General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: The Latinos who voted for Motherfucker [View all]eppur_se_muova
(37,862 posts)The USA land grab of 1848 would likely be in violation of international law today.
Many families in TX and other southwest states were living there long before the US existed, yet their modern-day descendants are treated as "outsiders" and "aliens".
Many Mexican citizens fought alongside American immigrants in the battle for TX independence -- several towns in TX are named after their leaders. Once TX had established its independence, the land grants given by the Spanish king to Mexicans were abrogated by the all-white gov't of TX, leaving families that had been there for generations without property. Salaries of the TX legislature were deliberately kept low, meaning only the well-to-do white ranchers could really afford to serve in office, and those who managed to get elected without wealth to support them were left susceptible to bribery. TX gov't was designed to be bigoted and corrupt from the very beginning, and it hasn't changed all that much.
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(Yes, Spain acquired the LA territory from France following the French & Indian Wars. Napoleon re-acquired it from Spain in 1800, and sent occupying troops in 1802. I didn't include it in the "one quarter" approximation, since Spanish control was short-lived, and the territory was sold to the US in a peaceful transaction.)