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Mexican Land Grants: A History of Racial Injustice

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Legal and Political Machinery Behind the Theft

In the 1800s, Mexican landowners in South Texas were cheated out of their land by American settlers and government officials. This was due to a number of factors:

  • The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which ended the Mexican-American War in 1848, did not explicitly protect Mexican land grants. This left the door open for American settlers to claim Mexican land as their own.
  • American settlers often had more political power than Mexican landowners. This allowed them to influence government officials to dispossess Mexican landowners of their land.
  • American courts often ruled in favor of American settlers in disputes over land ownership. This further marginalized Mexican landowners.  
  • As a result of these factors, many Mexican landowners like Antonio de la Garza were forced off their land. This had a devastating impact, not just on future Becerra generations, but also on many other Texas-Mexican landowners as well. Many Mexican families lost their homes, their livelihoods, and their way of life.

Mexican Land Grants and Lies

The Mexican land grants that were issued by the Mexican government were in effect, not always recognized by the United States government. This was because the United States government did not recognize the sovereignty of Mexico over the territory that it had acquired in the Mexican-American War.

As a result, Mexican landowners were forced to prove that they had owned their land before the war in order to keep it. This was a difficult task, and many Mexican landowners were unable to meet the burden of proof.

The dispossession of Mexican landowners was a major injustice. It was a violation of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo and the rights of Mexican citizens. It also had a lasting impact on the Mexican community in the American Southwest.

Mexican landowners were cheated out of their land:

  • In California, American settlers often filed fraudulent claims to Mexican land grants. These claims were often based on forged documents or on false information.
  • In New Mexico, American settlers frequently intimidated and threatened Mexican landowners in order to force them to sell their land.
  • In Texas, American officials often refused to recognize Mexican land grants. This forced many Mexican landowners to abandon their land or to sell it at a fraction of its value.

The dispossession of Mexican landowners was a major injustice that had a lasting impact on the Mexican community in the American Southwest. It is important to remember this history and to work to ensure that such injustices do not happen again as we remember our ancestor's plight.

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