MCCCD Official Course Competencies:

HIS109  1994 Fall – 2007 Spring

Mexican-American History and Culture

1.

Define and apply selected terminology. (I)

2.

Describe the major accomplishments of the major pre-Columbian civilizations of Mexico. (II)

3.

Describe the Spanish factors that influenced the formation of the Mexican-American/Chicano people. (III)

4.

Describe the socioeconomic factors of colonial New Spain (Mexico) that had an impact on the formation of the Mexican-American/Chicano people. (IV)

5.

Describe the Spanish exploration and settlement of the Southwest, specifically including who explored and settled, where they explored and settled, and their reasons for exploration and settlement. (V)

6.

Describe the Texas Rebellion and its aftermath from the perspective of the Mexican residents of Texas. (VI)

7.

Describe the Mexican War: its causes, its conduct, and its results from the perspective of its impact on the Mexicans living within the ceded territory. (VII)

8.

Describe the Mexican-American/Chicano cultural, economic, political, and historical experience from 1848 to 1900. (VIII)

9.

Describe the factors contributing to the rise of immigration from Mexico to the United States in the period between 1900 and 1920, with emphasis on the impact of the Mexican Revolution of 1910. (IX)

10.

Describe the factors affecting the massive migration from Mexico to the United States from 1920 to 1929. (X)

11.

Describe the psychological, social, and economic impact that the depression had on the Mexican-American/Chicano community, with emphasis on the significance of the repatriation and the formation of Mexican-American/Chicano attitudes toward the United States. (XI)

12.

Describe the experience of the Mexican-American/Chicano community on the home front and in combat during World War II. (XII)

13.

Describe the events leading to the Zoot Suit Riots and their impact on the Mexican-American/Chicano community. (XII)

14.

Explain the justification for and the nature of the bracero program. (XII)

15.

Trace the process by which the World War II Mexican-American/Chicano veteran evolved into a more assertive "Mexican-American." (XIII)

16.

Trace the evolution of Mexican-American/Chicano awareness from its roots in the 1920s to the present period of new awareness, including the roles played by the four principal leaders of the Chicano movement. (XIV, XV)

17.

Describe the main problems inherent in the education of the Mexican-American/Chicano and the prospects of the future. (XVI)

18.

Describe selected current issues impacting Mexican-American/Chicanos in contemporary society. (XVII)

MCCCD Official Course Outline:

HIS109  1994 Fall – 2007 Spring

Mexican-American History and Culture

I. Introduction

A. Background

B. Definition of terms

II. Pre-Columbian Mexico

A. Origins and characteristics of the ancient Indian people of Mexico

B. Prominent civilizations of pre-Columbian Mexico

1. Olmec

2. Teotihuacan

3. Maya

4. Toltec

5. Aztec

III. The coming of the Spaniards

A. Their Iberian background

B. Spain's varied composition

C. The Reconquista its impact on the formation of Spanish character

D. The Roman Catholic Church

E. Spanish behavioral factors

F. The conquest of Mexico by Cortez

IV. Colonial "New Spain"

A. Racial structure

1. Peninsular

2. Creole

3. Mestizo

4. Indian

5. Black

6. Other

B. The colonial economy of New Spain

C. The impact of Spanish domination

V. Spanish exploration and settlement of the southwest

A. Explorers

1. Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca

2. The Coronado expedition

3. Antonio de Espejo

4. Juan de Onate--1598

B. Settlements

1. New Mexico and Colorado

2. Texas

3. Arizona

4. California

VI. The Treaty of Velasco

A. Santa Anna and Sam Houston

B. The boundary dispute: the Nueces or the Rio Grande?

C. The legacy of rebellion

VII. The Mexican War

A. Background and causes

B. Military aspects

C. Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo

D. The impact of the treaty on the Chicano

VIII. The "Mexican-American" experience: 1848-1900

A. Texas

B. New Mexico

C. California-the gold fields

D. Arizona

E. The land-grant issues

F. Socioeconomic conditions

G. The specific contributors to American culture: 1848-1900

IX. 1900-1920

A. Socioeconomic conditions in Mexico under Diaz

B. Push factors: Mexico; pull factors: United States

C. The Mexican Revolution of 1920 and its impact

D. The evolution of American immigration policy to 1920

X. The 1920s

A. Push-pull factors

B. National Origins Act of 1921

C. National Origins Act of 1924

D. Mexican immigration to the United States: 1920-1929

XI. The Great Depression

A. The psychological and economic shock of the depression on Americans

B. The Mexican laborer: last hired, first fired

C. The repatriation: back to Mexico

XII. World War II

A. War employment: new opportunities

B. The Mexican-American/Chicano GI experience

C. The Zoot Suit Riots and their impact

D. The bracero program

XIII. The war's aftermath to 1960

A. The Americanization of the Mexican-American/Chicano veteran

B. The impact of the GI Bill

C. The emergence of the "Mexican-American generation"

D. The Brown vs. School Board decision of 1954

XIV. The 1960s

A. The Immigration Act of 1965: termination of the Bracero Program

B. The emergence of Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers

C. The Chicano activism of the late 1960s

XV. Political interaction within the Mexican-American/Chicano community

A. Historical overview

B. The election of 1960 and the Chicano role

C. MAPA, PASSO, GI Forum, CSO, Raza Unida, etc.

D. Chicano political activism: prospects and potential

E. Leadership

1. Chavez

2. Tijerina

3. Gonzalez

4. Gutierrez

6. Others

XVI. Education

A. Patterns

B. The failure of the system

C. The failure of the culture

D. Problems and prospects

XVII. Contemporary issues

A. Immigration

B. Politics

C. Labor

D. Culture