On Fronteras:
In 1848, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo brought to an end the Mexican-American war, which was started in 1846 over a territorial dispute in Texas. The treaty led to land that has become Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, California, Utah and Wyoming.
Laura E. Gómez, a professor of law at the UCLA School of Law in Los Angeles, joins us to discuss her book “Manifest Destinies: The Making of the Mexican-American Race,” which explores how America’s newest citizens fit into the existing racial class after the war.
FRONTERAS EXTRA | Spanish Heirarchy
Other than delineating the Rio Grande as the official border between Texas and Mexico, the treaty also gave the U.S. 115,000 Mexicans, who had the choice of either returning to what was then Mexico, or becoming U.S. citizens. They were the first Mexican-Americans.
Norma Martinez can be reached by email at norma@tpr.org and on Twitter @NormDog1
