Rudy Acuña's Argumentative Analysis

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Mexico was unable to conquer the southern part of the United States due to its political instability, lack of resources, and the economic and social injustices on Anglo Americans views on Mexican presence in the area. Although Mexico did not conquer the area that is both known to be southwestern United States or northern Mexico, it should be referred to as “Occupied Mexico” because of the influence that Mexico had on this area and their resistance to being driven out of the American southwest. Rudy Acuña presents an accurate claim that southwestern United States; such as Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, and California, once belonged to Mexico because of its effect and presence in these current states of the United States. The way Anglo Americans …show more content…

Mexico wanted to secure the American Southwest for the purpose of protecting the mines with the treasures of gold and silver that were essential in their empire. Since both Anglos and Mexicans worked in the mines during the late 19th century, there was a law passed where “the town did not allow Mexicans to own claims, but it did permit them to work for wages” (Acuña, 1988). The way that Anglo Americans treated Mexicans created social and economic injustices, where there were less opportunities for Mexicans to be of higher social and economic class is due to systems in favor of ranking a person on their race. Since people were seen based on their race and occupation, “In central Texas a sharp distinction separated sharecroppers and tenant farmers in part because of the social and racial stigma attached to being a sharecropper” (Foley, 1997, p. 10). In addition to Mexicans not being able to have the same rights as Anglo Americans, the Indians had even less rights. When the Indians came to Spain for new land, they were responsible for the foreign diseases that were brought. Since the Anglo Americans mistreated the Mexicans because they “were accused of every conceivable social ill, of carrying diseases, lowering wages, accepting charity, displacing Anglo workers, molesting white women, and even stealing Irish-American melodies and claiming them as their own.” (Foley, p. 54), the Mexican Treatment of the Indians in the American southwest was the result of Anglos views on Mexicans coming to California, Texas, New Mexico, and

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