Recovering History, Constructing Race: The Indian, Black, and White Roots of Mexican Americans

Chapter 9: Racial Segregation and Liberal Policies Then and Now

9 Racial Segregation and Liberal Policies Then and Now In this historical narrative I have outlined the racial history of the Mexican Americans, identified and explored significant events influencing their racial heritage, and offered a critical analysis of the relations that evolved between Mexicans of different racial backgrounds. Under Spain’s rule, Mexicans who were White enjoyed social and economic privileges not extended to Mexicans of color. However, as I have illustrated, due to a legacy of racial mixture under Spanish rule mestizos and afromestizos eventually shared some of the opportunities reserved for Whites. Following Mexican independence, both problems and progressive achievements transpired after Spain’s racial order was dismantled. For Mexicans this period was short-lived, because the United States conquered the Southwest and reinstituted a racial order that gave people of color few civil rights. During the Anglo-American period, Mexicans who were White were extended the legal rights of U.S. citizens, while Mexicans of color experienced diverse forms of racial discrimination depending on their racial phenotype. Before bringing my narrative to a close, I would like to examine the issue of when Mexicans in the United States were finally extended the political rights of U.S. citizens. After all, we know that today people of Mexican descent are no longer forbidden to become U.S. citizens on the basis of race.This discussion covers a liberal phase in United States racial history, between 1865 and 1898, when democratic philosophers enfranchised people of color and drafted legislation giving them the right to vote. Sadly, as we have seen in past decades, liberal reforms are often followed by a backlash. De jure segregation followed the enfranchisement of people of color, and Mexicans became part of the ‘‘colored’’ races who were not allowed legally to move freely among White people. Though restrictions on space and movement were already common practice, the 277 novelty of legally sanctioned de jure segregation orders was that people of color no longer had the court system as a forum to object to segregation.1 Liberal Racial Legislation: The Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments The legal foundation dismantling state and territorial laws preventing Mexicans from becoming United States citizens began in 1865 with the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution (Menchaca 1993:591). Though the amendment abolished slavery and involuntary servitude and was directed toward freeing Blacks, it became the foundation to improve the political status of Mexicans and other racial minority groups. Since Blacks had been emancipated, the question of whether they should be incorporated into the nation as voting citizens then arose. If Blacks were to be given such a right, the issue of whether all racial minorities should have the same rights had to be considered. The federal government determined that if racial minorities were to be allowed to vote, a federal law rescinding the states’ right to prescribe citizenship requirements had to be enacted (Hyman and Wiecek 1982). The Fourteenth Amendment was passed in 1868 with the intention of legislating a uniform citizenship law and eliminating the states’ rights to establish citizenship eligibility (U.S.Constitution, Amendment 14, Sec. 1, cited in Hyman and Wiecek 1982:517–531). Ironically, although the Fourteenth Amendment became the paramount law of the land and people born in the United States were granted full citizenship rights, including the right to vote, the amendment excluded the American Indians from its protection. Throughout the late nineteenth century state governments prevented ‘‘American-born’’ racial minorities from exercising their citizenship rights under the Fourteenth Amendment (Kansas 1941). Anglo Americans argued that the spirit of the Fourteenth Amendment applied only to Blacks and Whites and that therefore Asians, American Indians, Mexicans , and ‘‘half-breeds’’ were not entitled to its protection. The account of Pablo De La Guerra illustrates the reluctance of government officials to extend Mexicans U.S. citizenship under the Fourteenth Amendment. As previously discussed, in 1870 Pablo De La Guerra was accused by the State of California of illegally acting as a U.S. citizen. In People v. Pablo De La Guerra (1870) attorneys for the state attempted to deny De La Guerra the political rights of a citizen by arguing that he was not part of the 278 Recovering History, Constructing Race population who received citizenship under the Fourteenth Amendment. Though De La Guerra won the suit and was able to prove that his Indian lineage...