Recording-2026-06-30T00:12:27.721Z

Manifest Destiny, U.S. Expansionism, and Mexican American History

• The course focuses on Manifest Destiny, U.S. Expansionism in the $19\text{th century}$, and Mexican American segregation.

• Today's specific focus: The concept of Manifest Destiny, U.S. Expansionism, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, and the secession of Southwestern Territories to the United States.

• The lecture traces the historical trajectory from macro historical moments to the development of Chicano identity and resistance in the $1960\text{s}$ and $1970\text{s}$.

Administrative Details and Course Timeline

• Week 2 Reading Reflection: Students must connect the readings and lectures from Week $1$ and Week $2$. It is due on Wednesday of Week $2$ at $11:59\,\text{PM}$.

• Week 3 Readings: To be uploaded after class; reflections for these are due on Wednesday of Week $3$.

• Creative Midterm Project: Students should consider creative mediums such as a painting, poem, or collage. The prompt and assignment details will be shared on Monday of Week $3$. Presentations will occur on Monday and/or Wednesday of Week $4$.

• Accountability: Students requesting extensions must reach out to the instructor to work out a plan; otherwise, nothing can be done regarding deadlines.

Learning Outcomes for the Week

• Students will be able to explain how Manifest Destiny and the Mexican American War transformed the lives of Mexican-origin peoples and altered the U.S.-Mexico border.

• Analyze the significance of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo and its specific impacts on land, rights, and citizenship for former Mexican citizens.

• Evaluate how segregation and discrimination influenced the educational and social experiences of Mexican Americans during the late $19\text{th}$ and early $20\text{th}$ centuries.

• Assess the importance of early legal challenges, such as Doss versus Bernal and Mendez versus Westminster, in laying foundations for the later civil rights movement and educational equality.

Macro Historical Forces Recap: Week 1

• Spanish Colonization: The initial force shaping Mexican society.

• Encomienda System: A labor system organizing social relations between Spanish Peninsulares and indigenous peoples in early colonies like Lobo Espana.

• The Case System (Sistema de Castas): A hierarchy that moved from ancestry toward race and phenotypes (physical characteristics).

• Blood Quantum: The concept of how close an individual's blood was to being purely Spanish, which impacted placement in the case system.

• Social Construction of Race: As discussed in Patricia Seed’s article, the case system was flexible; the Census of $1753$ showed that labor positions were not always fixed by caste, proving race is socially constructed rather than biological.

Historical Context: Mexican Independence

• Mexico gained independence from the Spanish crown in $1821$.

• At that time, Mexico was approximately twice its current size, including a majority of the present-day U.S. Southwest.

• Lost territories: Present-day Texas, California, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, and parts of Utah, Colorado, and Kansas.

• The U.S. Southwest is noted for being rich in resources (e.g., the Gold Rush, mining, and logging in the Redwoods of Northern California).

Detailed History of Mexican Independence (1810-1821)

• Key Players:

  • Agustin de Itubiri: The first emperor.

  • Vicente Guerrero: A military leader.

  • Donia Josefo Ortiz de Dominguez: La Correodora.

  • Jose Maria Morelos y Pavon and Merijido Gariana: Soldiers/leaders.

  • Leona Vicaria: Supported independence facets.

  • Ignacio Allende: A famed military leader.

  • Father Miguel Hidalgo: The most famous patriot.

• Father Miguel Hidalgo: Born in $1753$, educated at UNAMA, he was a radical priest who drank alcohol, doubted the virgin birth, ignored church duties to make wine (breaking Spanish regulations), and believed premarital sex was not a sin. He was relocated to Dolores, Mexico, by the church after appearing before the Inquisition.

• El Grito de Dolores ($09/16/1810$): At $2$:$00$ in the morning, Hidalgo rang the church bell and called out: "My children, a new disposition comes to us today. Will you receive it? Will you free yourselves? Will you recover the land stolen $300$ years ago from your forefathers by the headed Spaniards? We must act at once. We will defend your religion and your rights as true patriots. Long live Our Lady of Guadalupe. Death to bad government and death to the cachopines."

• The Conflict:

  • Revolutionary army (Indios and Mestizos) won victories in San Miguel, Celaya, Zacatecas, San Luis Potosi, Baradolid, and Guanajuato.

  • At Guanajuato, $500$ Spanish defenders and over $2,000$ revolutionaries died.

  • The army eventually grew to over $81,000$ people.

  • Hidalgo was executed on $07/30/1811$ by firing squad after being defrocked; his head was put on a pike in Guanajuato.

• El Plan de Iguala ($1821$): Consisted of $23$ articles, primarily:

  • Mexico would be an independent constitutional monarchy.

  • Mexico would remain a Catholic country.

  • Criollos and Peninsulares would be treated equally; the caste system was abolished.

Manifest Destiny

• Definition: A $19\text{th century}$ ideology that the United States was divinely ordained to expand its borders across the North American continent.

• Origin: Coined by John L. O'Sullivan in $1845$.

• Three Principles:

  • American Exceptionalism: Belief in the inherent moral virtue of the American republic system.

  • Divine Ordainment: Faith that God selected the U.S. to spread liberty, capitalism, and democracy.

  • Inevitable Spread: The belief that territorial expansion was unavoidable.

The Mexican American War (1846-1848)

• Timeline:

  • 03/04/1845: James K. Polk assumes the presidency, advocating for Texas annexation.

  • June 1845: U.S. officially annexes Texas, though Mexico does not recognize it.

  • March 1846: General Taylor leads troops past the Nueces River toward the Rio Grande.

  • 03/28/2024: (Note: Per transcript) $4,000$ U.S. troops advance to the Rio Grande following failed negotiations.

  • 05/13/1846: Congress officially declares war; authorizes recruitment of $50,000$ troops.

  • 02/02/1848: Signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.

• Causes:

  • Annexation of Texas (a slave-holding state, causing internal U.S. turmoil regarding the balance of power).

  • Border Dispute: Mexico claimed the historical boundary was the Nueces River ($150\,\text{miles}$ north); the U.S. claimed the Rio Grande.

  • U.S. Expansionism/Manifest Destiny.

• Differing Perspectives:

  • United States: Frames it as a "war of self-defense." Polk claimed Mexico shed "American blood upon the American soil."

  • Mexican/Chicano: Sees it as a "war of aggression" or the "U.S. invasion."

• Criticism within the U.S.:

  • Ulysses S. Grant: Stated he had a "horror of Mexican War" and considered it a move of stealing territory.

  • Abraham Lincoln: Questioned if the war was unnecessarily and unconstitutionally commenced, asking to be shown the blood.

The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

• Terms: Mexico gave the U.S. nearly half its territory in exchange for $\$15,000,000$, including over $500,000\,\text{sq miles}$ ($55\%$ of its land).

• Boundaries: The Rio Grande was designated as the new border.

• Nicholas Trist: The U.S. peace commissioner who expressed "sincere shame" as a North American during the negotiations.

• Broken Promises:

  • Citizenship: Promised but resulted in second-class citizenship and discrimination.

  • Property Rights: Promised but resulted in massive land loss and dispossession.

  • Civil Rights: Promised but resulted in segregation, racial violence, and political exclusion.

Socio-Historical Impacts and Chicano Identity

• Double Colonization: This describes the experience of being colonized first by Spain and then by the United States. This historical legacy is fundamental to the Chicano identity.

• Land Dispossession: The loss of territory prevented the accumulation of generational wealth, leading to economic inequality that lasted into the $21\text{st century}$.

• Shift in Status: Overnight, individuals shifted from Mexican citizens to Mexican Americans, facing an imposed U.S. political and social structure.

• Roots of Resistance: The history of injustice from colonization through the Mexican-American War serves as a catalyst for the Chicano movement's demands for civil rights and social justice in the $1960\text{s}$ and $1970\text{s}$.

Video Content: Legacy in Pueblo, Colorado

• The Arkansas River through Pueblo used to be the border between the U.S. and Mexico.

• El Pueblo History Museum: Houses a copy of the treaty.

  • Archives require strict conditions: $39\%$ humidity and $71$ degrees temperature.

  • Relative humidity must not fluctuate more than $3$ above or below the set point.

• John Valdez Testimony: Described the treaty as a source of pain, stating that Nuevo Mexicanos were "swindled" out of their property.

Questions & Discussion

• Student Comment (Viviana/Eloisa): Noted that the macro historical forces from last week included the encomienda system and how skin color/phenotypes determined social status and income.

• Student Comment (Double Colonization): A student highlighted that this historical experience is unique and central to Chicano identity.

• Administrative Question (Madison): Asked about attendance after arriving late;