Treaty Of Guadalupe Hidalgo Essay

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In February, 1848 Mexico signed the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ending the war with America, albeit under the threat of total domination by the United States. Although not agreed upon in a mutual sense, Mexico did work diligently to ensure the rights of its peoples still homesteading within the border region. Specific provisions were set forth within the document that guaranteed free passage within the region, respect for worldly possessions, protection under U.S. law, and the ability to make a decision pertaining to citizenship under Mexican or American rule. However, with as admirable of a document the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo appeared on paper, its practices were far less diligent in defending the rights of the Mexican-Americans caught
As outlined in "Foreigners in Their Native Lands", articles VIII and IX proclaimed all citizens in the newly annexed area would be allowed to move to Mexico if they chose to, and would have all of their property maintained by them with no levies or taxes placed upon their burdens (Weber, p.163). Noteworthy to mention was the fact that there was originally an article X, in which was declared that all Mexican land grants would be maintained on the transfer of power. Looking back it is clear as to why this was removed. Over the course of the next 40 years Mexican-Americans had their lands slowly stripped away from them by a combination of bureaucratic red tape and a law system that they did not fully understand. The responsibility of approving land grants fell upon the federal government, and produced a slow and agonizing process that frustrated both Mexican-Americans and Anglo 's alike. In 1854, the federal government appointed a surveyor-general, who by 1880 had received over 1000 requests for land grant certification from Arizona and New Mexico: of those only 150 were passed along to Congress for approval, and only 71 of them were actually approved (Weber, p.157). Further, this lead to Anglo citizens arriving to the area to encroach on Mexican-American land as there was no real process to prevent them from doing so. Mexican-Americans also fell
For nearly 250 years they had learned the techniques, as shaped under Spanish rule, that allowed them to mine with great accuracy and efficiency. However, this lead to the targeting of these people by Anglo 's who were jealous of their skills. Hatred and prejudiced soon turned to unlawful actions that targeted these people because of their race. As outlined in the text, from the writings of Antonio Coronel, two persons of foreign decent were hung with no trial or jury following the accusation by an Anglo miner that they had stolen from them, and threats were made to any persons who so chose to get in the way that they would meet the same fate (p.171). In other states, such as Texas in which loathing toward Mexicans already reigned supreme, Mexican-Americans were pursued by the likes of the state appointed Texas Rangers, who routinely harassed their counterparts, and in some instances shot them dead for offenses that were not judged by a manner consistent with American judicial beliefs. These brutalities were the offset of an Anglo society that was still infused with the likes of war with Mexico, and driven by hatred for peoples of different covered skin (as can be visited through similar circumstances with American Indians and African Americans). Mexican-Americans found themselves in a deplorable situation: their

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