Refugio I Rochin - Reflections on the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo and the Border It Established.pdf
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Vot-urrp V
SpnrNc
1998 NuNaspn
1
REFLECTIONS
ON
THE TREATY
OF
GUADALUPE
HIDALGO AND
THE
BORDER
IT ESTABLISHED
Refugio
I.
Rochin
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t42
SOUTIIWESTERN
JOURNAL
OF
LAW
&
TRADE IN THE AMERICAS
[Vol.5
whose rights were specffically safeguarded by treaty
provision. l
To
understand
the
wisdom
of
Mc
Williams
and others
we need
only to
briefly recall the
past.
We need to
know
why
the
Treaty was signed
and
why it became another
l'White
man's treaty of broken
promises.
When signed
by the
United
States and Mexico,
the
Tleaty
con-
tained
all
sorts
of
guarantees
to
protect
Mexicans
and
Americans
along the new
frontier.
It was signed
to
bring
peace
and
harmony.
The Treaty's fi.rst
lines
read
as
follows:
In the name of Almighty God
The United States
of
America, and the United
Mexican
States,
animated by a sincere desire to
put
an end to
the
calamities of
the
war which unhappily
exists between
the two
Republics, and to es-
tablish upon a solid basis relations of
peace
and friendship, which
shall confer reciprocal benefits
upon
the citizens
of both,
and assure
the concord, harmony and mutual confidence, wherein the two
peo-
ples
should
live,
as
good
neighbors. .
.
Such language was welcomed by Mexicans who signed the
Tkeaty for
a
number of
reasons.
Not
only did
the
Tieaty
declare
an end
to
calami-
ties,
but
it
seemed to
assure harmony between the main warriors.
Each
party
to the Tieaty would
be
able to resolve other conflicts,
such
as the
territorial
hostilities
between
Mexicans and Anglos involving
Apaches,
Comanches,
IJte,
and
other
native
peoples.
The
Tleaty
promised
to
resolve
years
of
costly conflict
and help Mexico to stabi-
lize
other
problems,
such as the
threat
of succession by
Yucatan.
Moreover,
the
United
States was a tough foe, which seemed
to sanc-
tion
intrusions
into
Mexico.
By
signing the
Tleaty,
Mexico
would also
end
the wrath
of
U.S.
President Polk
and
General
Zachary Thylor,
whose troops marched
successfully
all the way
to
the
Mexican
capital
and was
ready
to
assume
total control.
Finally,
the
Tieaty
would
deal
with United Stateb zealfor
expansion, widely
proclaimed
by the
press
in the United
States
as
Manifest Destiny, a
form
of
national
supremacy theory.
(With
this theoretical
premise,
there
was
little
problem
encouraging Congress
to
appropriate
$10
million for the War
and
form
an army
of 50,000
men, headed
by
General Taylor).
Keep in mind that
what
mostly
precipitated
the War was the
United
States' annexation
of
Texas in 1845. Mexico
broke
off
diplo-
matic relations with the
United
States on the
grounds
that the annexa-
tion
of
Texas
was an act of
hostility
toward
Mexico. In
the meantime,
Mexico had
an
unstable
government,
based
ofl
a coup
d'tat
that
1.
Censv Mc
Wrr-rlaus,
Nonrn rnou
MBxrco: Tnn
SpaNrsrr-Spearnvc Peopr-r
or r:nr
UNrrr,o
Srares
(1968).
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1e981
REFLECTIONS ON
THE
TREATY
brought to
power
a
nationalist
dictator,
General
Mariano
Paredes
y
Arrillaga.
After
General
Zachary
Taylor's
troops
showed
force
against
the
Mexican
government, there was
not
much
Mexico could
do but
accept
the
treaty
of
Guadalupe
Hidalgo.
Within
months
of
the Tieaty's
signing, however,
signs
of Ameri-
can
reneging became
apparent.
However,
before
long the
Tleaty be-
gan
to
seem
more
like
a continuation
of
Manifest
Destiny
in
perpetuity
against
Mexico.
The United
States
sent
clear signs
of
re-
versing
its
promise.
First,
Congress
took
nearly
four
months
to ratify
the
act,
from
February
2, L848
to
May 30,
l-848.
During this
period
both
Mexican
and United
States
representatives
deliberated
over the
articles
and made
signiflcant
changes,
which
Mexico
accepted
only af-
ter
a
protocol
was
drafted.
According
to
one
of the
foremost
analyst
of this
period, Richard Griswold
del
Castillo,
the
protocol
was
ignored
by
the
United
States
in later
years.2
Unfortunately
for Mexicans
caught
in
the
United
States
territories,
the
Tleaty that
was
first signed
was
not the
same
treaty eventually
ratifled by
the
United
States and
Mexico
on
May 30,
1848.
During the
period
of
ratiflcation,
paragraphs
that
did
not
suit
certain
U.S. Senators
and President
Polk,
were simply
deleted
or
re-phrased
without
careful
consideration
of
Mexican
concerns.3
In
its flnal
form, the
Treaty was
a frayed
document
with
many
ambiguities
and contestable
assertions.
A
particularly
important
arti-
cle
(Article
X)
on
Mexican
holdings
was erased
completely,
serving
notice to
Mexicans
that the
Tieaty
was
not
going
to
be honored
on
behalf
of
Mexican
stakeholders.
Article
X
on
Property
Rights,
read
originally
as
follows:
All
grants
of
land made by
the Mexican
Government
or
by the
com-
petent
authorities,
in territories
previously
appertaining
to
Mexico,
and
remaining
for the
future
within
limits
of
the United
States,
shall
be
respected
as
valid,
to the same
extent
that the
same
grants
would
be valid,
if the said
territories
had
remained within
the
limits
of
Mexico.
[With
the
exception
of the
Texas
proviso].4
Gradually,
The
Treaty of Guadalupe
Hidalgo
fell
into
historical
demise.
In
the
United
States,
the
Treaty
was
all
but ignored
until
the
2. See
Rrcsano
Gnrswor-o
oer
CA.srrrro,
Tue
Txrerv on
Guapamrps
Hrper-co:
A
LscA.cv
or Collrr-rcr
Tn=
IJNrvensrr.y
or
Orr-arrovl.
Pness
43-53
(1990).
3.
See
id.
4. Cnanr-es
I. BBv.tNs,
ro., U.S. Dsranrrurelr
or
Stanr,
TxBetrss
aNp Orrren
INr:en-
NATT9NAL
AcnseMENTs oF
THE
UNrrep
Srarrs
or
Arraenrce,
1776-L949,(L972),
reprinted in
Oscan
J.
Maarmrz
(1992).
L43
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1,44
SOUTHWESTERN
IOURNAL
OF LAW
&
TRADE
IN
THE AMERICAS
[Vol.5
1950s, when
Chicano activism renewed
the cause for land rights
in
the
Southwest.
Today,
the Treaty is undergoing
a revival
of
sorts.
Of
primary
interest
are the following
two
articles
which
deserve
closer review.
Article
V
(on
the Boundary Line):
The
Boundary
line
established
by this
Article
shall
be
religiously
respected
by each
of
the
two Republics, and no
change shall ever be
made
therein, except by the
express and free
consent
of both
na-
tions,
lawfully
given
by the
General Government
of
each, in
con-
formity
with its own constitution.
Article IX
(on
Civil and Religious Rights):
The
Mexicans who, in
the territories aforesaid,
shall be incorpo-
rated
into the Union
of
the
United
States
and be admitted, at the
proper
time
(to
be
judged
of
by the Congress of the
United
States)
to the employment
of all the rights
of citizens of the
United States
according to the
principles
of the
Constitution; and
in
the
mean
time
shall be maintained
and
protected
in
the free enjoyment of
their liberty
and
property,
and secured
in
the free
exercise
of
their
religion without
restriction.
With
regard
to Article
V,
the border established by
the
Tieaty
is
largely
the
same
today as then,
with
a few alterations,
such as the
Gadsden Purchase
and Chamizal.
'lo
scholars of
Chicano
studies,
the
Treaty
of
Guadalupe
Hidalgo is the
beginning
point
of
the
Chicano
peoples,
the inheritors
of Aztlan,
the
former
land
grant
recipients
in
the
Southwest.
At
issue
today
in
Aztlan
are
Chicano and Hispano
claims to
property,
civil
rights,
the
preservation
of culture
and a
number
of services.
With
regard
to
Article IX,
the Tieaty
established
the conditions
-
legal,
political,
social, cultural,
and to a degree
psychological
-
which
made
it
once
a
federal responsibility
to
develop respect and
harmony
between the
Mexican
and
United
States
people,
i.e.
giving
recognition
to Chicanos
as
United
States
citizens.
Today, however, it
is almost
impossible
for Mexicans in
the United
States to
be
integrated into
American
society.
The
conditions
of employment,
housing,
local
power,
treatment
by
gringos
and treatment
of
Chicanos
as
sub-citi-
zens, are
especially contentious
along the
border.
There
are many in-
cidences
of
discrimination,
segregation and
subjugation
involving
Anglo
dominance
over
Chicanos
who
have
citizenship status and
Mexicans
who enter from
Mexico
into
the
Southwest.
Today,
the borderline
established by the Tieaty
imposes condi-
tions which
sustain
conflicts between
Anglos,
Chicanos
and Mejica-
nos.
The
border disputes
of old have not
been resolved between the
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reesl
REFLECTIONS
ON THE
TREATY
United
States
and
Mexico.
The
Tleaty's
most
questionable
provisions
center
largely
on the Gringos'
intent
of
the
border.
Was
the line
drawn
to exclude
and
ignore
Mexicans
south
of the
border? Was
the
line
drawn,
as in the
case of Canada,
primarily
with
the
intent of
identifying
governing
jurisdictions
and
areas
of responsibility?
Or,
was
the
line
drawn
as a
measure
of control, wherein
all
persons
within
the United
States
had
to
become
assimilated
and monolingual
and
dominated
by Norte
Americanos?
Granted,
the United
States-Mexico
border
is long,
some
1-,800
miles
from
the
far east of
Brownsville,
Texas,
to
the
extreme
west of
San
Diego,
California.
Between
Brownsville
and San
Diego
there are
numerous
border
towns.
These
towns,
now
large
metropolitan
communities,
serve
as market
centers and
places
for
international
mi-
gration
routes and
migration
controls.
The
towns
also serve
as
the
main
routes
running
from
the
interior
of
Mexico into
the United
States. These
arteries
carry
labor,
food,
money,
tourists,
traffic and
drugs. The 'lborder towns
are throbbing
with
ambitious migrant
workers,
members
of
la
migra
and
growing
numbers
of
young
and
old who
swarm
to the
region to
work in maquilas
(industrial
plants).
The larger border
towns,
include: San
Diego/Tljuana,
Calexico/Mexi-
cali,
NogalesA{ogales,
Agua
Prieta, El
Paso/Ciudad Juarez,
Piedras
Negras,
Laredo/Nuevo
Liredo and
BrownsvilleiMatamoros.
Does
the
immensity
of the border
mean
that
the
Tleaty has
no
bearing?
Shouldn't
the
United
States
strive
to rocognize
the
sins
of
Anglo
justice
and the
reversal of
past
promises
to
Mexico?
Part
of
the
interest
of
today's Chicanos
has to
do with
the
fact
that
they
are the
most
important
stakeholders
in
any
negotiation
be-
tween
the two
nations.
The Tieaty that
created
Chicanos
as a
separate
and
identffiable
population is,
in
this
author's
opinion, the
reason
why
Chicanos
must be factored
into
all future
negotiations
relating
to
the
Mexican
border.
Chicanos,
more
than
Mexicans,
have borne
the
brunt
of
the
Tieaty
and
the
historical
aflermath
of today's
crossers,
border
controls,
NAFTA
negotiations,
language rights,
and
forms
of
cultural
citizenship,
which
impinge
upon the
human and
civil
rights of
Chicanos.
Consider
President Clinton's
recent action,
which
Congress
will
assuredly
pass.
One
day after
the
150th anniversary
of
the
Treaty,
on
February
3,
1998,
President Clinton
proposed
a
record
$4.2
billion
for the
Immigration
and Naturalization
Service,
including
hiring 1-,000
more
Border Patrol
agents and
430
more
inspectors
for
the ports of
145
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L46
SOUTLWESTERN
.IOURNAL
OF LAW
& TRADE
IN
THE
AMERICAS
[VoI.5
entry. s
These
additional
numbers,
as
proposed,
would
almost match
the
size
of the
Congressionally
approved
army for
General
Zachary
Taylor (an
increase
from
3,965
today
to 8,378
by
September
1999),
which
allowed
him
to
win the
U.S.-Mexican
War of 1845.
,,The
propo-
sal
for
the
fiscal
year
beginning
October 1,
[1998]
is
an increase
of
$413.4
million
over
current
levels
and
would
mean
the
INS
budget
will
have
quadrupled
this decade.
.
. The
plan
[also]
calls
for
spending
$211
million
for
a second
straight year
to
overhaul
the
INS'
overwhermed
and
much
criticizednaturalization
program
through
which immigrants
become
citizens. 6
The
President's plan
would
give
$500
million
to
states
to
defray
some
of the
costs
of
jailing
criminal
immigrants
and
help
to
forestall
political
pressure
from
states
along
the border.T
As
many
know,
this
plan
is
the latest
of
a long
succession
of
border
con-
trols
enforced
unilaterally
by
the
United
states
on
Mexico.
Histori-
cally
we
ask, was
the Tleaty
meant
to be meaningless
after
being
signed
by
Mexico
and
the U.S.
in
1848?
It
is highly
unlikely
that
the
Treaty
will
be
the
basis
for
future
policies
and
united
States
acts
along
the
border.
However,
the Tieaty
should
not
be ignored.
It should
not
be
a
Tieaty
completely
ignored,
for in its
words
and
intents,
it
contains
the
words that
appeal
for
peace
and
civility
along
the long
border
between
the
united
States
and Mex-
ico. The
Treaty
should
be
taught
and
studied
in our
courses
on Amer-
ican
history
and
the
rights
of
Mexican peoples
in the
united
states.
5. Marcus
Stern,
$41j.4
Million Increase
in
INS
spending
proposed,
S.D.
UNrou,Tnrnuxe,
Feb.3,
1998,
at
A10.
6.
Id.
7. See i-d.