Published: May 30, 2024
The history of Latin(o/a/x), Hispanic, and Chican(o/a/x) Americans is deeply intertwined with the formation of the United States. Prior to the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848 ending the Mexican-America war, much of the present-day southwestern United States belonged to Mexico. In 1862, Congress passed the Homestead Act to encourage White Americans to settle the West—land that was owned by Mexicans or Native Americans.
By the late 1800s, Cubans and Puerto Ricans began rebelling against Spanish colonial rule. By 1898, war had broken out between Spain and the United States, ending with the U.S. annexation of Puerto Rico and limited Cuban Independence under the Platt Amendment. Similar to Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, Latin(o/a/x), Hispanic, and Chican(o/a/x) Americans have struggled against discrimination in education, housing, employment, and banking.
Within an economics or financial literacy class, the following historical examples provide context to help students understand economic issues that Latin(o/a/x), Hispanic, and Chican(o/a/x) Americans face today.
Notable Events
September 14, 1911
First Mexicanist Congress
“From September 14–22, 1911, El Primer Congreso Mexicanista, also known as the First Mexicanist Congress, met in Laredo, Texas, to address social, economic, and educational issues affecting Mexicans and Mexican-Americans. This political convention aimed to express discontent and formulate solutions to labor exploitation, segregation, economic disparities and lynchings perpetrated by Anglo Texans against Mexicans and Mexican Americans.”
March 2, 1917
Jones-Shafroth Act
This “law gave Puerto Ricans U.S. citizenship. The Jones Act separated the Executive, Judicial, and Legislative branches of Puerto Rican government, provided civil rights to the individual, and created a locally elected bicameral legislature. The two houses were a Senate consisting of 19 members and a 39-member House of Representatives. However, the Governor and the President of the United States had the power to veto any law passed by the legislature. Also, the United States Congress had the power to stop any action taken by the legislature in Puerto Rico. The U.S. maintained control over fiscal and economic matters and exercised authority over mail services, immigration, defense and other basic governmental matters.”
January 1, 1929
League of United Latin American Citizens
“LULAC was created at a time in our country’s history when Hispanics were denied basic civil and human rights, despite contributions to American society. The founders of LULAC created an organization that empowers its members to create and develop opportunities where they are needed most.”
April 28, 1938
The Spanish-Speaking Peoples Congress
“On April 28–30, 1938, El Congreso convened about 1,000 to 1,500 representatives from 120 organizations, including politicians, students, and union members, in Los Angeles to address civil rights issues pertaining to the Latino(a) community. The event was the first national Latino(a) convention that addressed the community’s most pressing issues, including segregation, women's rights, and employment discrimination. Luisa Moreno, a renowned Latina labor and civil rights activist from Guatemala, Josefina Fierro de Bright, and Bert Corona helped organize and held leadership of El Congreso.” The organization remained active until 1950.
August 4, 1942
Bracero Program
“An executive order called the Mexican Farm Labor Program established the Bracero Program in 1942. This series of diplomatic accords between Mexico and the United States permitted millions of Mexican men to work legally in the United States on short-term labor contracts. These agreements addressed a national agricultural labor shortage during WWII and implicitly, they redressed previous depression-era deportations and repatriations that unjustly targeted Mexican Americans who were U.S. citizens. Upon its termination in 1964, the Bracero Program had brought more than four million Braceros (arms) to work in U.S. agriculture and on railroads.”
April 14, 1947
Mendez v. Westminster and the California Board of Education
“Sylvia Mendez, a nine-year-old Mexican-American, was denied access to a California public school. Sylvia’s case, which was decided in the federal courts in California, preceded Brown by about eight years. Thurgood Marshall represented Sylvia Mendez and Linda Brown. Mendez won the case. Shortly after the ruling, California's governor signed a bill legally ending segregation in California public schools.”
June 22, 1944
Servicemen’s Readjustment Act (GI Bill)
The GI Bill was designed to help military service members after World War II. "Although . . . [the bill] extended benefits to all veterans regardless of gender or race, it was easier for some people to collect than others. In many cases, benefits were administered by an all-white Veterans Administration at the state and local level.” Similar to Black Americans and women, Latin(o/a/x), Hispanic, and Chican(o/a/x) veterans often faced discrimination when trying to access their benefits.
July 15, 1954
Mass Deportation
During the Eisenhower administration, the Immigration and Naturalization Service and U.S. Border Patrol implemented a mass deportation initiative. “The program, officially known as ‘Operation Wetback,’ employed the pejorative term ‘wetback’ often used to refer to Mexican citizens who entered the U.S. by swimming across the Rio Grande River.” Based on racist and xenophobic fears, the operation asserted that “Mexican immigrants were “displacing domestic workers, affecting work conditions, spreading disease, and contributing to crime rates.” Modern estimates claim that approximately 200,000 to 300,000 immigrants were deported during the operation—some being Mexican American U.S. citizens.
August 1, 1954
Hernandez v. Texas
“The Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the Fourteenth Amendment applied to all racial and ethnic groups facing discrimination, effectively broadening civil rights laws to include Hispanics and all other non-whites.”
September 30, 1962
National Farm Workers Association
Founded in Delano, CA, the National Farm Workers Association “defended the rights of farmworkers by employing nonviolent organizing tactics rooted in Catholic social teaching, Chicano identity, and civil rights rhetoric. Through a series of marches, national consumer boycotts, and fasts, the United Farm Workers union attracted national headlines, gained labor contracts with higher wages and improved working conditions, galvanizing the Chicano movement.”
June 13, 1966
Katzenbach v. Morgan
The “Supreme Court landmark case Katzenbach v. Morgan addressed the constitutionality . . . of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which held that no state shall impede suffrage to individuals lacking English language literacy. Ultimately, Justice Brennan, in a 7–2 decision, ruled that Section 4(e) of the Voting Rights Act was constitutional under Section 5 of the 14th amendment and the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution.”
November 2, 1966
Cuban Adjustment Act
Signed by President Lyndon Johnson, the “bipartisan Cuban Adjustment Act . . . granted work authorization permits and lawful permanent residency (green card status) to any Cuban native or citizen who settled in the United States for at least one year.”
1967
Mexican American Youth Organization
Founded in San Antonio, MAYO “was for a decade the major political organization of Mexican-American youth in Texas; it also led to the founding of the Raza Unida party in 1970. Like many other Mexican-American organizations in the state, MAYO sought social justice.”
December 13, 1968
Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund
“Founded in 1968, MALDEF (Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund) is the nation’s leading Latino legal civil rights organization. Our commitment is to protect and defend the rights of all Latinos living in the United States and the constitutional rights of all Americans.”
September 4, 1970
Diana v. California State Board
"The Diana v. State Board of Education (Diana) case originated when a group of Spanish-speaking students were inappropriately assigned to [special education] classes based on an assessment by an unqualified assessor. [CA 70 RFT (N.D. Cal. 1970).] Diana occurred because a monolingual psychologist tested Spanish speakers in English and used this data to place students in special education classes. The case, filed in 1969, was settled out of court in 1970."
January 17, 1970
La Raza Unida
“La Raza Unida promoted Mexican-American identity politics and campaigned on increased diversity in school systems, political candidates, and in employment. It also sought to increase infrastructure spending in Hispanic communities.”
January 21, 1974
Lau v. Nichols
This case “ruled a school that accepted federal funds and did not provide adequate English courses or other educational benefits to students of Chinese ancestry, who did not speak English, violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (California) - Title VI.” Although the case began with Chinese-speaking students, the ruling benefited all English language learning students.
August 21, 1974
Equal Educational Opportunities Act
“Congress enacted the Equal Educational Opportunities Act of 1974 (EEOA), requiring both local and state educational agencies to take appropriate action to overcome language barriers that impede equal participation by [English language learning] students in instructional programs.”
October 28, 1974
Equal Credit Opportunity Act
The ECOA “prohibits creditors from discriminating against credit applicants on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, age, because an applicant receives income from a public assistance program, or because an applicant has in good faith exercised any right under the Consumer Credit Protection Act.
1988
Hispanic Housing Crisis, National Council of La Raza (NCLR)
“NCLR published Hispanic Housing Crisis, the first comprehensive study of housing issues facing Latinos. This study outlined the findings of many early housing discrimination studies addressing the effects of discrimination on Hispanics seeking housing.”
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