacked.

“Polk was a strong believer in Manifest Destiny. He believed it was God’s plan that America extend its territory all the way to the Pacific Ocean. Polk did not just want to annex Texas. He also had his eye on California” (Background Essay). A man named John L. Sullivan believed that Mexico was still too

Exemplified in John O’Sullivan’s concept of Manifest Destiny, President Polk believed that it was America’s duty to spread American Exceptionalism throughout the entire North American continent. Resultantly, Polk sought to acquire California through peaceful methods at first, and later through more deceptive means. Ultimately, Polk moved troops to a disputed region between the Nueces and Rio Grande rivers in order to provoke a war with Mexico, consequently expediting America’s Manifest Destiny. A justifiable war is one which is undertaken for defensive purposes only, and although misguided by the nationalistic, expansionist precepts of Manifest Destiny, and although he first attempted to acquire southwestern territory peacefully, President Polk failed to satisfy this burden, instead choosing to sacrifice “American blood” for the offensive expansion of his

Outdated stereotypes create forced expectations and affect people for the worst. This is a common theme between “Turkeys in the Kitchen” by Dave Barry and “The Myth of the Latin Woman: I Just Met a Girl Named Maria” by Judith Ortiz Cofer. These works deal with stereotypes of gender and ethnicity, as well as how they are interpreted on the receiving end. Turkeys in the Kitchen deals with gender through anecdotes about cooking, and how the stereotypes of men and women in the kitchen persist post-women’s-liberation. “The Myth of the Latin Woman” deals with Puerto Rican stereotypes through anecdotes about how she is treated differently as a woman for her ethnicity, and how she is prematurely judged by her Puerto Rican behavior and ethnicity.

Whatever its true purpose, Manifest Destiny has indeed stretched the U.S territory and seized half of Mexico’s land. On the contrary, Manifest Destiny resulted in a conflict with

During the 1840, the United States was able to access much more land in the west than previously before. The United States saw this as an opportunity to expand their territories and to settle and obtain all things the land has to offer. The United States justified their actions through the idea of Manifest Destiny, which they viewed to be a harmless and benevolent philosophy. Manifest Destiny was in fact not as benign as the United States has come to believe; it caused the colonization and imperialism of land that held many Natives who were eventually killed or sent into reservations. People in the southern region of the conquered land were greatly influenced by this expansion as well; it caused many families who were living in the Texas area

American history is full of events that have changed the curse of its history, some more recent than others, an often overviewed war or conflict is the Mexican war, probably because it was only 13 years before of one of the most bloodshed periods and important periods of this country 's history, the Civil War; the Mexican War might have nit had as big as an impact as that of the Civil War, but nonetheless it was a period that is certainly important, we can also think that no war is ever unimportant (Shaara,10). Since the Louisiana purchase, there was a fervor for expansion among the American people, in 1845 the then independent nation of Texas was annexed by the United states (Shaara, 12). But there were several doubts about what was the real

Mexican American War “... May the boldest fear and the wisest tremble when incurring responsibilities on which may depend on our countries peace and prosperity…” -James K. Polk. What our 11th president meant by this is that we need to maintain good relations to bring success as this is the opposite of what Mexico wanted. In 1845, many Americans believed in manifest destiny which was the belief that the United States was destined to stretch from coast to coast. As this idea scattered through America, citizens of the U.S. spread with it.

“Once we became an independent people it was as much a law of nature that this [control of all of North America] should become our pretension as that the Mississippi should flow to the sea” –John Quincy Adams (Henretta, p. 384). In the 1840s, Americans had a belief that God destined for them to expand their territory all the way westward to the Pacific Ocean. This idea was called Manifest Destiny. In the nineteenth century, Americans were recognized for coming together and building up one another for one cause: westward expansion.

“it was God’s plan that America extend its territory.” (Roden 317) God wants America to take Texas. The Mexicans are “limiting our greatness checking the fulfillment of our Manifest Destiny” (O’Sullivan 323) People are wrongly stopping God’s plan. Later America got Texas, California, and Oregon Territory.(Roden 317)

The US did not not have solid reasons to do so besides their own greed, so the US hid behind the idea of Manifest Destiny and tried to justify their actions. John O’Sullivan was the New York City journalist who coined the term Manifest Destiny. He said, “Imbecile and distracted, Mexico never can exert any real government authority over such a country…’’ (O’Sullivan, 8). O’Sullivan and the US suggested that Mexico “needed” the US to come and take over, because otherwise Mexico was going to fall apart. Although this was somewhat true, the US did not try to help Mexico through this difficult time; instead, the US took advantage of Mexico’s weakness and tried to take over completely.

The Mexican–American War, also known as the Mexican War, was an armed conflict between the United States of America and the United Mexican States from 1846 to 1848. The Mexican War between the United States and Mexico started from the annexation of Texas in 1845. The war resulted in the United States’ acquisition of more than 500,000 square miles of Mexican territory extending westward from the Rio Grande to the Pacific Ocean America’s dedication of War on Mexico. There were many pros and conflicts following this war, which will be the main focus of this paper.

“The common denominator all Latinos have is that we want some respect. That 's what we 're all fighting for” - Cristina Saralegui. Judith Ortiz Cofer published the article, “The Myth of the Latin Woman,” where she expresses her anger towards stereotypes, inequality, and degradation of Latin Americans. Cofer explains the origins of these perceived views and proceeds to empower Latin American women to champion over them. Cofer establishes her credibility as a Latin American woman with personal anecdotes that emphasize her frustration of the unfair depiction of Latinos in society.

The United States war with Mexico continues to be a divisive topic among many people because of its background. The Mexican-American war was a fight between Mexico and America for land. America’s belief at the time was Manifest Destiny, which meant that they believed that America should extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific ocean. In the end, America benefited from the war and got the land. The United States expanded its size, achieving their dream of Manifest Destiny.