Takaki Chapter 7: Foreigners in their Native Land

Throughout this whole class we have discussed and debated what it means to be American. Early in this chapter it says, “Ironically, the Irish had been pushed from their homeland by British colonialism, and here they found themselves becoming Americans by participating in the conquest of the Southwest”. When I read this sentence I began to think about which individuals and groups were able to assimilate into what the traditional American Society was becoming. The groups and individuals that were able to assimilate were those that didn’t fight the change by holding on to their cultural values and traditions. For example, the Indians fought to hang on, they held on, or tried to hang on, to their cultural values and beliefs.

This article discusses how the Mexicans first came to settle in California and their ways of life. Initially when Americans came they were accepted and learned the way of the life lived by the Mexicans who lived there. Eventually Americans began coming in groups that didn’t respect their way of life and caused great resistance amongst the initial settlers of California. The Bear Republic was quickly established, declaring California as a possession of the United States. Even though the initial trouble was in California the war began in Texas. The war was brutal and embarrassing to the United States. Mexico eventually, in early 1848, accepted the Rio Grande as the Texas Border and sold territory to the United States for 15 million dollars. Once again Americans began alienating people and making them feel unwelcome in their homeland. The United States gained political power and then began to deny Mexican Land Grants, giving them ownership to even more Mexican Territory. They also implemented taxes that made even more Mexicans lose their land. Soon Mexicans began working for the people who had taken over the land because they had no other options. Mexicans made up majority of cowboys, railroad workers, and workers in the mine industry. Mexicans quickly found themselves in mainly blue collared occupations, such as service and unskilled labor. For those Mexicans who did have the same jobs as Anglos they were paid significantly less. Soon Mexicans began creating associations known as mutavalistas that helped in resisting labor exploitations and racism.

It’s unfortunate and yet at the same time not surprising. It seems that in all areas of History certain groups of people are being mistreated by those who find themselves to be superior. Why they find themselves to be superior is the real question…