Welcome to Mexican American History I (HIST 2327). This.docx

Welcome to Mexican American History I (HIST 2327). This
packet contains introductory reading and will assist
you with this week’s activities. In this first reading assignment
students will explore information about identity,
the Mexican American Studies Program, the historian’s purpose,
and the course learning objectives.
Identity
While this course is titled Mexican American History, the topics
explored in this course will extend beyond the
Mexican-American experience of residents in the United States
southwest. We will study the caste system in
New Spain, otherwise known as colonial Mexico. As we
progress through the course students will develop an
understanding of ethnic distinctions, how different groups self-
identify, and the historical aspects of institutions
governing these diverse groups. This class will explore the
experiences of Puerto Ricans, Cubans, Philippinos; we
will investigate United States’ policies in Latin America. This
course is not just a study of the Mexican-American
experience along the contemporary U.S.-Mexico border because

doing so would undermine the importance of
recognizing similarities of life experiences among the broader
Hispanic/Latino population. Based on the 2010
Census, one in four children in the United States is Hispanic.
While the census data does reduce identity more
finely to account for distinction of native country, most day-to-
day experiences with language, learning,
interactions with law enforcement, representation, etc. are
experiences shared by all Latino/as, regardless of
national origin. The following passage, written by Puerto-Rican
born Angel Oquendo, illustrates the importance
of broadening the scope of our course study:
Categorizing on the basis of physical features, of course is an
accepted practice in the United States. In fact, this society
has primarily used physiognomy to create the “Hispanic”
category. Yet what really unites Latino/as is their unique
history of oppression. Unlike other immigrant groups, the
largest Latino/as groups—Mexicans and Puerto Ricans—did
not come into the United States via Ellis Island; they entered
through the brutal process of U.S. imperial expansion. They
were militarily attacked, invaded, colonized, and annexed.

This common experience has caused them to form a unified
community, which now includes other people of Latin
American ancestry.1
In truth, most people who self-identify as Latino/a in the United
States have entered the country due to U.S.
imperial activity in their native country, as we will see in later
in the course. Those who did not enter the United
States, but instead witnessed the United States passing over into
their country and annexing them have also
1 Angel R. Oquendo, “Re-imagining the Latino/a Race,”
reprinted in A Critical Reader: The Latino Condition, edited by
Richard Delgado and Jean Stefancic. (New York University
Press, 1998), pg. 60. Oquendo is a PhD Harvard graduate and
currently serves as Associate Professor at the University of
Connecticut School of Law.
Reading Tip:
Did you notice the #1 listed at the end of the
top paragraph? This is known as a footnote.
Every time you encounter a footnote, take a
moment to review the source as provided,
along with any details the author might
deemed important. Occasionally, the author

will direct interested readers to other
sources or will provide more specific
examples and statistics in the footnote.
OVERVIEW OF THE COURSE
Mexican American History I
come to identify with United States imperial activity, but this
group is typically understood by scholars as having
been “internally colonized.”2 Beyond the more obvious
distinctions of national origin are the complications of
prior immigration by ancestors. Latin American countries
experienced waves of imperialistic activity prior to the
interference of the United States, and as a result, many
Latino/as have a much richer understanding of identity.
Categorization can be a sensitive issue, as illustrated in the
following passage.
People in the United States often ask me, “Where are you
from?” When I first arrived in the United
States four years ago, I would answer “I am from Honduras, but
my mother is a Salvadoran-
Guatemalan, and my father a Chinese Nicaraguan,” as if
explaining my origins in full detail would

assure me and others of my own identity. Following my reply I
would often hear: “Oh, so you speak
Mexican,” or “What part of Mexico is that from?” “Is it
southern Mexico?” After hearing these
comments, I did not know whether to defend my nationality or
laugh. One time I deliberately
snapped, “No I am not Mexican!” and then patiently explained
the geography of what Europeans
termed “America.” I have tried many explanations, yet still feel
the need to clarify misconceptions
people have about Latinos. I am not Mexican. My identity has
undergone wide and narrow turns.
To begin to define my identity, I first want to discuss Mexicans.
They are not easily defined because
of their diversity. There are indigenous Mexicans, mestizo
Mexicans, black Mexicans, and white
Mexicans. There are Mexico-born people who do not even
consider themselves Mexicans; some
consider themselves Spanish, others identify with purely
indigenous ways of life. Then there are
non-native Mexicans who consider themselves Mexican until
they die. There are southern
Mexicans and northern Mexicans who have different regional
customs. There are also “Chilangos,”

and there are Zapatistas. Then, there are hundreds of regional
and cultural mixes within Mexico
itself. In sum, the Mexican experience is truly diverse and
unique.3
To complicate matters further, we will examine terminology.
The Johnson Administration (1964-1968) formally
recognized “Hispanic” as the proper term for people with
Spanish-origin. While this is technically correct, our
Latino/a population in the United States do not all trace their
ancestral origins to Spain. People born in or
originating from Brazil trace their origins to Portugal and speak
Portuguese. Some individuals may trace their
origins to a Caribbean island, where multiple languages and
cultures have flourished over the last few centuries.
There is currently a debate among scholars as to the usefulness
of the term Hispanic, with some giving
preference to Latino/a. Still others prefer Chicano/a,
recognizing again the distinction of “internally colonized”
people for the region of the present United States southwest.4
The federal government still formally recognizes
Hispanic, however, Latino/a is used periodically. For the sake
of testing, students should be as specific to the
particular group discussed, broadening terminology as
appropriate.

2 Rodolfo Acuna, Occupied America: A History of Chicanos
(New York, 1981). Read “Two Views of Occupation” for a
closer
examination of this categorization. The two source views have
been provided on blackboard.
3 Oriel Maria S. Bernal, “Are you Mexican?” in Chicano/a
Studies Reader: A Bridge to Writing, edited by Roberta Orona-
Cordova. (Kendall Hunt, 2003), pgs. 6-8.
4 Luis Angel Toro’s “Race, Identity, and “Box Checking,” The
Hispanic Classification in OMB Directive No. 15,” reprinted in
A
Critical Reader: The Latino Condition, edited by Richard
Delgado and Jean Stefancic. (New York University Press,
1998), pgs.
52-59.
Latinx entered mainstream vocabulary last year. Take a
moment to read about the term, and those who
support and reject it.
HUFFPOST – https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/why-
people-are-using-the-term-
latinx_us_57753328e4b0cc0fa136a159
Los Angeles Times-- http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-
oe-hernandez-the-case-against-latinx-20171217-
story.html#
Exercise: Locate three items in your possession/home which
convey to others your sense
of identity. If possible, take a picture of these three items and

post them into your
discussion board post. Tell your classmates how those three
items represent you. Ethnic
classification may not be an element you generally use to
identify yourself, and that is fine.
Your discussion board post should be communicated in
appropriate college-level sentence
structure.
Graded Activity: Discussion board
Mexican American Studies Program
This program was adopted by San Jacinto College in 2007,
following the Texas Higher Education Coordinating
Board’s (TCHEB) approval of a series of college courses aimed
at increasing the college success rates of Latino/a
students. Programs like this one have been in place in
California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado for many
years, if not decades. At times, programs like this one have
been denounced, have been stripped of funding,
have been labeled subversive and anti-American. In 2010 the
Tucson Unified School District passed a law
banning the continuation of Mexican American Studies Program
courses, prohibiting the teaching of courses
that “promote the overthrow of the United States government,
promote a resentment toward a race or class of

people, and advocate ethnic solidarity rather than the treatment
of pupils as individuals.”5 Former students,
Maya Arce and Korina Lopez are currently pursuing a case
against the school district. In an interview, Arce
contended “to study my history, my culture, my literature, and
art is a basic human right.”6 After reviewing
program data citing academic improvement by students involved
in the program, Judge Richard Clifton of the
U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals seemed to agree that the
intent of the law was discriminatory in nature, stating
“if the state rejects a program that is more effective in
educating children, doesn’t that suggest or strengthen
the inference that the reason the state is acting is not because it
wants to produce better education children?”7
At the University of Northern Colorado this past Spring, the
university board approved the suspension of their
Mexican American Studies Program due to low enrollment.8
Ethnic studies programs serve an important role in education.
Decades of studies have demonstrated that in the
realm of education minority populations have been underserved.
These programs were designed to provide
5 Huicochea, Alexis. 2015. "Federal judges question Arizona
ethnic studies ban." Arizona Daily Star (Tucson, AZ), January
13.

Newspaper Source, EBSCOhost (accessed May 22, 2015).
6 Ibid.
7 Ibid.
8 Silvy, Tyler. "University of Northern Colorado President Kay
Norton condemns racist attacks on UNC protesters." Greeley
Tribune (CO), May 01, 2015., Newspaper Source, EBSCOhost
(accessed May 22, 2015). Full source available via San
Jacinto College library article databases.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/why-people-are-using-
the-term-latinx_us_57753328e4b0cc0fa136a159
http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-hernandez-the-
case-against-latinx-20171217-story.html
http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-hernandez-the-
case-against-latinx-20171217-story.html
quality education, with the same learning objectives, while also
inserting skill development and attention to
issues particular to the needs of a specific student population.
Furthermore, supporters of these programs
argue discussion of the topics, not further marginalization and
silence, will provide a route to improving
acculturation and pluralism.9
Those who have supported ethnic studies note the successes
perceived by students, as well as statistics on
retention and completion. Data collected by the Pew Research
Center reveals the importance of meeting the
needs of Hispanic students. Colleges have witnessed a spike in
enrollment among students classified as

Hispanic. While current estimates highlight the decrease in
drop-out rates and gains in college completion rates,
there is still room for improvement.10 Programs have been
developing in a sporadic fashion, and with mixed
support. Recently, students at Texas A&M organized and
aggressively advocated that university adopt a Latino
Studies program. The University did establish a
Latino/Mexican Studies program. Many universities in Texas
already have similar programs, but only a few community
colleges have adopted a program like the one offered
at San Jacinto College. There has been renewed pressure by
state representatives to have Mexican American
Studies incorporated into the public education curriculum. One
Houston Chronicle headline proclaimed
“Mexican American Studies needed in Texas: Board of
Education Do the Right Thing and Add Course Option.”11
Despite acknowledging 51% of Texas students are Hispanic, the
board did not approve the measure.
Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities
San Jacinto College is a member of the HACU, Hispanic
Association of Colleges and Universities. The majority of
our student body self-identifies as Hispanic or Latino/a. We
also report to the Texas Higher Education
Coordinating Board (THECB). The Commissioner of THECB is

Dr. Raymund Paredes, a long-time advocate of
ethnic studies programs. In a recent interview, Paredes stated
“how well we educate Latino children will pretty
much determine the fate of Texas in the 21st century.”12
Studies show are less likely to enroll in college and far
too few Hispanic college students complete a degree. “Overall,
Hispanics are the least-educated racial or ethnic
group. Just 11 percent of those over the age of 25 have a
bachelor’s degree, compared with about 17 percent of
black, 27 percent of white, and 47 percent of Asian-American
adults in the same age bracket. More than two-
fifths of Hispanic adults over 25 never graduated from high
school, and more than one-fourth have less than a
ninth-grade education.”13
Experts have listed the following reasons for poor Hispanic
college completion rates:
courses
icient support system
decreases probability of completion
9 Basu, Kaustuv, “The Next Target?” Inside Higher Ed, April
17, 2012.

10 Richard Fry, “Hispanic College Enrollment Spikes,
Narrowing Gaps with Other Groups,” Pew Hispanic Center
(Washington
D.C., 2011). See Pew Education Trends Data on Blackboard.
11 Tony Diaz, “Mexican American Studies Needed in Texas,”
Houston Chronicle, Jan. 28, 2014.
12 Ralph K.M. Haurwitz, “State’s future hinges on Latinos’
educational success, commissioner says,” American-Statesman,
October 26, 2016.
13 Peter Schmidt, “Academe’s Hispanic Future,” The Chronicle
of Higher Education, reprinted in Chicana/o Studies: Survey
and Analysis, 3rd Ed. by Bixler-Marquez, et. al.
-year institutions / self-imposed remedial
cycle
-time enrollment / not committing to full-time often
leads to decision to drop-out
What is the Role of the Historian?
What do historians do? At the root of our work, historians ask
questions about the past. We dig for evidence, traditionally in
library archives, but more recently research has
been made easier with digitized sources on the internet.
Evidence, also known as sources, exist in a variety of
formats. Traditional sources of evidence include manuscripts,
diaries, newspapers, government documents and

treaties, religious records, letters and maps. However, more
recently historians have expanded their research
by investigating non-traditional sources, such as songs,
clothing, housing, family heirlooms, artwork and
etchings. Historians have worked closely with archeologists to
study excavated graves for better knowledge
about disease and diet. All source material must be treated as
suspicious. Sources must be examined and then
cross-referenced with other evidence to determine authenticity,
the author’s motive, anomalies, etc. When
historians encounter new information, we typically develop
additional research questions and continue hunting
for new evidence to address those questions. Many historians
get
stuck in this research loop but ideally historians synthesize the
information collected to inform an original argument using a
combination of primary and secondary sources.
Historians will present their arguments and evidence in a
variety of
forms, such as formal presentations at professional
organizations,
journals specific to historical study; they may have an original
book

published or they may teach their research in the classroom.
The
sharing of research is key to the role of the historian.
Historians seek to
expose the truth about the past and for this reason, there is a
responsibility to self (Personal) and society (Social) to conduct
the most
thorough investigation possible. Sadly, shoddy research does
exist.
Many sources have been presented as historical work even
though the
information was not developed by historians. In other
instances,
historians have delegated too much responsibility to peers and
student
research aides, who may have acted unethically with or without
the
knowledge of the primary historian. For this reason, students of
history
must maintain a skeptical position and follow the research
method: ask
questions, dig for sources, compare the sources for similarities,
highlight anomalies, ask more questions, dig for more evidence

and synthesize only when the research appears
exhausted. Take a moment to read David Plotz’ article on
plagiarism.14
14 Plotz, David. "The Plagiarist: Why Stephen Ambrose Is a
Vampire." Slate. January 11, 2002. Accessed January 8, 2014.
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/assessment/20
02/01/the_plagiarist.html.
Watch The Videos
Return to the Blackboard course site
to watch the videos. There are two
videos on detailing Historical Thinking
and one on Reading Like a Historian.
Take notes.
Consider the following questions:
What makes historical thought
unique? How do historians interact
with source material? What does
historical context mean? What
purpose do sources serve in the study
of the past? How does the study of

documents differ from reading a
textbook?
Take a Break to Read
Take a moment to read The New York Times
article "For Poor, Leap to College Often Ends
in a Hard Fall.” Access via Blackboard.
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/assessment/20
02/01/the_plagiarist.html
Stephen Ambrose handled his first plagiarism scandal of the
week with the graceful humility you'd expect
from America's Uncle History. Over the weekend, the Weekly
Standard's Fred Barnes nailed Ambrose for
heisting several passages of The Wild Blue, his recent best
seller about World War II B-24 bomber crews,
from historian Thomas Childers. Ambrose had footnoted
Childers but still passed off Childers' elegant prose
as his own. Ambrose apologized immediately for the "mistake,"
blamed it on faulty attribution, and
promised to place the text in quotations in future editions.
Barnes and Childers quickly pardoned Ambrose, and the only
chiding Ambrose received was for his haste:
He has written eight books in five years. He's a history factory,
using his five kids as researchers and
assistants to streamline the production process. "He writes so

many books. I don't know how he can avoid
making some mistakes," says former Sen. George McGovern,
whose B-24 exploits are the chief subject of
The Wild Blue.
Plagiarists steal good stuff and they steal garbage.….No matter
what they steal, they fall back on the same
excuses…they blamed their confusing "notebooks," where they
allegedly mixed up their own notes with
passages recorded elsewhere.
As the Columbia Journalism Review chronicled in 1995,
plagiarists suffer vastly different punishments for
similar offenses. Some are sacked for a single misdemeanor
shoplifting. Some keep their jobs after
numerous felonies. Some are briefly suspended; others sidelined
for months. Some pay huge settlements to
the writers they have ripped off; most don't pay a penny…..
…..It's so difficult to think about plagiarism for several reasons.
First, all writers, especially good writers,
borrow and imitate. That's how we learn. We are constantly
influenced unconsciously by things we read.
And it can be hard to distinguish an homage from an imitation
from a borrowing from a bank robbery.
Writers are uncertain about plagiarism because none of us are
certain that we are innocent. I frequently
imitate the style of writers I admire. I surely have recycled
snappy phrases I've read. I can't tell you what
they are, but I bet they're out there. I have a fear—which I
suspect is shared by most writers—that
somewhere, in something I wrote, I may have even stolen a
sentence. I don't remember doing it. I would
never do it intentionally. But could I swear that it never
happened? No. This is—to steal a phrase—our

anxiety of influence.
In a 1997 New Yorker essay, James Kincaid argued that
plagiarism should not bother writers so much. Most
journalism is mediocre, unoriginal prose, Kincaid says, so
writers shouldn't mind if it gets recycled. Some
literary theorists minimize plagiarism for a related reason. They
are skeptical of the ideas of authorship and
originality, contending that everything new is cobbled together
from older sources…. [However]… the act
of putting particular words in a particular order is our hard
labor. Even when the result is mediocre and
unoriginal, it is our own mediocrity. The words are our proof of
life, the evidence we can present at
heaven's gate that we have not frittered away our three score
and ten….The plagiarist violates the essential
rule of his trade. He steals the lifeblood of a colleague. A few
paragraphs have made Stephen Ambrose a
vampire.
Research: A Question of Integrity
http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/00
0/000/738lfddv.asp
http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/00
0/000/752brzuv.asp
What is history?
Before evaluating the actual sources used by your expert
historians, it is good to re-emphasize the fact that
"History", that is the study of the past, includes endless
information and historians often have to make

inferences based upon a small portion of the actual evidence.
The general population consumes historical
interpretations created by historians; it is the responsibility of
the consumer/student to review the credibility of
the historian, weigh the facts presented, and recognize that each
historian is operating with the sources they
have deemed “valuable.” Historians do not always agree on the
relationship between cause and effect;
historians do not always value sources equally; historians
occasionally disregard sources that might contribute to
a different interpretation; historians often value sources that
reaffirm their own cultural understanding or belief
system. Historians, all historians, interpret the past through
their own filter.
What do we Know about the Past?
All of the Past: This category includes all past events, ideas,
people, actions, etc. Unfortunately many past
events have been "lost" to history. While this is particularly true
of the distant past (before written records),
even much of modern history falls into this category. In general,
people do not record every event of their daily
lives. While most of those actions will not have a significant
impact on history, some of them do, or will
influence the person to make certain decisions later. However,
probably the largest part of this category is ideas

-- the reasons behind the choices that are made. For historians,
this will mean that the majority of "historical
interpretation" comes from trying to recreate those ideas.
The Knowable Past: This category includes all surviving
material, both historical documents and archaeological
evidence. Unfortunately for historians, some of this evidence
is fragmented, or so limited that it is hard to tell its
significance. Some ancient languages still have not been
deciphered, so although records have been found, historians
are not able to read them.
The Usable Past: This category is all the evidence which
currently can be used. Every few years there is a major
archaeological discovery which provides us with new
information, or new technology allows us to gain different
information from existing evidence. Modern forensics have
provided many clues to historians. It is important to
remember when reading older history books that they might
not have access to all of the material which we have today.

Watch The Videos
There are two suggested videos on Historical
Thinking. Watch and take notes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i71veYOUHiw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSJLmWnxrPg
Consider the following questions: How do
historians interact with source material?
What does historical context mean? What
purpose do sources serve in the study of the
past? How does the study of documents
differ from reading a textbook?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i71veYOUHiw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSJLmWnxrPg
The Valued Past: This category
includes only those sources of
information which are being
used. The difference between

this category and the previous
one is significant. Sometimes
this difference this comes
from the choice of materials
used in a subject. For example,
most historians have a
preference for documentary
evidence, meaning that they
tend to use written records to
tell the story of the past,
instead of archaeological
evidence. So a history
professor and an archaeology
professor will tell very
different versions of the same
time period. However, that is
not the only limit placed on
the "Usable Past." Not all written records are used by
historians. Usually this is because the source is considered

unreliable. Just like today, people in the past had their own
agendas for writing. When historians look at
evidence, they have to ask themselves: is this document/author
reliable? Does it support other evidence?
Would the author of the document have an agenda or ulterior
motive which would lead him/her to exaggerate
or lie? Also, this category can be limited by social values of the
time. For example, until the 1960s U.S. History
textbooks primarily focused on white society. Because of the
cultural attitude of racism, ethnic minorities were
often ignored and their contribution to history was left out of
the textbooks. As you read the sources in this
chapter, pay attention to the publication date of each textbook
excerpt and ask yourself how the sources
referenced by each author reflect the author’s views of “valued
past.” Does the author highlight information
that he/she has discounted as less reliable or less credible?
Interpreted Past: Finally, once the historian has removed all of
the evidence that they cannot use or do not
value, they are left with the remaining evidence. From that, the
historian still has more evidence than they can
use to tell a clear story about the past. The “interpreted past”
then is the collection of the evidence which fits

that historian's perspective or historical interpretation.
One last note for this section, historians often disagree on the
meaning of the past. Occasionally this will be
based on wrong evidence (one historian is using sources that
have misrepresented the past), but usually this
disagreement is based on different historical interpretations. For
example, sometimes sources have been buried
and as they become studied and incorporated into the existing
data, new interpretations emerge. Sometimes
certain sources are deemed more consequential than other
sources, so those sources are given priority in the
interpretation. Once in a while, an event occurs that bares
remarkable similarity to a past event, exposing that a
certain motivating factor is in fact more motivating than other
factors, thus validating one interpretation over
others. As we continue in the course you will become more
adept at understanding how two different
interpretations can be equally valid.
Types of Sources
Primary sources are materials directly related to the event
captured by the material/source; the individual
composing the source should have a connection to event, either
as a participant or observer. Secondary sources

are interpretations of past events and often include analysis of
primary sources. Tertiary sources are reference
materials, i.e. dictionaries, encyclopedias, etc.
Primary Sources Secondary Sources
Photograph A book written by a historian over matters in the
seventeenth
century but published in the twentieth century
Government document A website on types of technology and
weaponry used during
World War II
An audio recording of you singing in the shower A podcast
lecture on the Mexican American War
A speech A speech*
diary entry A painting of an event occurring three hundred years
earlier
newspaper advertisement Textbook
Interview A magazine entry discussing water routes in Houston
Census records
An edited section of census records**
Rock art displaying signs of family organization

among ancient people groups
A scholarly essay examining the changing interpretation of
Native American family structure
In the source diagram, speech is listed in both columns. A
speech typically includes the perspective of the person
delivering
the speech, and in that sense, the speech is a primary source
because it communicates the experiences and perspective of its
author. However, if the speech is primarily focused on the
experiences of people other than the person speaking, that
information should be evaluated as a secondary source. For
example, a source written by Sam Houston in 1836 might be
immediately classified as primary because the letter is his work
and written during the time period in question. However, if the
letter communicates his perspective about events he did not
directly participate in, but rather learned about from others,
then this source may not be treated as a primary source.
Furthermore, primary sources are not always authentic portals

to the past; more often than not, people record their
experiences based upon their suppositions, biases, and the
impact of the event on them personally. For instance, speeches
are often more specifically classified as propaganda.
Propaganda is any source that attempts to persuade the
audience to a certain perspective. These kind of sources are
often guilty of misrepresenting facts and omitting valuable and
contradictory evidence. Primary sources should be evaluated
with the same level of skepticism as one would apply to
secondary sources.
Another confusing group of sources are maps, tables, graphs
and
charts. These sources may be primary or they may be
secondary. Aside from asking questions, digging through
archives, and comparing sources, historians also study change,
specifically change over time. As historians gather evidence,
they may find it easier to communicate quantifiable change over
time in the form of a non-textual source. Tables, Charts,

Diagrams communicating historic information are usually
instructional and not considered primary sources. If a primary
source has been edited, then the work might be
better classified as a secondary source. An edited work may
exclude certain facts or evidence if the editor wants
to persuade the reader to a particular viewpoint. The most
experienced students review the original, pre-edited
work, to determine what has been changed and whether the
reproduction communicates the exact same
findings as the original. Reviewing the original primary source
also prevents reproduction of errors and
misinterpretations.
If primary sources always told the
truth, the historian’s job would be
much easier—and also rather
boring. But sources, like witnesses
in a murder case, often lie.
Sometimes they lie on purpose,
telling untruths to further a specific
ideological, philosophical, or

political agenda. Sometimes they lie
by omission, leaving out bits of
information that are crucial to
interpreting an event. Sometimes
sources mislead unintentionally
because the author was not aware
of all the facts, misinterpreted the
facts, or was misinformed. Many
are biased, either consciously or
unconsciously, and contain unstated
assumptions; all reflect the interests
and concerns of their authors.
Moreover, primary sources often
conflict. As a result one of the
challenges historians face in writing
a history paper is evaluating the
reliability and usefulness of their
sources. (Rampolla, p. 9)

Sifting Through Sources
for the Truth
HIST 2327, Introduction, Current Inequality Trends
Source: DePARLE, JASON, and Kitty Bennett. "For Poor, Leap
to College Often Ends in a Hard Fall." New York Times,
December 23, 2012., 1, Newspaper Source, EBSCOhost
(accessed May 20, 2015). Students may link to the full source
using the San Jacinto College library databases.
The following passage was originally printed in The New York
Times in December of 2012, and was reprinted in
Chicana/o Studies, Survey and Analysis 4
th
ed. in 2014. As you read through this news report about
students in our
region, consider the similarities and differences to your own
aspirations, obstacles, and fears.
Galveston, Tex.—Angelica Gonzales marched through high
school in Goth armor—black boots, chains and cargo pants—but
undermined her pose of alienation with a place on the honor
roll. She nicknamed herself after a metal band and vowed to
become the first in her family to earn a college degree.
“I don’t want to work at Walmart” like her mother, she wrote
to a school counselor. Weekends and summers were devoted to
a college-readiness program, where her best friends, Melissa

O’Neal and Bianca Gonzalez, shared her drive to “get off the
island”—escape the prospect of dead-end lives in luckless
Galveston. Melissa, an eighth-grade valedictorian, seethed over
her
mother’s boyfriends and drinking, and Bianca’s bubbly
innocence hid the trauma of her father’s death. They stuck
together so
much that a tutor called them the “triplets.”
Low-income strivers face uphill climbs, especially at Ball
High School, where a third of the girls’ class failed to graduate
on
schedule. But by the time the triplets donned mortarboards in
the class of 2008, their story seemed to validate the promise of
education as the great equalizer.
Angelica, a daughter of a struggling Mexican immigrant, was
headed to Emory University. Bianca enrolled in community
college,
and Melissa left for Texas State University, President Lyndon
B. Johnson’s alma mater.
“It felt like we were taking off, from one life to another,”
Melissa said. “It felt like, ‘Here we go!’ “
Four years later, their story seems less like a tribute to
upward mobility than a study of obstacles in an age of soaring
economic
inequality. Not one of them has a four-year degree. Only one
is still studying full time, and two have crushing debts.
Angelica,
who left Emory owing more than $60,000, is a clerk in a
Galveston furniture store.
Each showed the ability to do college work, even excel at it.
But the need to earn money brought one set of strains, campus
alienation brought others, and ties to boyfriends not in school
added complications. With little guidance from family or
school
officials, college became a leap that they braved without a

safety net.
The story of their lost footing is also the story of something
larger—the growing role that education plays in preserving
class
divisions. Poor students have long trailed affluent peers in
school performance, but from grade-school tests to college
completion, the gaps are growing. With school success and
earning prospects ever more entwined, the consequences carry
far:
education, a force meant to erode class barriers, appears to be
fortifying them.
“Everyone wants to think of education as an equalizer—the
place where upward mobility gets started,” said Greg J. Duncan,
an
economist at the University of California, Irvine. “But on
virtually every measure we have, the gaps between high- and
low-
income kids are widening. It’s very disheartening.”
The growing role of class in academic success has taken
experts by surprise since it follows decades of equal opportunity
efforts
and counters racial trends, where differences have narrowed. It
adds to fears over recent evidence suggesting that low-income
Americans have lower chances of upward mobility than
counterparts in Canada and Western Europe.
Thirty years ago, there was a 31 percentage point difference
between the share of prosperous and poor Americans who
earned
bachelor’s degrees, according to Martha J. Bailey and Susan M.
Dynarski of the University of Michigan. Now the gap is 45
points.
While both groups improved their odds of finishing college,
the affluent improved much more, widening their sizable lead.
Likely reasons include soaring incomes at the top and changes
in family structure, which have left fewer low-income students
with the support of two-parent homes. Neighborhoods have

grown more segregated by class, leaving lower-income students
increasingly concentrated in lower-quality schools. And even
after accounting for financial aid, the costs of attending a public
university have risen 60 percent in the past two decades. Many
low-income students, feeling the need to help out at home, are
deterred by the thought of years of lost wages and piles of debt.
In placing their hopes in education, the Galveston teenagers
followed a tradition as old as the country itself. But if only the
prosperous become educated—and only the educated prosper—
the schoolhouse risks becoming just another place where the
fortunate preserve their edge.
“It’s becoming increasingly unlikely that a low-income
student, no matter how intrinsically bright, moves up the
socioeconomic
ladder,” said Sean Reardon, a sociologist at Stanford. “What
we’re talking about is a threat to the American dream.”
2327, Introductions, Textbooks
As you read this source, consider the following questions:
1. What is the most important responsibility of a historical
textbook?
2. Are textbook authors’ motives the same as textbook
publishers?
3. What factors influence the delivery of information in a
textbook?
4. Does the historian have an obligation to provide the “truth”
about past events?
5. Does “truth” get in the way of interpretation?
6. Can historians impact politics and shape cultural norms or is

it the other way around; do cultural
norms and politics shape textbooks?
AUSTIN — Did Moses influence the Founding Fathers? Is all
international terrorism linked to Islamist fundamentalists?
Was slavery not a key contributor to the Civil War?
These are questions scholars say are raised by social studies
textbooks headed for Texas classrooms that are misleading,
racially prejudiced and, at times, flat-out false. The elementary
and intermediate geography, history and U.S. government
books were written according to a set of standards created by
Texas education officials four years ago — called the Texas
Essential Knowledge and Skills — that could potentially alter
traditional learning methods, they say.
And it's not just a Texas issue. The state is so large that
publishers commonly market the books made for Texas to other
states, said Josh Rosenau, programs and policy director for the
National Center for Science Education, a California-based
non-profit group that has reviewed some of the books.
If approved by the state school board on Friday, these textbooks
could trickle out to the rest of the country and be used in
classrooms for the next decade, he said. It's the first time since
2002 the board will vote on the books.
"What happens in Texas doesn't stay in Texas,"Rosenau said.
"All of these books, once they get through the process in
Texas, are going to show up in other states."

The standards created by an education panel in 2010 and
approved by the 15-member State Board of Education sparked
a tempest of controversy at the time for adhering too strongly to
creationist views and failing to separate church from state,
among other criticisms. Some of the textbooks that arose from
those guidelines, by such publishers as McGraw-Hill and
Pearson, show an underlying political and ideological slant and
historical inaccuracies, said Dan Quinn, of the Texas
Freedom Network, a non-profit group which has criticized the
process.
The group recruited academics from around the country to
review 43 of the textbooks submitted in April by publishers and
found a litany of inaccuracies and cultural biases, he said. Some
of the publishers have corrected the passages in
question, while others have not, Quinn said.
Emile Lester, a political scientist at the University of Mary
Washington in Virginia, took two months to review seven U.S.
government textbooks intended for 12th-grade classrooms. He
found a score of inaccuracies in five of those books,
including passages that suggested the Ten Commandments had
an influence on the writing of the U.S. Constitution and
that Moses was a democratic leader who influenced the
Founding Fathers, he said.
"These textbooks were teaching pretty much the opposite of the
truth," Lester said. "You would hope publishers felt their
main allegiance be to the education of students, but it was quite
obvious that their main goal was to appease members of
the State Board of Educators."
Spokesmen for Pearson and McGraw-Hill declined to comment.
Thomas Ratliff, vice chair of the Texas State Board of

Education, said many of the members of the 2010 board who
approved the guidelines have since been voted out of office and
replaced by new members. Board members are elected
through single-member districts and typically serve four-year
terms. They preside over a school system consisting of 1,200
school districts, 8,200 campuses and 4.7 million schoolchildren.
The board is now in the precarious position of having to stick to
the controversial guidelines while recognizing the
inaccuracies, Ratliff said. "It was one of the lowest moments in
recent history of the state board," Ratliff, a Republican who
came into office last year, said of the 2010 vote. "We are in
repair at the moment."
Ruben Cortez, a Democratic board member from Brownsville,
said he was encouraged that three publishers in question
agreed to make changes but was still concerned about some of
the inaccuracies in the books. "We shouldn't be lying to
our students," he said. "(Textbooks) need to be based on actual
science and facts."
The most alarming passages Rosenau said he read in the books
he reviewed were those that challenged the fact that
humans are responsible for climate change. Although some of
the publishers they approached with the inaccuracies made
changes, others have not, he said.
"It's encouraging to see climate change in the social studies
classroom. It certainly belongs there," Rosenau said. "It will be
a shame if publishers shuck that responsibility and give
misinformation to students."

Source: Rick Jervis, “Controversial Texas Textbooks Headed to
Classrooms,” in USA Today. Nov. 17, 2014.
2327, Introductions, Textbooks
2327, Introductions, Occupation and Internal Colonization
Mexicans viewed the conquest of their land very differently.
Suddenly, they were “thrown among those who were
strangers to their language, customs, laws, and habits.” The
border had been moved, and now thousands of
Mexicans found themselves inside the United States. The treaty
permitted them to remain in the United States or
to move across the new southern border. If they stayed, they
would be guaranteed “the enjoyment of all the
rights of citizens of the United States according to the
principles of the Constitution.”
1
Most remained, but they felt a particular alienation. “Our
race, our unfortunate people will have to wander in
search of hospitality in a strange land, only to be ejected later,”
Mexican diplomat Manuel Cresción Rejón

predicted. “Descendants of the Indians that we are, the North
Americans hate us, their spokesmen depreciate us,
even if they recognize the justice of our cause, and they
consider us unworthy to form with them one nation and
one society, they clearly manifest that their future expansion
begins with the territory that they take from us and
pushing aside our citizens who inhabit the land.” A few years
later, Pablo de la Guerra vented his frustrations
before the California Senate. The “conquered” Mexicans, he
complained, did not understand the new language,
English, which was now “prevalent” on “their native soil.” They
had become “foreigners in their own land.”
2
….Dominant in the state legislature, Anglos enacted laws aimed
at Mexicans. An anti-vagrancy act, described as
the ‘Greaser Act,’ defined vagrants as “all persons who [were]
commonly known as ‘Greasers’ or the issue of
Spanish or Indian blood….and who [went] armed and [were] not
peaceable and quiet persons…..
….Mexicans soon became a minority as Anglos flocked to Santa
Barbara. In 1873, Mexican voters were
overwhelmed at the polls. Thought they elected Nicolas
Covarrubias as county sheriff, they lost the positions of
county assessor, clerk, treasurer, and district attorney.
Politically, the Anglos were now in command. “The native
population wear a wondering, bewildered look at the sudden
change of affairs,” a visitor noted, “yet seem
resigned to their unexpected situation, while the conquerors are
proud and elated with their conquest.” Mexican
political participation declined precipitously in Santa Barbara—
to only 15 percent of registered voters in 1904 and

only 3 percent in 1920.
3
….Mexican parents sent their children to segregated
schools….[where they] were trained to become obedient
workers. Like the sugar planters in Hawaii who wanted to keep
the American-born generation of Japanese on the
plantations, Anglo farmers in Texas wanted the schools to help
reproduce the labor force. “If every [Mexican] child
has a high school education, “sugar beet growers asked, “who
will labor?” A farmer in Texas explained: “If I wanted
a man I would want one of the more ignorant ones…Educated
Mexicans are the hardest to handle….It is all right to
educate them no higher than we educate them here in these little
towns. I will be frank. They would make more
desirable citizens if they would stop about the seventh grade.”
4
Source Excerpt: Ronald Takaki, From a Distant Mirror: A
History of Multicultural America, 1993.
1
Rodolfo Acuna, Occupied America: A History of Chicanos
(New York, 1981), p. 199; David J. Weber (ed.),
Foreigners in Their Native Land: Historical Roots of the
Mexican Americans (Albuquerque, N.M. 2003); David
Hunter Miller, Treaties and Other International Acts of the

United States of America (Washington, D.C.:
Government Printing Office, 1937), Vol. 5
2
Personal Memoirs of John N. Seguin, From the Year 1834 to
the Retreat of General Woll from the City of San
Antonio, 1842 (San Antonio, 1858) reprinted in Weber, pg. 178.
3
Albert Camarillo, Chicanos in a Changing Society: From
Mexican Pueblos to American Barrios in Santa Barbara
and Southern California, 1848-1930 (Cambridge, Mass., 1979),
p. 23, 46, 41, 187.
4
Sarah Deutsch, No Separate Refuge: Culture, Class, and Gender
on an Anglo-Hispanic Frontier in the American
Southwest, 1880-1940 (New York, 1987), p. 141; Rosalinda m.
Gonzalez, Chicanas and Mexican Immigrant Families,
1920-1940: Women’s Subordination and Family Exploitation, in
Lois Scharf and Joan M. Jensen (eds.), Decades of
Discontent: The Women’s Movement, 1920-1940 (Westport,
Conn., 1983), p. 66
…it is my contention that the conquest of the Southwest
created a colonial situation in the traditional
sense—with the Mexican land and population being controlled
by an imperialistic United States.
Further, I contend that this colonization—with variations—is
still with us today. Thus, I refer to the

colony, initially, in the traditional definition of the term, and
later (taking into account the variations) as
an internal colony.
From the Chicano perspective, it is obvious that these two
types of colonies are a reality. In
discussions with non-Chicano friends, however, I have
encountered considerable resistance. In fact,
even colleagues sympathetic to the Chicano cause vehemently
deny that Chicanos are—or have been—
colonized. They admit the exploitation and discrimination, but
they add that this has been the
experience of most “Americans”—especially European and
Asian immigrants and Black Americans.
While I agree that exploitation and racism have victimized most
out-groups in the United States, this
does not preclude the reality of the colonial relationship
between the Anglo-American privileged and
the Chicano.
I feel that the parallels between the Chicanos’ experience in
the United States and the colonization of
other Third World peoples are too similar to dismiss. Attendant
to the definition of colonization are the
following conditions:
1. The land of one people is invaded by people from another
country, who later use military force
to gain and maintain control.
2. The original inhabitants become subjects of the conquerors
involuntarily.
3. The conquered have an alien culture and government imposed
upon them.
4. The conquered become the victims of racism and cultural
genocide and are relegated to a

submerged status.
5. The conquered are rendered politically and economically
powerless.
6. The conquerors feel they have a “mission” in occupying the
area in question and believe that
they have undeniable privileges by virtue of their conquest.
These points also apply to the relationship between Chicanos
and Anglos in Mexico’s northwest
territory.
In the traditional historian’s viewpoint, however, there are
two differences that impede universal
acceptance of the reality of Anglo-American colonialism in this
area.
1. Geographically the land taken from Mexico bordered the
United States rather than being an
area distant from the “mother country.”
Too many historians have accepted—subconsciously, if not
conveniently—the myth that the area was
always intended to be an integral part of the United States.
Instead of conceptualizing the conquered
territory as northern Mexico, they perceive it in terms of the
“American” Southwest. Further, the
stereotype of the colonialist pictures him wearing Wellington
boots and carrying a swagger stick, and
that stereotype is usually associated with overseas situations—
certainly not in territory contiguous to an
“expanding” country.
2. Historians also believe that the Southwest was won in fair

and just warfare, as opposed to
unjust imperialism.
The rationale has been that the land came to the United States
as the result of competition, and in
winning the game, the country was generous in paying for its
prize. In the case of Texas, they believe
Mexico attacked the “freedom-loving” Anglo-Americans. It is
difficult for citizens of the United States to
accept the fact that their nation has been and is imperialistic.
Imperialism, to them, is an affliction of
other countries.
….The colonization still exists today, but as I mentioned before,
there are variations. Anglo-Americans
still exploit and manipulate Mexicans and still relegate them to
a submerged caste. Mexicans are still
denied political and economic determination and are still the
victims of racial stereotypes and racial
slurs promulgated by those who feel they are superior. Thus, I
contend that Mexicans in the United
States are still a colonized people, but now the colonization is
internal—it is occurring within the country
rather than being imposed by an external power. The territories
of the Southwest are states within the
United States, and theoretically permanent residents of Mexican
extraction are U.S. citizens. Yet the
rights of citizenship are too often circumvented or denied
outright……
Source: Rodolfo Acuna, Occupied America: A History of

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