Mexican Americans and Puerto Ricans Jada Tolliver Avuntae

Mexican Americans and Puerto Ricans Jada Tolliver & A’vuntae Clemmons

Chapter Outline Chapter was divided into two main sections Talked mainly about the expansion or Mexican Americans and the Role of Puerto Ricans Two most important topics covered was History and Immigration

National Development Main stage of national development discussed in this chapter was Industrial Development Mainly because many Mexican- Americans came to the U. S. to get higher paying manual jobs. However, they ended up being exploited.

History of Mexican Americans Two largest Hispanic minorities in the U. S. are Mexican Americans and Puerto Ricans The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo Signed February 2, 1848 Mexico gave half its country to the U. S. for 15 million dollars. In exchange U. S. gave 75, 000 Mexicans citizenship Due to the treaty , a large number of Mexicans became aliens in the without crossing the border. Others became Mexican Americans at the end of the Mexican-American War.

Immigration Experience Mexico and U. S. are unique because that both have different standards of living and wage scales, but share an open border. Immigration from Mexico is unique from others because: a. There has been a continuous large-scale movements for most of the last hundred years b. Proximity of Mexico encourages past immigrants to maintain strong cultural and language with their homeland through friends and relatives c. Aura of illegality has surrounded Mexican migrants.

Immigration Experience Before World War I large number of Mexicans expanded into the Southwest due to agricultural industry. During the Mexican revolution (1909 -1922) many Mexican refugees came to the U. S. . Since World War I stopped the flow of people from Europe, it left the labor market open to Mexican Americans.

Chavez and the Farm Laborers Chavez was a Hispanic labor leader for economic empowerment. He organized migrant farm workers. In 1962 , formed the National Farm Workers Association (later became the United Farm Workers (UFE)). Succeeded in making federal and state governments more aware if the explorations of migrant laborers Migrant workers, developed a sense of their own power and worth

Puerto Rico and Puerto Rican History Discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1493. The United States seized the land in 1898. The Jones Act of 1917 extended citizenships to Puerto Ricans. 60% of Puerto Ricans today have Taino Ancestors which is the native Indian inhabitants of the island. In 1902 English was the official language of the island by 1992 Spanish was the established language.

Statehood and self-rule Puerto Ricans have consistently argued and fought for independence since being discovered. Many of the Puerto Ricans like a hybrid commonwealth while others prefer the statehood approach or complete independence. Commonwealth argument is the perception of special U. S. protection and that independence includes too many unknown cost. Statehood invokes the fear of higher taxes and erosion of cultural heritage but is seen as a key to increased economic development.

Social Construction of Race Like many caribbean societies Puerto Rico has a color gradient which describes distinctions based on skin color rather than categorical separations. Puerto Rico racial identification is based on the attitude of the individual making the judgement. Factors such as social class and social position determine race on the island

Health Care Hispanics as a group are locked out of health care system more often than any racial and ethnic group. They receive medical emergency treatment, but those who have illegal immigrant family worry about seeking medical attention In 2012 about 29. 1% of hispanics had no health insurance Many Hispanics health care problems are complicated by the lack of hispanic health professionals which account for about 2. 5% of dentist and 5. 2% of physicians

Myths A common misconception in the United states is that all Latinos are Mexican. While this is true for about 65% there are over 4. 6 million Puerto Ricans on mainland over 3. 7 million on the island. Another myth is that Mexicans make up all illegal immigrant population there are only 5 million compared to 11 million total in the United States.

What do we do with this knowledge? Understanding Mexican and Puerto Rican heritage, history, and modern issues, we can use this knowledge to educate the people around us so they can know more about what these ethnic groups go through. We can also learn about what not only happens in mainland United States but what's also happening and has occurred in the Caribbean and Central America.