Naturalizing Mexican Immigrants : A Texas History

CHAPTER 2. The Politics of Naturalization Policy in Texas: The Case of Mexican Immigrants

In this chapter I examine the naturalization history of the Mexican-origin population in Texas from 1848 to 1892. I explore the social and political events that prompted Mexican immigrants to migrate to the United States and also consider how Mexicans were received in Texas, arguing that the political atmosphere of the period influenced whether they were granted or denied U.S. citizenship. During the U.S. Civil War and in the first years of Reconstruction Mexican immigrants were granted citizenship at an astonishing rate, a phenomenon that was not replicated at any time in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The First Naturalized Mexicans Before the passage of the Naturalization Treaty of 1868 very few Mexican immigrants applied for U.S. citizenship, most likely because naturalization law clearly stipulated that citizenship was restricted to whites (Naturalization Act 1790). Nonetheless, there were a few Mexican applicants. From the end of the Mexican-American War in 1848 up to 1859, 21 Mexicans applied for U.S. citizenship. In 1848 Henry Voelcker became the first Mexican applicant (Index to Naturalization Records Found in Texas State, District and County Courts, 1846–1939, roll 1).¹ His case is quite different from those of other Mexicans because he was born in Germany. Voelcker filed his papers in the San Antonio District Court of Bexar County and was granted citizenship four years later (Bexar County Court, 4th Civil Minute Book B, p. 359). At first, Voelcker’s petition was blocked because the county clerk questioned his eligibility, citing a problem with his nationality. Consequently, Voelcker was required to appear before a judge and explain CHAPTER 2 The Politics of Naturalization Policy in Texas: The Case of Mexican Immigrants The Politics of Naturalization Policy in Texas 53 why he was applying as a Mexican citizen when he had been born in Germany . Apparently Voelcker was a German immigrant who, before moving to the United States, had immigrated to Mexico and settled in the state of Tamaulipas. Although the court records do not explain why he settled in Tamaulipas, it is likely he was affiliated with one of the German colonies the Mexican government had recruited to settle in Mexico. In 1831, at the time of Voelcker’s migration to Mexico, many provinces in Germany were undergoing severe economic hardships and concerned nobles sponsored philanthropic overseas voyages to resettle their tenants in the New World (Biesele 1987: iv). When the Mexican government made land available for colonization in north Mexico, German nobles took advantage of the opportunity to dispatch their tenants and thereby reduce the number of people dependent on their estates. When German immigrants arrived in Mexico, however, they had to naturalize to obtain land. Regardless of whether or not a nobleman sponsored his journey, Voelcker, according to court records, remained in Tamaulipas until the outbreak of the Mexican-American War in 1846, at which time he moved to Texas and settled in a small northern town called Palo Pinto. Two years later he moved again and settled in a large German town called New Braunfels in Comal County, which was located in central Texas, next to Bexar County. New Braunfels was founded in the early 1840s as part of a settlement program initiated by the Republic of Texas. To attract white settlers to Texas the republican government granted land or sold it cheaply (see Act of 1839, in Laws of Texas, 2:35–36; Act of 1841, in ibid., p. 554). Such land policies attracted thousands of impoverished German immigrants who, upon arriving in Texas, commonly chose to live near their compatriots, and established several colonies in central Texas. New Braunfels became one of the largest and most important German settlements (Jordan 1982). After the MexicanAmerican War, the economy of New Braunfels prospered, and its stability attracted many German immigrants, including Henry Voelcker. Voelcker finally applied for U.S. citizenship in 1848, but, as noted, he had to apply as a Mexican citizen because during his temporary stay in Mexico he had naturalized and become a Mexican citizen (Bexar County Naturalization Papers, 1851–1859, book A). One year after Voelcker sought U.S. citizenship, Christophe Metz applied in the County Court of Gonzales (TNR, roll 7), but was not granted citizenship. Very little information is available in Christophe’s case since he was not asked to appear before a judge. We know only that Metz’s surname is a common one in Germany and France and that in 1855 he reapplied but once...