Takaki-Chapter 7

Takaki concludes in “Foreigners In Their Native Land” that with the American conquest of California and Texas, Mexicans became strangers and foreigners on land that was once their own. With the changing border, many Mexicans lost their lands and were surrounded by foreign people and a new language.

Takaki begins by giving his readers an example of a successful Mexican rancher. Takaki describes Dona Francisca Vallejo, a man who was very well educated, owned much land, and was extremely well mannered. As Takaki explains, Vallejo was a member of the landed elite and owned 175,000 acres. Takaki then explains that California’s society was stratified. It was composed of the people of reason, the laboring class and Indians, with the people of reason being the highest and the Indians being the lowest in society. Takaki then moves on to his main point, which is the American conquest of Mexican territory. He explains how the Mexicans initially welcomed Americans into their territories, but became hesitant when they no longer wished to assimilate into their society. Yankess began to view Mexicans as lazy and began to take over their lands. Takaki states that “By 1846, there were several hundred American foreigners in this Mexican territory” (172). This same year, Commander Sloat declared California a possession of the United States. However, Takaki explains that the Mexican-American War actually began in Texas when the Mexican government outlawed the institution of slavery and prohibited American immigration into Texas. Americans in Texas objected to this and began an insurrection in San Antonio. Takaki discussed the Battle of the Alamo and explains that the United States annexed Texas. This caused a dispute over the Mexican-American border that was eventually resolved to be the Rio Grande. Eventually, through the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, the United States acquired California, New Mexico, Nevada, and parts of Colorado, Arizona, and Utah. For the remainder of the chapter, Takaki focuses on how the Mexicans were treated in the new country which they resided in. They were allowed to stay on their lands, and were supposed to receive citizenship, but this was not quite the case. Mexicans were denied suffrage and their land grants were not confirmed because the Mexicans found it hard to prove the legitimacy of their land titles. Therefore, most of their land was either lost in court, taken by squatters, or was sold in an attempt to remain out of debt. Mexican ranchers were not as able to convert their lands from grazing to agriculture and had less access than whites to bank credit. Mexicans were forced to sell their lands and provide cheap and dangerous labor in the fields and in mining industries. Here they were often paid far less than their white co-workers.

What consequences do we face today as a result of what Takaki presents in this chapter? We face many consequences as a result of what was presented in this chapter. The most obvious is our country’s border. If the United States had not taken Mexican land, present day Texas and California would not be within our nation’s boundaries. There are also descendants of theses Mexican ranchers who would have had land if it was not denied to their ancestors many years ago. Also, the fact that many Mexicans were forced to work as field laborers may be a potential reason as to why so many of the field labor today is provided by Mexicans.

As I read “Foreigners In Their Native Land,” I felt sorry for the Mexicans that occupied California and Texas. They were conquered by America and were suddenly told that they now resided in a different country. A different culture and a new language then surrounded them. Their land was taken away from them, and there was nothing that they could really do about it. It seems that our country has done a terrible thing to these Mexican residents, something that seems to go against the very principles that our country stands for.