Latino Americans

Man: WHAT IS OUR HISTORY?

WHAT IS OUR PAST?

WHAT IS THE CLAIM THAT WE HAVE

TO BEING MEMBERS OF THIS SOCIETY?

Man: WE ARE NOT HERE TO THREATEN OR TO BEG.

WE ARE HERE TO PARTICIPATE.

Woman: YOU CANNOT CLOSE YOUR EYES

AND YOUR EARS TO US ANY LONGER, BECAUSE WE ARE HERE.

Man: MOST PEOPLE ARE SAYING, SPANISH, THE MEXICANS,

INDIGENOUS PEOPLES DO NOT HAVE

THE SPECIAL INHERITANCE OF LIBERTY THAT WE HAVE.

Man: MY FATHER THOUGHT THAT THE UNITED STATES

WOULD BE LIKE PARADISE.

THERE WAS JOBS FOR EVERYONE.

THERE WERE THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE TRYING TO GET ACROSS.

THE TOUGHEST PART WAS WHEN I LEFT MY MOM,

NOT KNOWING IF I GONNA SEE HER AGAIN.

Woman: HERE'S A MAN WHO'S SHED HIS BLOOD,

AND YET HE CAN'T GET SOMETHING TO EAT.

RECKLESS?

YES.

DANGEROUS?

EXTREMELY.

DID IT PAY OFF?

DAMN RIGHT.

Woman: THE FIRST EUROPEAN LANGUAGE SPOKEN

IN WHAT WOULD BECOME THE UNITED STATES--SPANISH.

Woman: IMMIGRATION MEANS IT ALL GETS TO BE PART OF YOUR IDENTITY.

I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!

IT'S CRUCIAL THAT WE KNOW WHO WE ARE, WHERE WE COME FROM,

AND WHAT IT'S BEEN LIKE.

I AM SO PROUD TO BE YOUR MAYOR.

I, SONIA SOTOMAYOR.

Man: THERE'S SO MUCH AT STAKE FOR ALL AMERICANS

IN HOW LATINOS IN THE UNITED STATES DO.

Anno CAPTAIN JUAN SEGUIN, SON OF A LEADING MEXICAN FAMILY

IN SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS, WAS A SURVIVOR

AMONG THE DEFENDERS AT EL ALAMO IN 1836.

[GUNFIRE AND MEN SHOUTING]

Man as Seguin: TRAVIS, BOWIE, CROCKETT ARE OUR BROTHERS.

Narrator: SEGUIN BECAME A HERO, MAYOR OF SAN ANTONIO,

AND A SENATOR OF THE REPUBLIC OF TEXAS.

BUT HIS STORY WOULD BE BURIED

ALONG WITH THE ASHES OF HIS FALLEN COMRADES.

Montejano: HIS ANGLO ALLIES WILL SELL HIM OUT.

THEY WILL NOT PROTECT HIM WHEN HE NEEDED PROTECTION.

Narrator: MORE THAN A CENTURY WOULD PASS

BEFORE A GENERATION OF LATINOS,

SEARCHING FOR THEIR IDENTITY,

WOULD UNEARTH THE MEMORY OF JUAN SEGUIN

AND THE STORIES OF THE EARLIEST LATINOS IN AMERICA.

Montejano: WHAT IS OUR HISTORY?

WHAT IS OUR PAST?

WHAT IS THE CLAIM THAT WE HAVE

TO BEING MEMBERS OF THIS SOCIETY?

Narrator: THEY DISCOVERED THE MEMOIRS OF AN ORPHAN GIRL

THAT SHED NEW LIGHT ON THE LONG-FORGOTTEN WORLD

OF SPANISH CALIFORNIA.

THEY REVEALED THE STORY OF MARIANO VALLEJO,

THE MOST POWERFUL MAN IN MEXICAN CALIFORNIA.

VALLEJO WELCOMED AMERICAN SETTLERS,

ONLY TO FIND HIMSELF THEIR PRISONER.

THEY RECLAIMED THE LEGEND OF LAS GORRAS BLANCAS

OF NEW MEXICO.

RIDING UNDER THE COVER OF DARKNESS,

THE WHITE CAPS TORE DOWN FENCES AND BURNED RANCHES

TO PROTEST THE TAKING OF THEIR LANDS.

Madrid: WE DISCOVERED THAT, IN FACT,

THERE HAD BEEN RESISTANCE: AND SOME OF IT EVEN ARMED RESISTANCE.

Montejano: WE'RE TRYING TO CONSTRUCT

THE HISTORY THAT HAS NOT BEEN WRITTEN.

WE HAD A BLANK SLATE THAT HAD TO BE RECAPTURED,

RECOVERED.

Narrator: APOLINARIA LORENZANA WAS AMONG 21 ORPHAN CHILDREN

SENT BY THE SPANISH COLONIAL GOVERNMENT OF MEXICO

TO POPULATE THE FARTHEST REACHES OF ITS AMERICAN EMPIRE.

BY THE TIME APOLINARIA SETTLED IN MONTEREY,

THE SPANISH HAD DOMINATED THE NEW WORLD

FOR MORE THAN 3 CENTURIES.

Ruiz: MANY PEOPLE HAVE THIS POPULAR VISION OF LATINOS

AS PEOPLE WHO ARRIVED THE DAY BEFORE YESTERDAY.

BUT WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT THE FIRST EUROPEAN SETTLEMENT

IN WHAT WOULD BECOME THE UNITED STATES,

IT'S ST. AUGUSTINE IN 1565.

THAT PREDATES JAMESTOWN IN 1607.

THE FIRST EUROPEAN LANGUAGE SPOKEN

IN WHAT WOULD BECOME THE UNITED STATES, IT'S SPANISH.

[THUNDER RUMBLING]

Narrator: 100 YEARS AFTER COLUMBUS' ARRIVAL

IN THE NEW WORLD, SPANISH CONQUISTADORS AND PRIESTS

PUSHED INTO NORTH AMERICA,

CROSSING THE RIO GRANDE TO SEARCH FOR GOLD

AND SPREAD CATHOLICISM.

IN 1610, THEY ESTABLISHED SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO,

BRUTALLY CRUSHING A REVOLT BY THE PUEBLO INDIANS.

THE BRITISH AND THE DUTCH SETTLED

ALONG THE ATLANTIC COAST IN PLYMOUTH AND NEW AMSTERDAM.

THE FRENCH ARRIVED AT THE MOUTH OF THE MISSISSIPPI IN 1682,

WHILE THE RUSSIANS MADE THEIR WAY SOUTH FROM ALASKA

AND WELL INTO CALIFORNIA.

Suarez: SPAIN IS VERY KEENLY AWARE

OF OTHER EMPIRES THAT ARE ROAMING ACROSS

WHAT'S NOW NORTH AMERICA: AND WANTS TO PROTECT ITS NORTHERN BORDER.

SO THEY HAVE TO SEND PEOPLE NORTH

TO BUILD OUT A SPANISH CIVILIZATION

IN THESE PLACES THAT HAD BEEN THE SPANISH EMPIRE ON A MAP

BUT HADN'T REALLY HAD ANY MORE DURABLE CLAIM TO THE LAND.

Gonzalez: WHO WAS GOING TO POPULATE

THESE FAR-OFF FRONTIER SETTLEMENTS

IN ARIZONA, IN TEXAS, AND IN CALIFORNIA?

IT WAS THE MISSIONARIES.

IT WAS THE FRANCISCANS.

IT WAS THE JESUITS.

IT WAS THE DOMINICANS.

THEY ALL WENT OUT TO FOUND: TOWNS AND SETTLEMENTS AND ESTABLISH MISSIONS.

Narrator: IN 1808, APOLINARIA LORENZANA,

NOW IN HER TEENS, WAS BROUGHT TO MISSION SAN DIEGO,

THE FIRST MISSION FOUNDED BY SPANISH PRIESTS

AS THEY MOVED NORTH THROUGH CALIFORNIA.

NEARING THE END OF HER LIFE AND ALMOST BLIND,

APOLINARIA SHARED HER MEMORIES WITH THOMAS SAVAGE,

AN AMERICAN HISTORIAN, AS SHE RECALLED

THE ONCE-FLOURISHING WORLD OF CALIFORNIA'S SPANISH MISSIONS.

BUILT ALONG EL CAMINO REAL FROM SAN DIEGO TO SONOMA,

3 DAYS' HORSEBACK RIDE FROM ONE ANOTHER,

SPAIN'S 21 MISSIONS WERE THE BIRTHPLACE

OF THE GREAT COASTAL CITIES OF CALIFORNIA.

Gonzalez: ALL THESE PEOPLE

WHO LIVE IN THESE TOWNS IN CALIFORNIA--

SANTA CRUZ AND, UH... SAN FRANCISCO--

ALL OF THESE WERE MISSION TOWNS.

Narrator: IN THE 1800's, MISSIONS WERE THE CENTERPIECE

OF SPANISH COLONIAL LIFE.

Beebe: A MISSION IS A LOT OF THINGS.

IT'S A RELIGIOUS COMMUNITY WHERE THEY ARE HOPING

TO CHRISTIANIZE THE NATIVE PEOPLES,

BRINGING THEM INTO THE SYSTEM

TO MAKE THEM GOOD SPANISH CITIZENS.

IT'S AN ENTERPRISE WHERE INDIANS ARE BROUGHT IN

TO WORK OUT IN THE FIELDS,

TO WEAVE, TO DO BLACKSMITH WORK.

Ruiz: YOU THINK OF THE MISSIONS,

AND YOU THINK OF THE-- THERE'S, LIKE, ONE PRIEST,

AND THIS ONE PRIEST HAS THE POWER

TO HARNESS NATIVE AMERICAN LABOR,

UH, TO EDUCATE.

BUT ACTUALLY PRIESTS, PARTICULARLY IN CALIFORNIA,

RELIED ON LOCAL WOMEN.

YOU HAD PEOPLE LIKE APOLINARIA LORENZANA.

THE PADRES TRUSTED HER TO BOARD SHIPS,

TO GET THE NECESSARY SUPPLIES FOR THE MISSIONS.

SHE SUPERVISED INDIAN SEAMSTRESSES

OR SUPERVISED THE COOKING.

Pitti: TO UNDERSTAND THE POSITION

OF NATIVES IN THE MISSION SYSTEM,

YOU HAVE TO UNDERSTAND THE TREMENDOUS LOSS OF LIFE

THAT INDIAN COMMUNITIES IN CALIFORNIA HAD EXPERIENCED.

WHEN THE SPANISH COME AND INTRODUCE DISEASE,

UM, THOSE POPULATIONS GO INTO ENORMOUS DEMOGRAPHIC DECLINE,

LEAVING THEM VERY VULNERABLE.

THE MISSIONS OFFER THE OPPORTUNITY

FOR INDIAN COMMUNITIES TO HAVE BREAD ON THE TABLE.

SOME INDIANS WERE TAKEN BY CATHOLICISM

AND BY THE PROMISE OF SALVATION,

BUT WE KNOW THAT MANY INDIANS

OFTENTIMES REBELLED.

[BELL TOLLING]

Narrator: IN 1821, NEWS REACHED CALIFORNIA

THAT AFTER A HARD-FOUGHT 10-YEAR WAR,

MEXICO HAD WON ITS INDEPENDENCE FROM SPAIN.

Pitti: LIBERAL IDEAS ABOUT GOVERNANCE AND ABOUT EQUALITY,

ABOUT OPPORTUNITY WERE VERY MUCH IN THE AIR,

IN WHICH THERE WERE LOTS OF QUESTIONS

ABOUT THE POWER OF INSTITUTIONS.

IN THAT ATMOSPHERE, PEOPLE BEGIN TO LOOK AT THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

WITH A CRITICAL EYE, THINKING,

"WHY DOES THIS CHURCH, WHY DOES THIS INSTITUTION

OWN SO MUCH LAND?"

Narrator: THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF MEXICO

CHALLENGED THE POWER OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH.

IN 1833, IT ORDERED ALL MISSIONS SECULARIZED,

THEIR LAND HOLDINGS BROKEN UP.

THE VAST MISSION HOLDINGS WERE DIVIDED INTO RANCHOS

AND GIVEN AS LAND GRANTS TO A FEW HUNDRED FAMILIES,

MANY OF THEM THE ORIGINAL SPANISH SETTLERS OF CALIFORNIA,

CALIFORNIOS, AS THEY WERE CALLED.

Beebe: THE INDIANS WERE SUPPOSED TO

GET THE MISSION LANDS.

THAT WAS THE PLAN WITH SECULARIZATION.

BUT IT DIDN'T HAPPEN, AND MANY OF THE INDIANS

WERE...WERE LOST.

SOME OF THEM WENT BACK TO THEIR PREVIOUS WAY OF LIFE.

OTHERS WENT TO WORK ON THE RANCHOS.

Narrator: AND AS THE PADRES FACED THE END OF THEIR DOMINION,

THEY ENSURED THAT SOME OF THE MISSION LANDS

STAYED WITH PEOPLE THEY TRUSTED.

FOR HER DEVOTION TO THE MISSIONS,

APOLINARIA, KNOWN AS THE PIOUS, WAS GIVEN TWO RANCHOS.

SHE BOUGHT A THIRD.

Narrator: BY THE EARLY 1800's,

AMERICANS WERE MOVING WEST, DRIVEN BY THE BELIEF

IN A GOD-GIVEN RIGHT TO EXPAND ACROSS THE CONTINENT.

Gerstle: THIS VISION OF CONQUEST

WAS TIED TO VISIONS OF LIBERTY AND DEMOCRACY.

IT WAS A PROVIDENTIAL MISSION.

IT WAS A PROTESTANT MISSION.

THE PROBLEM, HOWEVER, WAS

THE LANDS THAT AMERICA WANTED TO OCCUPY,

IN THEIR IMAGINATIONS, THEY WERE EMPTY,

BUT IN REALITY THEY WERE NOT.

THEY WERE FULL OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES

OF ONE SORT OR ANOTHER,

AND IN VARIOUS PARTS OF THE COUNTRY,

THEY WERE FULL OF SPANIARDS AND THEIR DESCENDANTS.

Narrator: HAVING PUSHED THE NATIVE POPULATION WEST,

THE UNITED STATES NOW STRETCHED ACROSS ILLINOIS TO THE FRONTIER

AND DOWN THROUGH LOUISIANA TO THE BORDER WITH MEXICO.

THE FIRST ANGLO SETTLERS TO CROSS THE BORDER

VENTURED INTO THE MEXICAN STATE OF TEJAS, TEXAS, IN 1821,

INVITED BY THE GOVERNMENT OF MEXICO.

Gonzalez: MEXICO NEEDS TO POPULATE THE AREA,

SO IT AGREES THAT ANYONE CAN COME INTO MEXICO

WHO WANTS TO SETTLE THERE AS LONG AS THEY'RE CATHOLIC

AND THEY PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE MEXICAN GOVERNMENT.

Montejano: THE COMANCHES AND THE APACHES

ARE BASICALLY IN CONTROL, AND AS A MATTER OF FACT,

THERE WERE SEVERAL SPANISH SETTLEMENTS THAT WERE ABANDONED

AS THE COMANCHES IN PARTICULAR BECOME MORE POWERFUL.

SO THE MEXICAN GOVERNMENT WANTS TO CREATE

THESE BUFFER ZONES: WITH THESE ANGLO-AMERICAN COLONISTS.

Narrator: 300 FAMILIES, MOST FROM THE AMERICAN SOUTH,

WERE LED INTO TEXAS BY STEPHEN AUSTIN,

A YOUNG BUSINESSMAN ORIGINALLY FROM VIRGINIA.

De La Teja: MEN LIKE STEPHEN AUSTIN ARE INTERESTED

IN TRANSFORMING TEXAS FROM WHAT THEY BELIEVE TO BE

A WILDERNESS INTO THE NEXT GREAT COTTON-GROWING PART

OF THE UNITED STATES, BUT THEY UNDERSTAND

THAT THEY HAVE TO WORK WITH MEXICAN AUTHORITIES,

THEY HAVE TO WORK WITH MEXICAN LAW,

THEY HAVE TO WORK WITH TEJANO PARTNERS

IN DEVELOPING TEXAS.

A LOT OF THE SETTLERS OF TEXAS AT THIS TIME

ARE COMING OUT OF THE AMERICAN SOUTH.

THEY'RE IMAGINING AT LEAST PART OF TEXAS

AS BEING A SLAVEHOLDING SOCIETY.

THEY ARE NEVER WITHOUT THESE SENTIMENTS

OF A SPECIAL SUPERIORITY: THAT ADHERES IN THE ANGLO-SAXON RACE.

Suarez: ONCE THEY START TO GET CRITICAL MASS,

THEY'RE NOT NECESSARILY READY TO ACCEPT MEXICAN GOVERNMENT,

AND THEY START TO FIND FAULT: WITH THE DEMANDS THAT MEXICANS ARE MAKING OF THEM

IN ORDER TO BE ACCEPTED IN TEXAS SOCIETY.

Narrator: MEXICAN TEXANS, TEJANOS,

WERE ALSO CHAFING UNDER THE RULE OF MEXICO CITY, 900 MILES AWAY.

PROMINENT AMONG THEM WAS JUAN SEGUIN,

A THIRD-GENERATION TEJANO WHOSE FAMILY TRACED

ITS ROOTS IN SAN ANTONIO TO THE EARLIEST SETTLEMENTS IN 1712.

Montejano: JUAN SEGUIN, VERY EARLY ON IN THE 1830's,

ALREADY IS STARTING TO IDENTIFY HIMSELF

AS SOMEONE ELSE OTHER THAN A MEXICANO, AS A TEJANO,

AS A MEMBER OF AN INDEPENDENT REPUBLIC.

HE HAS A CONFLICTED IDENTITY.

I MEAN, HE CALLS HIMSELF JOHN, JOHN SEGUIN.

Narrator: SEGUIN'S FATHER, ERASMO,

SAN ANTONIO'S POSTMASTER, HAD PERSONALLY CONDUCTED

STEPHEN AUSTIN ACROSS THE TEXAS BORDER IN 1821.

De La Teja: ERASMO AND JUAN SEGUIN

SEE ANGLO-AMERICAN SETTLEMENT IN TEXAS

AS IMPORTANT TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF THIS FRONTIER,

OUTLYING PART OF MEXICO: THAT ISN'T ABLE TO GET THE RESOURCES FROM MEXICO CITY

TO PROPERLY DEVELOP THE REGION.

THE TEJANOS FELT THAT GOVERNMENT

WHICH LEFT DECISIONS IN THEIR OWN HANDS

WA VITAL TO THE PROGRESS OF TEXAS,

AND ANGLO-AMERICANS, WHO HAD GROWN UP

WITH THE TRADITION OF STRONG PERSONAL RIGHTS,

ALSO WANTED A STRONG LOCAL GOVERNMENT.

Narrator: WHEN, IN 1834,

MEXICO'S NEW PRESIDENT, ANTONIO LOPEZ SANTA ANNA,

DISSOLVED THE CONGRESS TO RULE ALL MEXICO WITH AN IRON HAND,

TEXANS AND TEJANOS UNITED IN OPPOSITION.

IN THE FALL OF 1835, THEY ROSE IN OPEN REBELLION.

SANTA ANNA LED AN ARMY OF THOUSANDS

ACROSS THE RIO GRANDE TO PUT DOWN THE REVOLT.

IT'S FUNNY HOW I HAVE TO REMIND MY STUDENTS THAT...

YOU KNOW, THEY THINK SOMETIMES THAT SANTA ANNA

INVADED THE UNITED STATES, AND I HAVE TO DISABUSE THEM OF THAT,

SAYING, "WELL, WAIT A MINUTE.

NO.

SANTA ANNA WAS MARCHING INTO WHAT WAS STILL MEXICO."

Narrator: ON THE 23rd OF FEBRUARY 1836,

SANTA ANNA TOOK POSSESSION OF THE CITY OF SAN ANTONIO.

200 TEXANS FELL BACK TO AN OLD SPANISH MISSION

CALLED EL ALAMO,

AMONG THEM, RENOWNED FRONTIERSMAN DAVID CROCKETT

OF TENNESSEE,

JIM BOWIE OF KENTUCKY,

AND LIEUTENANT COLONEL WILLIAM TRAVIS OF ALABAMA.

THERE WERE ALSO TEJANOS AT EL ALAMO,

MEN WITH NAMES LIKE BADILLO, ESPARZA, NAVAS, AND JUAN SEGUIN.

[BUGLES PLAYING FANFARE]

SANTA ANNA LAID SIEGE TO EL ALAMO.

[EXPLOSION]

ON THE 25th OF FEBRUARY, SEGUIN WAS SENT

BEHIND ENEMY LINES TO GATHER REINFORCEMENTS.

AT DAWN ON MARCH 6th, DAY 13 OF THE SIEGE,

SANTA ANNA'S FORCES BREACHED THE EL ALAMO DEFENSES.

[BUGLES PLAYING FANFARE]

LATER THAT DAY, JUAN SEGUIN HEADED BACK TO EL ALAMO.

SEGUIN LISTENED IN VAIN FOR THE SIGNAL GUNSHOT

THAT WAS TO BE FIRED EVERY 15 MINUTES

AS LONG AS THE FORT HELD.

ALL THE DEFENDERS AT EL ALAMO, 189 MEN, HAD BEEN KILLED.

SEGUIN WAS LEFT TO BURY THEIR ASHES.

Man as Seguin: TRAVIS, BOWIE, CROCKETT ARE OUR BROTHERS,

WHOSE VALOR PLACES THEM IN THE RANK OF MY HEROES.

Narrator: TO THE CRY OF "REMEMBER THE ALAMO,"

SEGUIN GATHERED A COMPANY OF TEJANOS

AND JOINED GENERAL SAM HOUSTON'S ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC OF TEXAS

AT THE BATTLE OF SAN JACINTO.

THE MEXICAN ARMY WAS TAKEN BY SURPRISE.

THE DECISIVE BATTLE OF THE TEXAS REVOLUTION

LASTED ALL OF 18 MINUTES.

SANTA ANNA SURRENDERED, HANDING OVER TEXAS

TO HOUSTON'S ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC OF TEXAS.

JUAN SEGUIN WAS NAMED MILITARY COMMANDER OF WEST TEXAS,

ELECTED SENATOR OF THE NEW REPUBLIC,

AND LATER MAYOR OF SAN ANTONIO.

BUT THE SURVIVOR OF EL ALAMO WOULD SOON FIND HIMSELF

TORN BETWEEN HIS ALLEGIANCE TO THE REPUBLIC OF TEXAS

AND HIS LOYALTY TO HIS OWN PEOPLE.

Montejano: YOU HAVE AN INFLUX OF ANGLO NEWCOMERS,

AND WHAT THEY REMEMBER IS THEIR COUNTRYMEN

BEING SLAUGHTERED BY SANTA ANNA.

SO REPRISALS ARE TAKEN AGAINST ALL MEXICANS,

INCLUDING THOSE WHO FOUGHT ON THE SIDE OF THE ANGLO SETTLERS.

PEOPLE ARE BEING RANDOMLY MURDERED

SIMPLY FOR BEING MEXICAN.

THEY'RE BEING PUSHED OFF THEIR LANDS BY SQUATTERS

WHO ARE TRYING TO LAY CLAIM TO THESE LANDS.

Montejano: THEY'RE TAKING CATTLE, THEY'RE TAKING HORSES.

IT'S A ROUGH TIME.

Man as Seguin: DAY AND NIGHT,

MY COUNTRYMEN RUN TO ME FOR PROTECTION.

COULD I LEAVE THEM DEFENSELESS, EXPOSED TO THE ASSAULTS

OF FOREIGNERS WHO TREATED THEM WORSE THAN BRUTES?

Montejano: THESE ARE LANDOWNERS.

THESE ARE MEXICAN ELITE MEMBERS

COMING TO JUAN SEGUIN AND ASKING HIM FOR PROTECTION

FROM THE AGGRESSIONS OF THESE NEWCOMERS.

JUAN SEQUIN IS POWERLESS TO DO THAT.

De La Teja: HE'S TRYING TO UPHOLD THE LAW,

AND THESE BRIGANDS, IF YOU WILL,

ARE REFUSING TO ABIDE BY THE LAW.

IN FACT, THEY'VE THREATENED HIM PERSONALLY.

THE PEOPLE WHO JUST ARRIVED: SEE THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN HERE FOR A LONG TIME

AS THE OUTSIDERS.

Man as Seguin: A CONSPIRACY WAS ORGANIZED TO RUIN ME.

EVERY PARTY OF VOLUNTEERS EN ROUTE TO SAN ANTONIO

DECLARED THAT THEY WANTED TO KILL JUAN SEGUIN.

Montejano: HIS ANGLO ALLIES WILL SELL HIM OUT.

THEY WILL NOT PROTECT HIM WHEN HE NEEDED PROTECTION.

HE HAS TO GIVE UP THE MAYORAL POSITION IN SAN ANTONIO.

Man as Seguin: ON THE 30th OF APRIL,

A FRIEND SENT ME WORD THAT A COMPANY WAS COMING

DOWN THE RIVER, BURNING RANCHOS ON THEIR WAY.

UNABLE ANY LONGER TO SUFFER THE PERSECUTION

OF UNGRATEFUL AMERICANS, I HAD TO LEAVE TEXAS,

ABANDON ALL FOR WHICH I HAD FOUGHT

TO BECOME A WANDERER.

Narrator: JUAN SEGUIN FLED TO MEXICO IN 1842.

IN THE 20 YEARS SINCE HIS FATHER LED 300 FAMILIES INTO TEXAS,

THE LINE THAT WOULD DIVIDE LATINOS AND ANGLOS

HAD BEEN DRAWN.

[BIRD SCREECHES]

IN THE MEXICAN PROVINCE OF CALIFORNIA,

THE SECULARIZATION OF THE MISSIONS

HAD TRANSFORMED THE LANDSCAPE,

THE VAST MISSION LANDS NOW OWNED

BY A FEW HUNDRED CALIFORNIO FAMILIES,

AND MUCH LIKE THE TEJANOS IN THE YEARS TO COME,

THE CALIFORNIOS WOULD STRUGGLE TO HOLD ONTO THEIR LAND.

FOR MARIANO GUADALUPE VALLEJO, A RANCHERO IN SONOMA,

THAT STRUGGLE WOULD LAST A LIFETIME.

Pitti: MARIANO VALLEJO IS ONE

OF THE MOST INTERESTING FIGURES IN 19th-CENTURY CALIFORNIA.

HE GREW UP IN MONTEREY AND WAS A WELL-KNOWN MEMBER

OF MONTEREY SOCIETY.

HE WAS A KIND OF BARONIAL FIGURE,

VERY INTERESTED IN EUROPEAN CULTURE,

WHO LIKED THE FINER THINGS IN LIFE,

WHO ENJOYED HIS WINE AND GREW GRAPES.

LIKE OTHER CALIFORNIO FAMILIES, HE WAS VERY INTERESTED

IN MODERNIZING CALIFORNIA.

Narrator: SON OF A SPANISH MILITARY OFFICER,

MARIANO VALLEJO PRESIDED OVER A VAST EMPIRE.

HIS RANCHO PETALUMA,

RECEIVED AS A LAND GRANT WHEN THE MISSIONS WERE BROKEN UP,

COVERED 65,000 ACRES

AND INCLUDED 10,000 HEAD OF CATTLE, 4,000 HORSES,

AND THE LARGEST ADOBE STRUCTURE EVER BUILT IN CALIFORNIA.

Pitti: LAND WAS REALLY VERY IMPORTANT

TO CALIFORNIO IDENTITIES.

ACCESS TO LAND MEANT ACCESS TO HONOR, TO DIGNITY.

IT MEANT BEING ABLE TO FLAUNT ONE'S WEALTH.

[MARIACHI MUSIC PLAYING]

THEY SPENT LIKE MAD.

YOU KNOW, THERE'S ALL THESE HORSE RACES AND FANDANGOS.

Pitti: LIFE REALLY DOES REVOLVE AROUND RURAL CULTURE.

THEY'RE PROUD OF THEIR CAPACITIES AS HORSEMEN,

AS VAQUEROS.

THESE ARE PEOPLE WHO TOOK GREAT PRIDE

IN THEIR CLOTHING, THE WAY THEY BORE THEMSELVES IN PUBLIC.

THESE ARE PEOPLE WHO THOUGHT OF THEMSELVES

AS A PROUD PEOPLE,

AN EMERGING PEOPLE.

Narrator: PEOPLE LIKE PIO PICO, CALIFORNIA'S GOVERNOR;

THE RAMIREZES OF SANTA BARBARA;

THE SEPULVEDAS AND THE LUGOS OF LOS ANGELES.

Beebe: SO MANY OF THESE FAMILIES VIEW THEMSELVES

AS MEXICAN BUT NOT MEXICAN.

THEY LIVED IN AN AREA FAR AWAY FROM MEXICO CITY,

FAR AWAY FROM THE CENTRAL GOVERNMENT,

AND SO THEY HAD ESTABLISHED IN SOME WAYS

THEIR OWN HYBRID CULTURE.

MOST OF THE SPANISH THAT CAME TO THE REGION

WERE THEMSELVES MESTIZOS OR MULATOS FROM MEXICO.

SO THE GROUP HERE IS ALREADY MIXED FROM THE VERY BEGINNING

AND THEN BECOMES MIXED WITH THE LOCAL POPULATION.

SO IT'S NEVER ANY KIND: OF RACIALLY PURE EUROPEAN POPULATION.

Montejano: THE LANDHOLDING ELITE INSISTED ON BEING SEEN

AS EUROPEAN OR SPANISH.

CERTAINLY THEY SAW THEMSELVES AS VERY DIFFERENT

FROM THE CHRISTIANIZED INDIANS,

THE NATIVES WHO WERE THEIR SERVANTS.

Narrator: VALLEJO'S WIFE, FRANCISCA BENECIA,

WOULD RECALL...

Woman as Francisca Benecia: EACH OF MY CHILDREN

HAS A PERSONAL ATTENDANT.

I HAVE TWO FOR MY OWN NEEDS,

6 OR 7 IN THE KITCHEN,

AND 5 OR 6 ARE ALWAYS WASHING CLOTHES.

Narrator: THE VALLEJOS' SERVANTS

WERE AMONG 10,000 FORMER MISSION INDIANS

WHO ARE NOW BOUND TO A FEW DOZEN CALIFORNIO FAMILIES.

Pitti: THESE KEY FAMILIES REALLY ARE THE POWERHOLDERS,

THE STAKEHOLDERS IN THE ECONOMY

AND THE POLITICS OF THE REGION.

WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENS TO THOSE ELITES

HELPS TO DICTATE WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO PROPERTY.

IT HELPED TO DEFINE HOW MEXICANS AND OTHERS

ARE GOING TO BE TREATED FROM THAT MOMENT FORWARD.

Narrator: AT DAWN ON THE 14th OF JUNE 1846,

MARIANO GUADALUPE VALLEJO,

NOW THE MILITARY COMMANDER OF CALIFORNIA

AND A GENERAL IN THE MEXICAN ARMY,

WAS AWAKENED BY AN ARMED MOB AT HIS CASA GRANDE

IN SONOMA PLAZA.

Man as Vallejo: I HAD MY UNIFORM BROUGHT,

DRESSED QUICKLY, AND THEN ORDERED THE DOOR THROWN OPEN.

[DOOR OPENS]

Narrator: IN HIS PARLOR,

VALLEJO ENCOUNTERED A GROUP OF AMERICANS,

THE LIKES OF WHICH HE HAD NEVER SEEN BEFORE.

Man as Vallejo: I ASKED WHAT THE TROUBLE WAS

AND WHO WAS HEADING THEIR PARTY.

I WANTED TO KNOW TO WHAT HAPPY CIRCUMSTANCE

I OWED THE VISIT OF SO MANY INDIVIDUALS.

Pitti: MARIANO VALLEJO HAD LONG THOUGHT OF HIMSELF

AS THE MOST HOSPITABLE OF CALIFORNIOS,

A PERSON WHO HAD WELCOMED AMERICANS

WHO WERE VISITING THE REGION, LOOKING TO SETTLE IN THE REGION.

Narrator: AMERICANS HAD BEEN COMING TO CALIFORNIA

SINCE THE 1830's, MOSTLY TRADERS FROM BOSTON

WHO CAME BY SHIP,

LOOKING TO BUY HIDES FOR THE NEW ENGLAND SHOE INDUSTRY.

Pitti: THEY'RE INTEGRATING INTO CALIFORNIO FAMILIES,

INTO CALIFORNIO LIFESTYLE.

THEY'RE BECOMING RANCHEROS.

THEY'RE LEARNING SPANISH.

THEY'RE MARRYING CALIFORNIA WOMEN, CALIFORNIANAS.

MANY OF THEM ARE ADOPTING CATHOLICISM.

THEY'RE ASSIMILATING INTO CALIFORNIO SOCIETY.

AND SO WITH THIS BACKDROP,

VALLEJO HAD REASON TO BE SOMEWHAT OPTIMISTIC

ABOUT THE CAPACITY FOR AMERICANS

AND CALIFORNIOS TO WORK TOGETHER.

Narrator: BUT THESE WERE NO SEAFARING BOSTONIANS.

THEY WERE TRAPPERS AND FARMERS,

PIONEERS WHO HAD CROSSED THE ROCKIES AND THE SIERRAS

AND LAID CLAIM TO LAND IN THE SACRAMENTO VALLEY.

ORGANIZED BY U.S. CAPTAIN JOHN C. FREEMONT,

THEY CALLED THEMSELVES THE BEAR FLAG REVOLT.

THEY HAD COME TO ARREST VALLEJO

AND DECLARE CALIFORNIA AN INDEPENDENT REPUBLIC.

VALLEJO HAD LONG FELT THAT MEXICO STOOD IN THE WAY

OF CALIFORNIA'S PROGRESS AND WAS EVEN THOUGHT

TO FAVOR ANNEXATION TO THE UNITED STATES.

BUT NOW, AS HE SIGNED THE ARTICLES OF CAPITULATION,

HE FEARED FOR HIS LIFE AND THE SAFETY OF HIS FAMILY.

Man as Vallejo: I THOUGHT FOR A MOMENT

THAT THROUGH SOME SACRIFICE, I MIGHT GET RID OF

OF SUCH LITTLE-DESIRED GUESTS,

BUT ONCE UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF ALCOHOL,

THEY FORGOT THE CHIEF OBJECT OF THEIR MISSION

AND BROKE INTO SHOUTS OF "RANSACK!

RANSACK!"

Narrator: VALLEJO'S SISTER, ROSALIA,

WATCHED FROM HER HOME ACROSS THE PLAZA.

Narrator: VALLEJO WAS IMPRISONED AT SUTTER'S FORT

ON THE SACRAMENTO RIVER: UNDER THE COMMAND OF CAPTAIN FREEMONT.

Pitti: THIS IS A TURNING-POINT MOMENT FOR VALLEJO.

HE REALLY WAS THE DON OF ALTA CALIFORNIA IN MANY RESPECTS.

THIS WAS A DEEP INSULT TO VALLEJO'S SENSE OF WHO HE WAS

AND WHO HE THOUGHT THE AMERICANS WERE.

Beebe: WHAT'S HAPPENING TO US?

WHAT'S OUR CULTURE GOING TO TURN INTO?

ARE THEY GOING TO COME OVER AND TAKE OVER EVERYTHING?

THE FEAR, THE FOREBODING-- WHAT'S NEXT?

Man as Vallejo: JULY 10, 1846.

DEAR CAPTAIN FREEMONT, I WISH THAT YOU...

Narrator: ONE MONTH INTO HIS IMPRISONMENT,

HIS BODY WRACKED WITH MALARIA,

VALLEJO LEARNED THAT THE UNITED STATES AND MEXICO

WERE AT WAR.

[EXPLOSIONS AND HORSES NEIGHING]

THE WAR HAD BEGUN IN APRIL 1846 OVER DISPUTED TERRITORY

ALONG THE BORDER BETWEEN MEXICO AND TEXAS,

NOW A STATE OF THE AMERICAN UNION.

BUT UNDERLYING THE CONFLICT WAS THE DETERMINATION

OF NEWLY ELECTED PRESIDENT JAMES POLK

TO PUSH THE AMERICAN BORDER ALL THE WAY TO THE PACIFIC COAST.

Garcia: AMERICANS WERE ALREADY LOOKING

TOWARDS THE FUTURE AND TOWARDS TRADE WITH ASIA,

AND SO THERE WAS THIS BELIEF THAT WE NEEDED TO EXPAND, UM...

KEEP PUSHING THAT WESTERN BOUNDARY.

Narrator: POLK HAD FIRST OFFERED TO PURCHASE

NEW MEXICO AND CALIFORNIA FOR $25 MILLION,

BUT NOW, AS THE U.S. ARMY MARCHED WEST,

IT EASILY TOOK NEW MEXICO.

CALIFORNIA WAS NEXT.

IN LOS ANGELES AND SAN DIEGO,

THE CALIFORNIOS PUT UP STIFF RESISTANCE.

IN THE NORTH, MONTEREY FELL

WITHOUT A SINGLE SHOT BEING FIRED.

[HORSE NEIGHS]

THE MEXICAN AMERICAN WAR LASTED NEARLY TWO YEARS.

WITH MEXICO'S SURRENDER IN FEBRUARY 1848,

THE UNITED STATES DOUBLED IN SIZE,

ADDING TO ITS TERRITORY A FULL HALF

OF WHAT HAD ONCE BEEN MEXICO.

Gonzalez: THE ENORMOUS WEALTH THAT CAME TO THE UNITED STATES,

THE SILVER THAT CAME OUT OF NEVADA.

ARIZONA BECAME THE CENTER OF COPPER IN THE UNITED STATES.

NEW MEXICO SUPPLIED A HUGE PORTION OF AMERICA'S WOOL.

ALL OF THIS WAS MEXICAN TERRITORY

SEIZED BY THE UNITED STATES: AS A RESULT OF WINNING THE MEXICAN AMERICAN WAR.

Narrator: 80,000 MEXICANS WERE GIVEN THE CHOICE

TO BECOME AMERICAN CITIZENS: UNDER THE TREATY OF GUADALUPE HIDALGO.

Montejano: THE TREATY OF GUADALUPE HIDALGO

PROVIDED CERTAIN RIGHTS AND PROTECTIONS

FOR THE NEWLY MADE AMERICAN CITIZENS OF MEXICAN DESCENT.

THAT INCLUDED PROTECTION OF THEIR LAND RIGHTS, FOR EXAMPLE.

THEY WERE TO BE TREATED AS CITIZENS,

ENTITLED TO THE RIGHT TO VOTE.

Narrator: "AMERICANS AND MEXICANS WILL NOW BE

ONE AND THE SAME PEOPLE," THE MILITARY GOVERNOR

OF CALIFORNIA, RICHARD MASON, DECLARED,

"SUBJECT TO THE SAME LAWS,

"ENJOYING THE SAME RIGHTS AND PRIVILEGES.

THEY SHOULD BECOME A BAND OF BROTHERS."

MARIANO VALLEJO HAD RETURNED HOME TO SONOMA

AFTER TWO MONTHS IN PRISON: ONLY TO FIND SQUATTERS ON HIS LAND,

HIS CATTLE SLAUGHTERED, HIS HORSES STOLEN.

CONFIDENT THAT HIS RIGHTS WOULD BE PROTECTED UNDER AMERICAN LAW,

HE VOWED TO BURN HIS MEXICAN ARMY UNIFORM

AS A GESTURE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE UNITED STATES.

Garcia: AS IT WORKED OUT,

THOSE RIGHTS AND PRIVILEGES WERE CONTINUALLY TESTED.

Narrator: IN JANUARY 1848, A CHANCE DISCOVERY

AT A WATER CHANNEL NEAR SACRAMENTO

WOULD CHALLENGE VALLEJO'S CONFIDENCE IN THE FUTURE,

AS THE GOLD RUSH FOREVER TRANSFORMED CALIFORNIA.

Montejano: CALIFORNIA.

MY GOD.

CALIFORNIA.

THE DISCOVERY OF GOLD, I MEAN, BASICALLY OVERWHELMS

THE OLD MEXICAN FAMILIES OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA.

THEY'RE OVERWHELMED ALMOST IMMEDIATELY.

Narrator: THE FIRST TO PROFIT FROM THE BOOM

WERE THOSE WHO LIVED NEAR SACRAMENTO,

MOSTLY MEXICANS AND CALIFORNIOS.

A JUSTICE OF THE PEACE FROM LOS ANGELES,

ANTONIO CORONEL, RUSHED TO THE GOLD FIELDS

TO TRY HIS LUCK.

Man as Coronel: EVERYONE BEGAN TO WORK AT DAYBREAK.

SOON, AFTER A LITTLE DIGGING, WE CAME TO THE GOLD DEPOSITS,

AND EVERYONE WHO WAS WORKING WAS HAPPY WITH THE RESULTS.

Narrator: AS WORD SPREAD AROUND THE WORLD,

YOUNG MEN FROM CHINA TO CHILE

AND EVERY CORNER OF THE AMERICAN CONTINENT

LEFT EVERYTHING BEHIND AND FLOCKED TO CALIFORNIA.

WITH THE AMERICANS CAME A NEW HIERARCHY BASED ON RACE.

Gerstle: WHAT WE SEE BEING IMPORTED INTO CALIFORNIA

VERY POWERFULLY IS A SENSE OF, "WELL, THE ANGLOS,

"THIS IS THEIR DESTINY.

"THIS IS ONE OF THE EXPRESSIONS

"OF THE PROVIDENTIAL MISSION

"TO CONQUER AND CIVILIZE ALL AMERICA

"FOR THE ANGLO PEOPLES,

"AND THEY SHOULD BE GIVEN FIRST CRACK, FIRST OPPORTUNITY

TO GET THIS GOLD."

THIS IS A MOMENT IN WHICH: THE SPANISH-SPEAKING INHABITANTS OF CALIFORNIA

FIND THEMSELVES BEING DISCRIMINATED AGAINST.

Narrator: ANTONIO CORONEL NOTED HOW THE WEAKER

WERE DISLODGED FROM THEIR DIGGINGS BY THE STRONGER.

Man as Coronel: ONE SUNDAY, NOTICES APPEARED

IN SEVERAL PLACES THAT ANYONE WHO WAS NOT AN AMERICAN CITIZEN

MUST ABANDON THE PLACE WITHIN 24 HOURS.

THIS WAS SUPPORTED BY A GATHERING OF ARMED MEN

READY TO MAKE THAT WARNING EFFECTIVE.

Montejano: LYNCHING WAS COMMONPLACE.

YOU FIND MANY TRAVELER ACCOUNTS

OF INDIVIDUALS RIDING THROUGH THE COUNTRYSIDE

AND COMING ACROSS AN INDIVIDUAL WHO WAS HANGING FROM A TREE.

Narrator: AS MANY AS 300 MEXICANS WERE LYNCHED

IN CALIFORNIA IN THE YEARS OF THE GOLD RUSH.

Pitti: LYNCHINGS WERE MEANT TO BE PUBLIC DISPLAYS

OF THE POWER OF AMERICAN SOCIETY

AND OF ANGLOS IN AMERICAN SOCIETY.

THEY WERE INTENDED TO SEND A MESSAGE TO LATINOS

ABOUT THEIR PLACE IN AMERICAN CALIFORNIA.

Narrator: MADE INTO POSTCARDS AND SOLD AS SOUVENIRS,

LYNCHINGS WERE THE MOST GROTESQUE

BUT NOT THE ONLY DEMONSTRATION OF RACIAL VIOLENCE

IN THE AMERICAN SOUTHWEST.

LATINOS ARE SEEN AS GREASERS,

AS KNIFE-WIELDING, DANGEROUS, DIRTY, SWARTHY,

THREATENING FIGURES IN GOLD RUSH SOCIETY.

ON THE OTHER HAND,

THERE ARE STEREOTYPES ABOUT CALIFORNIOS,

ABOUT VALLEJO AND OTHERS: WHO ARE SEEN AS BARONIAL ESTATE HOLDERS,

FEUDAL LORDS OF THE MIDDLE AGES

WHO HAVE LANDED IN THIS 19th CENTURY

BUT WHO ARE REALLY PRODUCTS OF ANOTHER TIME.

Narrator: SAN FRANCISCO, THE GATEWAY TO THE GOLD FIELDS,

GREW FROM A PUEBLO OF 200 PEOPLE

TO A CITY OF 36,000 IN THE YEARS OF THE GOLD RUSH.

BY THE LATE 1850's, IN THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA,

13,000 MEXICANS WERE OUTNUMBERED BY 300,000 ANGLOS.

AND AS THE GOLD RAN OUT,

PROSPECTORS BEGAN TO SQUAT ON LAND

OWNED BY RANCHERO FAMILIES.

Garcia: THEY ARE CHALLENGING THE LAND GRANTS,

AND THE SPANISH MEXICAN LAND GRANTS

WERE VERY EASY TO CHALLENGE: BECAUSE THE BOUNDARIES WERE SO VAGUE,

UNDEFINED IN MANY CASES.

Ruiz: IF YOU LOOK AT THE OLDER GRANTS,

IT WILL SAY, YOU KNOW, "30 LEAGUES THIS WAY

"ACROSS THE CREEK BY THE OAK TREE

WITH THE HATCHET EMBLAZONED IN IT."

WHEREAS LOOK AT THE GRID SYSTEM FROM THE NORTHWEST ORDINANCE.

EVERYTHING'S LAID OUT.

EVERYTHING'S MEASURED TO A "T."

AND SO YOU HAVE PEOPLE WHO HAVE THAT SORT OF GRID OUTLOOK

OF HOW PROPERTY, YOU KNOW, IS CLAIMED,

AND THEN THEY SEE THESE.

THE MEXICANOS WHO ARE LIVING IN THE CONQUERED TERRITORY,

THOSE WHO HAVE BECOME AMERICAN BY CONQUEST,

THEY BELIEVE IN THE AMERICAN SYSTEM,

AND THEY FIRST TURN TO THE COURTS.

THESE COURT CASES OFTENTIMES TOOK

A VERY LONG TIME TO DECIDE,

AND IN THE PROCESS, THE LANDOWNERS,

THE MEXICAN LANDOWNERS HAD TO PAY FOR LAWYERS.

THEY HAD TO PAY FOR COURT COSTS.

THEY HAD TO PAY FOR TRANSLATORS BECAUSE, OF COURSE,

THEY DON'T SPEAK THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.

THEY HAVE TO PAY TAXES.

SO THAT EVEN IN THE BEST OF CIRCUMSTANCES,

WHEN THE COURTS DO RULE IN THEIR FAVOR,

THEY HAVE TO SELL THEIR LANDS ANYWAY

IN ORDER TO PAY FOR ALL THESE COSTS.

Montejano: MARIANO VALLEJO DOESN'T KNOW WHAT TO DO.

HE HAS TO DEAL WITH SQUATTERS, YOU KNOW.

HE COMPLAINS ABOUT SQUATTERS.

SO WHAT DOES THE NEW CALIFORNIA STATE LEGISLATURE DO?

THEY PASS A LAW PROTECTING THE SQUATTERS.

HA HA HA!

SO...

SO MUCH FOR THE TREATY OF GUADALUPE HIDALGO, YOU KNOW.

I MEAN...

Narrator: VALLEJO TOOK THE FIGHT TO KEEP HIS LAND

ALL THE WAY TO THE SUPREME COURT,

BUT IN 1864, TO PAY HIS COURT COSTS,

VALLEJO WAS FORCED TO SELL THE LAST

OF HIS 65,000 ACRES AT RANCHO PETALUMA

TO A SAN FRANCISCO BANKER.

Montejano: MEXICAN AMERICANS WERE SEEN AS A CONQUERED PEOPLE.

EVEN THE ELITES COULD NOT STAND

IN ANY POSITION OF AUTHORITY OVER THE ANGLO NEWCOMERS.

Man as Vallejo: THE LANGUAGE NOW SPOKEN IN THIS COUNTRY,

THE LAWS THAT GOVERN US, THE FACES WE ENCOUNTER

ARE THOSE OF THE MASTERS OF THE LAND,

ANTAGONISTIC TO OUR INTERESTS AND OUR RIGHTS.

BUT WHAT DOES THAT MATTER TO THE CONQUEROR?

HE WISHES HIS OWN WELL-BEING, NOT OURS.

Pitti: THE EASE WITH WHICH ANGLOS WERE ABLE

TO CONQUER MEXICANS WAS, FOR MANY ANGLO OBSERVERS,

PROOF OF ANGLO SUPERIORITY.

AN INFERIOR PEOPLE HAD BEEN CONQUERED BY A SUPERIOR PEOPLE.

DEMOCRACY HAD WON OUT OVER FEUDALISM AND BACKWARDNESS.

PROGRESS WAS IN THE HANDS OF THE AMERICANS,

AND LATINOS WERE DESTINED TO EXTINCTION.

Sanchez: THERE'S A SENSE OF THE INEVITABILITY

OF WHITE SUPREMACY.

IT'S VERY MUCH LIKE THE THINKING

TOWARDS NATIVE AMERICANS,

THAT THEY WILL EVENTUALLY WITHER AWAY

BECAUSE THEY CAN'T SUSTAIN THEMSELVES

WITH THE PRESENCE OF ANGLO-AMERICAN CULTURE.

[BELL TOLLING]

Narrator: CHEATED OUT OF HER LAND BY AN AMERICAN COLONEL,

APOLINARIA LORENZANA, THE ORPHAN GIRL

WHO HAD DEVOTED HER LIFE TO THE MISSIONS,

COULD NOT HOLD ON TO HER HARD-EARNED WEALTH.

[TRAIN WHISTLE BLOWING]

Narrator: IN 1878,

THE ATCHISON-TOPEKA, AND SANTA FE RAILROAD

STEAMED ACROSS THE AMERICAN PLAINS

INTO THE U.S.

TERRITORY OF NEW MEXICO.

SETTLED IN 1598, NEW MEXICO WAS THE LARGEST

AND OLDEST SPANISH SETTLEMENT IN THE SOUTHWEST

AND WHERE THE CULTURE OF LATINOS REMAINED STRONG.

Madrid: THE INSTITUTIONS OF THE SOCIETY

WERE DEEP IN NEW MEXICO.

THERE WAS A DEEPLY ROOTED INSISTENCE

ON MAINTAINING THE SPANISH LANGUAGE,

SPANISH CULTURAL TRADITIONS,

SPANISH RELIGIOUS TRADITIONS.

Narrator: IN THE 30 YEARS

SINCE THE END OF THE MEXICAN AMERICAN WAR,

THE HISPANO ELITE IN NEW MEXICO HAD PRESERVED

MUCH OF ITS ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL STANDING,

EVEN AS CALIFORNIOS AND TEJANOS

HAD BEEN OVERWHELMED BY AMERICAN EXPANSION.

Montejano: NEW MEXICO IS, IN A SENSE, SPARED

THE VIOLENCE OF TEXAS AND OF CALIFORNIA

BECAUSE IT'S A DESERT.

I MEAN, THERE'S BASICALLY NOTHING THERE

THAT THESE NEW SETTLERS, THESE INCOMING ANGLO SETTLERS WANT.

Pitti: THERE ARE SO MANY MORE MEXICAN AMERICANS IN NEW MEXICO

THAN THERE WERE IN CALIFORNIA OR IN TEXAS

AT THE DAWN OF THE U.S. MEXICO WAR.

THESE ARE COMMUNITIES THAT ARE BIGGER,

THAT ARE SETTLED,

THAT HAVE BEEN THERE LONGER,

AND THAT REALLY MADE A DIFFERENCE.

Madrid: THERE WERE FAMILIES THAT WERE LANDHOLDING FAMILIES

WHO SENT THEIR CHILDREN OFF TO SCHOOL

AT HARVARD, IN ST. LOUIS, IN THE MIDWEST,

AND WHO CAME BACK LITERATE IN ENGLISH

AND LITERATE IN SPANISH, WHO TOOK THEIR PLACE

AND HAD LEADERSHIP POSITIONS.

Narrator: MIGUEL ANTONIO OTERO,

A WEALTHY HISPANO, HAD STUDIED LAW

AT ST. LOUIS UNIVERSITY.

ELECTED DELEGATE TO THE U.S. CONGRESS,

OTERO WAS INSTRUMENTAL IN BRINGING THE RAILROAD

INTO NORTHERN NEW MEXICO.

[TRAIN WHISTLE BLOWS]

FOR OTERO AND THE NEW MEXICAN ELITES,

THE RAILROAD BROUGHT ECONOMIC PROGRESS,

CONNECTING THE TERRITORY TO KANSAS AND CHICAGO.

BUT FOR MANY NUEVO MEXICANOS, IT WAS A THREAT.

Madrid: IN OTHER PLACES, ONLY GENTRY HAD LAND,

BUT IN NEW MEXICO, THE LANDS THAT WERE NOT PRIVATELY HELD

WERE HELD IN COMMON, AND THEY WERE OPEN.

THEY WERE OPEN TO BE USED BY WHOMEVER.

Narrator: WITH THE RAILROAD CAME ANGLO CATTLE RANCHERS,

AND WITH THE RANCHERS CAME BARBED WIRE

THAT NOW CUT THROUGH LANDS HELD IN COMMON BY NUEVO MEXICANOS.

Madrid: THERE'S A SAYING IN SPANISH...

[SPEAKING SPANISH]

WITH BARBED WIRE CAME HUNGER,

BECAUSE THE LANDS THAT HAVE BEEN USED

TO GRAZE ANIMALS AND TO RAISE CROPS

WERE FENCED OFF.

WHEN PEOPLE CAME TO REALIZE THAT THEY WERE LOSING THEIR LANDS,

THEY FOUGHT BACK.

Narrator: THREE BROTHERS--

PABLO, NICANOR, AND JUAN JOSE HERRERA--

ORGANIZED A RESISTANCE MOVEMENT

TO PROTECT HALF A MILLION ACRES OF LAND

FROM ENCROACHMENT BY CATTLE RANCHERS.

THEY WORE HOODS TO MASK THEIR IDENTITY

AND CALLED THEMSELVES LAS GORRAS BLANCAS,

THE WHITE CAPS.

Garcia: THE GORRAS BLANCAS MAY HAVE BEEN AS LARGE

AS 1,100 MEN.

THEY DON'T HESITATE TO TAKE MATTERS INTO THEIR OWN HAND

AND TO DEFEND THEIR RIGHTS WITH A GUN.

Narrator: RIDING BY MOONLIGHT, THEY TORE UP TRACK,

BURNED RAILROAD BRIDGES AND BARNS,

CUT MILES OF BARBED WIRE.

MY GREAT-GRANDFATHER HAD TO LEAVE HIS HOME COMMUNITY

AND MOVE UPSTREAM TO LAS VEGAS

ON THE SANTA FE TRAIL BECAUSE HIS LANDS

HAD BEEN EXPROPRIATED BY ANGLO-AMERICAN OCCUPIERS.

AND THOUGH THERE ARE NO STORIES IN THE FAMILY

ABOUT THEM RESISTING THAT, THE LIKELIHOOD IS

THAT THEY WERE PART OF THE FENCE-CUTTERS

AND THE BARN-BURNERS.

Narrator: LETTERS FROM RANCHERS

COMPLAINING ABOUT THE OUTRAGES OF FENCE-CUTTERS

IN SAN MIGUEL COUNTY RAINED ON THE GOVERNOR

OF THE U.S.

TERRITORY OF NEW MEXICO.

"CRIMES WERE BEING COMMITTED, AND THE COMMUNITY AS A WHOLE

HAS LITTLE OR NO PROTECTION,"

WROTE COUNTY CLERK MIGUEL ANTONIO OTERO,

SON OF THE MAN WHO BROUGHT THE RAILROAD TO NEW MEXICO.

BUT OTHERS BLAMED THE VIOLENCE ON THE GREED OF LAND GRABBERS.

WHEN IN NOVEMBER 1889: THE HERRERA BROTHERS AND 44 OTHER SO-CALLED FENCE-CUTTERS

WERE ARRESTED, THE LOCAL NEWSPAPER NOTED,

"IT WILL BE A VERY DIFFICULT MATTER

"TO OBTAIN A JURY WHO CAN BE PERSUADED

"TO PUNISH THEIR FELLOW CITIZENS

"FOR ACTS, THOUGH ILLEGAL, THEY IN THEIR OWN HEARTS

FEEL TO BE RIGHT."

THE CHARGES AGAINST LAS GORRAS BLANCAS WERE DISMISSED.

THEY DISBANDED IN 1891.

THE FENCING AT SAN MIGUEL COUNTY STOPPED.

BUT IN A MATTER OF DECADES, ONLY A FEW THOUSAND ACRES

REMAINED OF THE HALF-MILLION ACRE LAS VEGAS LAND GRANT.

Griego: EVERY FAMILY IN NEW MEXICO HAS A STORY ABOUT

"OH, WE USED TO OWN A LOT OF LAND."

"WELL, WHAT HAPPENED TO THAT LAND?"

"WELL, WE DON'T OWN IT ANYMORE."

"WELL, WHAT HAPPENED TO IT?"

"WELL, WE DON'T KNOW.

IT WAS LOST SOMEHOW."

Narrator: LAS GORRAS BLANCAS COULD NOT PROTECT

THE LANDS OF NUEVO MEXICANOS,

BUT THEY MADE HISTORY IN A DIFFERENT WAY,

HELPING TO SET A PRECEDENT OF LATINO RESISTANCE TO INJUSTICE.

NUEVO MEXICANOS CONTINUED TO FIGHT FOR THEIR RIGHTS

AS AMERICAN CITIZENS IN A CONQUERED TERRITORY.

COUNTY CLERK MIGUEL ANTONIO OTERO

WAS APPOINTED GOVERNOR: BY U.S. PRESIDENT WILLIAM McKINLEY

AND SERVED FOR TWO TERMS.

THE LEADER OF LAS GORRAS BLANCAS,

JUAN JOSE HERRERA, TRADED HIS WHITE CAP

FOR A VESTED SUIT AND WAS ELECTED

PROBATE JUDGE OF SAN MIGUEL COUNTY.

NEW MEXICO IS UNIQUE AMONG ALL THE SOUTHWESTERN UNITED STATES

IN HAVING SUBSTANTIAL POLITICAL PARTICIPATION

ON THE PART OF THE HISPANIC PEOPLE.

Garcia: WELL INTO THE 20th CENTURY,

PEOPLE OF MEXICAN ANCESTRY CONTINUE TO BE

THE NUMERICAL MAJORITY IN NEW MEXICO,

AND BECAUSE THEY ARE THE MAJORITY,

THEY HAVE A VERY DIFFERENT EXPERIENCE

THAN, SAY, THE TEJANOS OR THE CALIFORNIOS.

Narrator: IN SONOMA, CALIFORNIA,

ON A SMALL ESTATE HE CALLED LAGRIMA MONTIS,

TEARS OF THE MOUNTAIN,

MARIANO VALLEJO SPENT HIS WANING YEARS.

STRIPPED OF HIS INFLUENCE AND FORTUNE,

HE MADE A MODEST LIVING SELLING WATER

FROM A RESERVOIR BEHIND HIS HOME.

VALLEJO DIED IN 1890 AFTER COMPLETING

A 5-VOLUME HISTORY TO UPHOLD THE LEGACY OF CALIFORNIOS

AND HIS OWN PLACE AS ONE OF CALIFORNIA'S FOUNDING FATHERS.

THE SURVIVOR OF EL ALAMO, JUAN SEGUIN,

RETIRED TO MEXICO, WHERE HE DIED, FORGOTTEN, IN 1890.

80 YEARS LATER, HIS REMAINS WERE BROUGHT TO TEXAS

AND BURIED WITH HONORS.

IN HIS MEMOIR, SEGUIN CALLED HIMSELF

"A FOREIGNER IN MY OWN LAND"

AND SPOKE FOR TENS OF THOUSANDS OF LATINOS,

NOW SECOND-CLASS CITIZENS IN A LAND THAT HAD ONCE BEEN THEIRS.

Announcer: NEXT TIME ON "LATINO AMERICANS"...

IT BEGINS WITH WAR.

HIS BROTHERS AND SISTERS WERE SLAUGHTERED.

Announcer: FORCING A TREACHEROUS JOURNEY.

Man: SHE SAID, "WE ARE NOT GOING TO DIE."

Announcer: AND ENDING WITH HOPE.

HE'S 25, AND HE'S THE KING.

Announcer: ONE FAMILY'S JOURNEY FROM THE MEXICAN REVOLUTION

TO THE AMERICAN DREAM: NEXT TIME ON "LATINO AMERICANS."

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