Why is Mexican American history not covered in most history books.?

Question

I never learned about topics such as, Latinos in the military, eugenics, etc., until I started taking classes at the University level.

I apologize, I should have specified, Mexican/ American History, meaning the history of those (MEXICANS) that were on the U.S. side of the border even before the treaty de Guadelupe Hildalgo was signed. These families have been U.S. citizens a lot longer than other immigrant groups.

Answer 1

don't be a racist, i never learned about polish Americans in the military. why not, are the none polish being racist. why is everybody so obsessed with race in todays world. get my point.

Answer 2

A lot of people here have made some very good points. It would be impossible and completely ridiculous to attempt to teach every esoteric facet of American history in compulsory education. As was mentioned before ... you never hear about German-American or even Chinese-American contributions to United States history. Why ... because that is too specialized of a topic to cover, and, to be quite frank ... I think that kind of gross specialization could be easily abused at that level, and could be interpreted as being discriminatory to other ethnic or cultural groups omitted from study (because it is not voluntary education like college ... it is compulsory education).

Part of the great thing about college is you can take such specialized history classes. I remember I took a 10 week course that specifically dealt with the 1930-1932 period in Germany ... I mean ... thats a VERY specific class. If you wanted to you could teach for months and months on even the most minute aspect of a singular event. And, in college you are learning from professors that are experts in the subject they are teaching, and offer a wealth of experience and knowledge. It is during this time your eyes will begin to open to how much history is really out there ...

Then there is also the consideration ... just because you want to learn about Mexican-American history doesn't mean everyone else wants to. I have no doubt that there are numerous cultures and ethnicities represented in your community ... only one of which has Mexican heritage.

There is nothing wrong with having pride in your culture and/or history, but keep in mind, there is a point where pride in your culture can turn into reverse xenophobia ... then you begin to see your own culture/history as being superior to others ...

Mexico and Mexican immigrants have influenced the development of the United States, but when you have to cover such monumental topics such as the Revolutionary War, the Slave Trade, the Civil War, Manifest Destiny, Progressivism, American Colonialism, the First World War, the FDR Era, World War Two, the Cold War, Korea and Vietnam ... there really isn't much room for dilly dally ...

Answer 3

First of all...the person asking the question asked about Mexican AMERICAN history so there is no need to be condescending.

As a history teacher, I would have to agree with a previous answer and tell you that there is limited time to cover a large amount of information in most middle school and high school courses. We tend to focus on the major topics and move on. However, a good teacher takes the time to through in something interesting about specific groups of people that were involved in some of these events. I talk a lot about Cesar Chavez in my class when we are dealing with the rise of labor unions. I also talk about the Mexican-American War, albeit briefly, and discuss Santa Anna and his opposition to selling any land to the United States, when we talk about how the United States acquired all of the land in the west in 1848 with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hildalgo.

Hope this helps ease your mind...

Answer 4

It's huge in Texas, after all, they were major instigators. For the rest, there haven't been that many residents of Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada or Colorado who made movies. Part of the reason for the war was that Mexico had outlawed slavery and the Americans who'd settled there wanted to keep and use their slaves. This actually means that the US fought the war so Americans in a foreign country could maintain slavery. This doesn't go over so well in many circles. I've heard that the president at the time had the plan to go to war with Mexico when he was elected and then drummed up support for the declaration. No one wanted to believe an American president would do such a thing, but now, of course, we know better.

Answer 5

Because History classes at that level are very basic, and do not cover very specific, trivial topics. Something like Eugenics is too controversial to be taught in Public Schools, and Latinos is the Military is a topic with essentially no historical value at almost any level. The only specific ethnic groups that may be covered would be Blacks or Navajos, for specific things they may have done (Tuskeegee Airmen, Code Talkers) and even then, there is not much material there for more than a brief mention.

Answer 6

Before college level, only the large events in history are covered since time is limited. Not to be mean, but nothing in history has been very influencial from South America except when Spain conquered almost the entire continent - which you should have learned in school.

Answer 7

1) I agree with you. When I got to college, I thought, "where was all of this before?" I'm sure some nutjob will blather on about left wing professors, but in my view it's just a balance against our incredibly conservative elementary and secondary education. I had planned on studying U.S. History in college, but once my eyes were opened, I ended up focusing on Latin American and African History instead.

2) It seems to me that high school history books focus on history as told by the "victors" or, rather, those in power. The problem, of course, is that this is incredibly myopic and, frankly, boring. History is so much more interesting when you get into the struggles.

3) I was fortunate enough to have one great high school history teacher who introduced me to the wonderful world of Howard Zinn. If you haven't read his stuff, you should. He approaches history from the bottom up, which is the opposite of how most high school history teachers approach it.

Answer 8

I think its because there are so many subjects in high school which must be covered. American history is about our history in general. It includes Native Americans because they were a large part of our history.

To learn more about the history of America one could spend the rest of their lives reading about it & probably not learn everything there is to learn!

To learn more about more subjects is what our colleges and universities are all about. It is there that you 'major' in that which interest you and is related to your choice of career. Or, you just want to learn more of a given subject for whatever your reasons!

Answer 9

chill out rusty s. maybe someone just wants more info. you could have said something useful like " Mexican history is found in a Mexican History book"

Answer 10

Could it be we're in America...