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51 UCLA L. Rev. 283 (2003-2004)
A Brief History of Race and the U.S.-Mexican Border: Tracing the Trajectories of Conquest

handle is hein.journals/uclalr51 and id is 313 raw text is: A BRIEF HISTORY OF RACE AND THE U.S.-MEXICAN BORDER: TRACING THE TRAJECTORIES OF CONQUEST Juan F. Perea The conquest of Mexico between 1846 and 1848 has largely disappeared from public consciousness as a significant historical event with contemporary conse- quences. Yet this conquest resulted in the annexation by the United States of approxi- mately one-half of former Mexico, constituting most of the current southwestern United States. In this Article, I describe the roles that race and racism played in justifying the conquest, and I explore some of the current consequences of the conquest. One of the defining features of any conquest is the subordination of the conquered. The history of the conquered Mexicans of the Southwest demonstrates this purposeful subordination. Through careful redrafting of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, the U.S. Congress reserved to itself discretion over when to admit the conquered territories as states. Congress waited until Mexicans were politically dis- empowered racial minorities within each territory before admitting the conquered territories as states with political representation. This happened earliest in the cases of Texas (annexed in 1845) and California, and latest in New Mexico, which was denied statehood until 1912. The minimization of the political power of Mexicans as Mexicans emerges, then, as a prominent theme of the conquest. I believe this theme can be generalized to all Latino peoples subject to U.S. conquest. The minimization of the political power of Latinos continues today, in at least three areas. First, nearly four million U.S. citizens resident in Puerto Rico live without voting rights or political repre- sentation in the federal government, yet are subject to federal law, violating democ- ratic theory. Second, the intentional, long-term exploitation of undocumented Latino immigrant labor maximizes agricultural profits while minimizing the potential politi- cal power of the immigrants. Lastly, attempts to curtail the use of Spanish through Official English laws and other restrictions symbolize the subordination of Spanish speakers and result in less access and use of the democratic process. These are some of the trajectories of conquest. The study of this history helps explain why Latino political power always seems less significant than popu- lation numbers and demographic projections suggest it should be. * Cone, Wagner, Nugent, Johnson, Hazouri & Roth Professor of Law, University of Florida Levin College of Law. Thanks to the editors of the UCLA Law Review for hosting an excellent Symposium on the U.S.-Mexican border. Many thanks to Laura G6mez, Mary Romero, Kevin Johnson, and other symposium participants for their helpful comments on the first draft of this Article.

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