1846-1848: The Mexican American War

Following the end of the Mexican-American War (1846-1848), in which Mexico was defeated, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo granted America the land of California, Texas, parts of Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and Nevada.1 Tens of thousands of Mexicans thus became residents of the U.S.2 After the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, around 1890, Mexicans migrated to the U.S., being recruited by the U.S. railway companies due to labor shortages.3  In many cases, they freely moved across the border for temporary jobs and then returned home. 

Sources:

  1. “Becoming Part of The United States,” Library of Congress, accessed June 8, 2021 https://www.loc.gov/classroom-materials/immigration/mexican/becoming-part-of-the-united-states/ 
  2. Ibid.
  3. “U.S.-Mexico Relations 1810-2010,” Council on Foreign Relations, accessed June 9, 2021, https://www.cfr.org/timeline/us-mexico-relations

 

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