Manifest Destiny And The Mexican-American War

The idea of Manifest Destiny became extremely popular during the 1840’s to justify US intrusion into other lands. Anglos believed it was their God-given right to expand and populate other areas. With this mentality, Anglos set out to take what belonged to Mexico. American intrusion into Mexican land created conflict between the two, leading to the Mexican-American War from 1846-1848. Mexicans living in present-day California, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Arizona, Utah and Colorado, which became part of the United States after the Mexican-American War, experienced a drastic change in their lives. Many false promises were made with the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo officially ended the Mexican-American War. Mexicans became an underrepresented
“Political control could be violently wrested from Hispanos, even though they constituted a majority in a settlement”, (Weber, 177) in Texas during the 1850’s. Most Mexicans were not allowed to vote, so most decisions were made by what the Anglos wanted, or perceived as being for the best. Mexicans weren’t allowed to serve on juries either, they were “systematically, intentionally, and deliberately excluded from [all] Jury Commissions and Grand Juries”, (Garcia, 38). Mexicans were considered “neither African American nor completely white when it came to judicial interpretations”, (Garcia, 14). In excluding Mexicans from serving on the juries, Anglos were discretely suppressing the Mexican community. The absence of Mexicans on the juries meant that if a Mexican was ever put on trial, they would be undoubtedly declared guilty because Anglo’s believed Mexicans were an inferior
“The Lemon Grove Incident” stands out as the nation’s first successful desegregation case. It was the first time that a Mexican community had spoken up against segregation. This case demonstrated the strength that the Mexican could have if they united. Even though this case was successful during its time, segregation still continued to occur throughout the United States. The actions of the Lemon Grove community benefited their community and the ordeal reached national prominence, but it was not enough to get rid of segregation throughout the country. Although it is more subtle, segregation based on ethnicity still survives, proof that the Lemon Grove Incident was only momentarily successful. El Plan de Aztlan served to create unity among Mexicans. It encouraged Mexicans to organize themselves so that they could get better results for themselves. The main ideas of the plan were good; they encouraged passive fighting for the rights of Mexicans. Although the ideas behind the manifesto were good, it didn’t yield results because it remained at that, a