Tuesday, September 15, 2020

 


September 15th through October 15th is National Hispanic Heritage month. This is the time to recognize the contributions and experiences of Americans of Hispanic heritage. According to the National Hispanic Heritage Month website, hosted by the Library of Congress, "September 15 is significant because it is the anniversary of the independence for Latin American countries Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. In addition, Mexico and Chile celebrate their Independence days on September 16th and 18th respectively."

2010 US Census Hispanic Population by County
Percentage of Hispanic or Latino population by county in 2010 census.
By United States Census Bureau [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.
Hispanic Americans are a large and quickly growing segment of the US population. In 2003, Hispanics became the largest minority group in the United States. The 2010 census counted 50,477,594 Americans of Hispanic or Latino origin. That's 16.3% of the total US population and a 43% increase from the 2000 census count.

Timeline of Hispanic-American History
Click on the links below to find relevant library resources on each topic.

1493: Christopher Columbus began Spanish colonization of Puerto Rico.
1513: Juan Ponce de León led first expedition to Florida.
1528 – 1536: Alvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca survived an ill-fated expedition and explored portions of Texas. His book was the first written account of Texas Indians.
1539 – 1542: Hernando de Soto explored Southeast US including portions of Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi. The Hernando de Soto Expedition by Jerald T. Milanich. Francisco Vásquez de Coronado explored Southwest US including portions of Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas. Documents of the Coronado Expedition, 1539 – 1542 by Richard and Shirley Cushing Flint.
1565: Pedro Menéndez de Avilés established a colony at Saint Augustine, Florida.
·         America’s Ancient City: Spanish St. Augustine, 1565 – 1763 by Kathleen A. Deagan
1598: Juan de Oñate led Spanish colonization of New Mexico.
1610: Santa Fe established as capital of New Mexico.
·         Santa Fe: History of an Ancient City by David Grant Noble
1718: Spanish colonists founded San Antonio, Texas.  
·         Spanish Texas, 1519 – 1821 by Donald E. Chipman
      1748 - 1755: José de Escandón led the Spanish colonization of Nuevo Santander (which today includes the Mexican state of Tamaulipas and portions of southern Texas). He established several settlements in the region including Laredo, TX. 
·            De León: a Tejano Family History by A. Carolina Castillo Crimm
    Notable Men and Women of Spanish Texas by Donald E. Chipman and Harriet Denise Joseph 
Presidio La Bahía near Goliad, TX. Originally built by the Spanish in 1721, and later rebuilt in 1771.
 Photo by Ernest Mettendorf - Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4208460
1769 – 1819: Spain established multiple settlements in California including San Diego (1769), San Francisco (1776), and Los Angeles (1781).
·         A History of California: the Spanish Period by Charles E. Chapman
1821: United States purchased Florida from Spain.
·         Diplomacy and the Borderlands: the Adams-Onís Treaty of 1819 by Philip Coolidge Brooks  
 Mexico won independence from Spain.
·         The Hidalgo Revolt: Prelude to Mexican Independence by Hugh M. Hamill
1822: Joseph Marion Hernández became first Hispanic to serve in the US Congress. He was a delegate from the Florida Territory.
1836: Texas declared independence from Mexico.
1845: United States annexed Texas.
·         The Annexation of Texas by Justin Harvey Smith
1848: Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ended the Mexican-American War. Mexico ceded territory to US including: California, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, and portions of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Wyoming. 
   The Border Crossed Us: Rhetorics of Borders, Citizenship, and Latino/a Identity by Josue David Cisneros. 
·         Border Visions: Mexican Cultures of the Southwest United States by Carlos G. Vélez-Ibañez
·         The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo: a Legacy of Conflict by Richard Griswold del Castillo
1859: Juan Cortina seized control of Brownsville, TX in retaliation for town marshal’s assault on one of his employees.
·         Cortina: Defending the Mexican Name in Texas by Jerry D. Thompson
·         Juan N. Cortina: Two Interpretations by Charles William Goldfinch
1875: Romualdo Pacheco became the first Hispanic governor of a US state (California). 
1877: A white mob killed approximately 40 Mexican-Americans in Nueces County, Texas.
          Forgotten Dead: Mob Violence against Mexicans in the United States, 1848-1928 by William D. Carrigan and Clive Webb.   
1889: The Herrera brothers (Pablo, Nicanor, and Juan Jose) formed a resistance movement known as Las Gorras Blancas to protect Hispanic land from Anglo squatters in New Mexico.
1898: Spain ceded control of Puerto Rico to the United States at the conclusion of Spanish-American War.
·         Spanish-American War by Michael Golay
1910 – 1920: Revolution in Mexico resulted in increased Mexican immigration to US.
·         Pancho Villa at Columbus by Haldeen Braddy
1917: Puerto Ricans granted US citizenship.
1928: Octaviano Larrazolo, from New Mexico, became first Hispanic to serve in the US Senate.
1929: League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), which advocates for Latino civil rights, founded in Corpus Christi, TX.
·         LULAC, Mexican Americans, and National Policy by Craig Allen Kaplowitz
1942:  Due to labor shortage caused by World War II, US entered into an agreement with Mexico (known as the Bracero Program) to import Mexican laborers into the US.
   Harvest of Loneliness: The Bracero Program – documentary film.

The first Braceros arriving by train in Los Angeles, CA in 1942.
By Dorothea Lange, working for the US Government. [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons. 
1943: Zoot Suit Riots in Los Angeles, CA.
·         Murder at the Sleepy Lagoon: Zoot Suits, Race, and Riot in Wartime L.A. by Eduardo Obregón Pagán
1945: Marcario García became first Mexican immigrant to be awarded the US Congressional Medal of Honor.
1948: Dr. Hector P. García founded the American G.I. Forum in Corpus Christi, TX to advocate for the civil rights of Hispanic veterans. The group gained national attention advocating on behalf of the family of Felix Longoria after a funeral home in Three Rivers, TX refused to bury him. 
1954 – 1958: US government implemented “Operation Wetback” and deported millions of people of Mexican descent.
1959: Fidel Castro’s successful revolution in Cuba resulted in increased Cuban immigration to US.
·         The Cuban Revolution: Origins, Course, and Legacy by Marifeli Pérez-Stable
1962: César Chávez and Dolores Huerta founded the United Farm Workers to advocate for the rights of migrant farm workers.
·         The Moral Vision of César Chávez by Fredrick John Dalton
·         Dolores Huerta: A Hero to Migrant Workers by Sarah E. Warren and Robert Casilla
1964: Bracero Program ended.
1965 – 1970: United Farm Workers conducted a successful strike on behalf of grape pickers in California.
·         Delano, the Story of the California Grape Strike by John Gregory Dunne
1968: Thousands of Hispanic students walkout of schools in Los Angeles, CA to protest unequal educational opportunities. Walkouts spread to hundreds of schools in multiple states.
1988: Lauro Cavazos became the first Hispanic to serve in the United States Cabinet. He served as Secretary of Education.
2003: Hispanics became largest minority group in the United States.
2009Sonia Sotomayor became the first Hispanic to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States. 
President Obama and Sonia Sotomayor meeting in the Oval Office in 2009.
By Official White House photo by Pete Souza from Washington, DC (Flickr) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

The Dick Smith Library has a large collection of books and other resources on topics relevant to the Hispanic American experience. Such as these titles: 
The Mexican Americans by Alma M. García
The Spanish Americans of New Mexico: a Heritage of Pride by Nancie L. Solien Gonzalez. 

Let us know if you need assistance finding additional information by calling 254-968-9249 or emailing at reference@tarleton.edu

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