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Aug 13, 1521
Spanish Conquer Aztec Empire
Spanish Conquistadors conquered the Aztecs shortly after the discovery of the New World. http://www.mexconnect.com/articles/1538-the-spanish-conquest-1519-1521 -
Spanish Settle Texas
When the Spanish began to settle in Texas, they began building Missions. The Spanish built these missions to not only spread their Catholic faith, but to Hispanicize the native people.
https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/nps01 -
Colonization of Mexico
Stephen F. Austin established the first American colony in Mexico in the territory of Tejas. His father was the one who had plans to colonize the area. He traveled to Tejas and got approval for a land grant, but died before he was able to return.
http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/people/a_c/austin.htm -
Texas Revolution
Americans had to become Mexican citizens to live in Texas. Once the population swelled with American settlers, Mexican authorities became suspicious of the ever growing American presence. After much tension, American colonist declared independence from Mexico. 10 years later, they won their independence from Mexico and went on to become the 28th state in 1845.
http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtID=2&psid=3260 -
Texas Declares Independence from Mexico
On March 2, 1836, Texas declared independence from Mexico, and the Republic of Texas was formed. Battles were fought between Texas and Mexico which lasted until the 1840s.
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/texas-declares-independence -
Mexican American War
The Mexican-American War was from 1846-1848. The war began as a result of a skirmish along the Rio Grande between American and Mexican soldiers. After the war, which Mexico lost, Mexico officially recognized the annexation of Texas to the U.S. http://www.history.com/topics/mexican-american-war -
The Gadsden Purchase
The United States paid Mexico 10 million dollars for land that includes parts of modern Arizona and New Mexico. The land secured the southern transcontinental railroad.
https://history.state.gov/milestones/1830-1860/gadsden-purchase -
Immigration Act of 1891
This law provided the United States with inspection and deportation of immigrants. It was passed in an effort to make an increased effectivness of immigration law.
http://immigrationtounitedstates.org/585-immigration-act-of-1891.html -
The Mexican Revolution
The Mexican Revolution caused many Mexicans to flee to the safety of the United States.
https://edsitement.neh.gov/feature/mexican-revolution-november-20th-1910 -
The Great Depression
The Depression reversed the flow of immigration from Mexico. Since the unemployment rate was so high, many Mexicans were deported so that they would not take away work from Americans.
https://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/presentationsandactivities/presentations/immigration/mexican6.html -
The Bracero Program
Due to the worker shortages because of WWII, 5 million tempoary Mexicans were brought into the U.S. to work on farms and railroads.
http://braceroarchive.org/about -
Operation Wetback
In order to control illegal immigration, the Border Patrol and Mexican government were cooperative amongst each other and 3.8 million people of Mexican decent were deported to Mexico.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/09/30/donald-trumps-humane-1950s-model-for-deportation-operation-wetback-was-anything-but/ -
The Bracero Program Repealed
This guest worker program was repealed due to the problem of the high number of illegal immigrants. The abuse and explotation of the guest workers was an argument for ending this program.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/andy-schupak/repeal-guest-worker-program_b_926152.html -
Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986
This law granted amnesty for illegal immigrants who were in the U.S. prior to 1982. After its passage, the estimated number of illegal immigrants went from 5 million to over 11 million.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2013/01/30/in-1986-congress-tried-to-solve-immigration-why-didnt-it-work/ -
SB 1070
This controversial bill granted police officers to verify the immigration status of anyone they were suspicious of. Though the law does not allow people to be randomly checked on the street, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpio has been accused of abusing this immigration enforcement law and targeting people of Mexican decent.
http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-arizona-law-20160915-snap-story.html -
Trump Promises to Build a Wall
On the day of his announcement to run for president, Donald Trump not only offended many for his controversial remarks about Mexicans crossing the border, he promised to build a large wall to combat illegal immigration. A wall that is economically unfeasible to build and unlikely to make a significant decrease in illegal immigration from the south.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/transcript-donald-trump-2016-presidential-announcement-article-1.2260117
