The Rise of Hispanic Activism in the United States

The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo put an end to the Mexican-American War, which, for Mexican-Americans in America, had begun a new chapter that would be very interesting and complex. This Treaty ended the war; the time after it was implemented brought about complicated changes in cultural relationships and politics for the Mexican people living on the ceded territories. Apart from the Treaty promises concerning respect for inventories, artistic rights, and Mexican citizens’ integration into America, it especially failed to realize an opportunity as lack of enfranchisement and marginalization became widespread. The essay analyzes how the failed Treaty affected Mexican Americans and what resulted from their struggles, including the rise of Hispanic activation.

The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, signed in 184, stands at an important crossroads in the history of the Mexican-Americans (Hernandez, 2021). The Treaty entailed the acquisition of massive lands by the United States, including modern-day California, Nevada, Utah, and New Mexico, among others. According to the Treaty, these Mexican citizens’ rights were ostensibly safeguarded as their property and cultural practices, Language, and religion were supposed to be preserved. The Treaty was also clear in Article VIII that Mexicans who lived in the ceded territories would enjoy all rights and privileges of property without limitation as possible.

Nevertheless, in reality, these assurances needed to be met. However, land grant conflicts became even more disruptive, and the U.S. justice system mostly ignored Mexican land grants (Gray, 2018). This resulted in massive disenfranchisement and poverty among the Mexican-Americans. The courts often undermined or ignored their rights under the Treaty, which, as foreign institutions, were unaccustomed, let alone unwilling, to recognize Mexican law and land tenure systems. With language rights, too, there was a systematic status of the subjugation of Mexican-American identity. The deep influence of English and American culture in the new territories made integrating Mexican culture and Language difficult. Anglo-American values and Language increasingly became reflected in schools, government institutions as well and public life, all at the cost of Mexican heritage. The ramifications of this broken promise were far-ranging. It paved the way for a long battle of civic rights and cultural recognition, forever defining the Mexican-American identity and its position in American society.

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The abuse of Hispanic workers by private companies was a major injustice, and as a response to this wickedness, there was a bunch of activism that emerged during the mid-20th century. Rodolfo “Corky” Gonzales’ 1967 poem ‘Yo Soy Joaquin,’ is one of the most seminal expressions of this activism that reflected on the hardships and two-fold identity many Mexican-Americans lived under. The poem became the anthem for the Chicano Movement, reflecting on this generation’s frustrations and aspirations (Kaiser Ortiz, 2022). Gonzales’ poem explores the nature of Mexican-American dual identity, rooted between their past heroic Aztec heritage and modern reality in America. It mirrors the historical injustices of Mexican-Americans, from the time of conquest of the Aztecs to modern times, as far as cultural assimilation and marginalization in the U.S. Gonzalez’ poem was a catalyst to the Crusade for Justice that he founded in Denver. The Crusade for Justice campaigned on the issues of educational inequality, police brutality, and political underrepresentation. It became a center of cultural and political activism; Mexican Americans began to feel united. The Crusade sponsored events, offered community services, and lobbied for legislative reforms, greatly contributing to increased national consciousness regarding Chicano’s problems.

Another crucial personality during that period was Cesar Chavez, who initiated the United Farm Workers (UFW). Hazardously, as one can see, the UFW battled for fair employment treatment and the rights of numerous Mexican American laborers (Borrego & Hackett, 2020). Chavez’s activism, on the other hand, during the Mexican-American war was directed by the appalling work environments, minimum wages, and inadequate worker rights that applied to armed force ranch hands. This strategy employed both non-militant strategies, such as strikes and boycotts, which sought to spur the public to launch a struggle aimed at achieving social justice, thus getting national attention to the cause of the farm worker. The Delano grape strike in 1965 brought the most respected campaign to the UFW. The protesters who took the lead in this campaign were Chavez