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The Mexican War & Cultural Impact on Southwestern States
The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed on February 2, 1848, exactly 160 years ago this month. This treaty formally ended the Mexican War between the United States and Mexico. In the treaty, Mexico ceded to the United States a huge portion of what is today the American West and Southwest, including California and New Mexico.
Today, the U.S. is confronting the challenge of a flood of illegal immigrants from Mexico. Interestingly, when asked by the U.S. government to help stop this problem, the attitude of Mexican government has been mostly non-supportive.
The Mexican government generally does not view these actions as illegal or support enforcement. They assert that this part of the U.S. was acquired forcibly from Mexico and therefore, current Mexicans are just returning to land that belonged to their ancestors.
Generally, most illegal immigrants work and reside in these Southwestern states because of the availability of unskilled farm jobs, the ability to blend in with Mexican American citizens in these states, and the comfort level provided by a common language and culture.
Activity
Assign a report of about 200 words that cites at least three of the resources listed from the pathfinder search shown below. Essential questions are necessary for students to integrate critical thinking and original thought in their reports.
Without essential questions for critical thinking, most students will report facts from a single article and most reports on a topic will be very similar or identical--suggesting plagiarism. The report should address these examples of essential questions (teachers may want to substitute or add their own):
- Why did the U.S. declare war against Mexico? Were they justified in doing so?
- What was the most significant battle? Why?
- What were the most significant results of the war for U.S. and Mexican people?
- Why weren't the Mexicans more effective in fighting the war?
- How does the Mexican War affect the attitude of the Mexican government today on the topic of illegal immigration?
- What strategies would you have to solve the illegal immigration problem today?
Pathfinder: Click Topics search tab > Type History AND Mexican-American War in the Search box > Select View Documents.
Here are some new ProQuest models that students can use for written or PowerPoint reports:
Model 1, Model 2, Model 3.
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