New People, New Historical Narratives
When the Mexican-Americans Came to Gonzales, Texas at the Turn of the 20th Century
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7146/dl.v10i16.113575Keywords:
Texas, ethnic communities, uses of history, national celebrations, 1900-1915Abstract
At the turn of the 20th century, the small central Texas town of
Gonzales saw an impressive population increase consisting primarily
of Anglo Americans from other parts of the United States and of
Mexican Americans. The latter constituted a new ethnic community in
a town of Anglo Americans and African Americans. The power
relationship between these two communities followed the norms and
practices of a southern racial hierarchy, and at least to some extent, the
arrival of the Mexican Americans questioned the power logics of this
relationship. The author argues that the activation in the first decades
of the 20th century of a series of historical references to Texas’
independence in public space was part of an Anglo American effort to
maintain its economic, social and political power by integrating the
newly arrived Anglo Americans and efficiently excluding the Mexican
American community.
References
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Brear, H.B. (1995) Inherit the Alamo. Myth and Ritual at an American Shrine. University of Texas Press: Austin.
Caldwell County Oral History Project (1976) Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin.
Campbell, R. B. (2003) Gone to Texas. A History of the Lone Star State. Oxford University Press: New York and Oxford.
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Cresswell, T. (2004) Place. A Short Introduction. Blackwell publishing: Oxford.
Crónica, La (1910-11), Laredo.
Daily Inquirer, The (1895-1915), Gonzales.
Davis, S. G. (1986) Parades and Power. Temple University Press: Philadelphia.
Flores, R. (2002) Remembering the Alamo. Memory, Modernity, and the Master Symbol. University Of Texas Press: Austin.
Foley, N. (1997) 'Becoming Hispanic: Mexican Americans and the Faustian Pact with Whiteness', in N. Foley (ed.), Reflexiones 1997. New Directions in Mexican American Studies. Center for Mexican American studies, University of Texas: Austin, 53-70.
Gamio, Manuel (1969) The Mexican Immigrant. His Life Story. The Chicago University Press: Chicago.
Glassberg, D. (2001) Sense of History. The Place of the Past in American Life. University Of Massachusetts Press: Amherst.
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Gonzales City Council Minutes (1847-1941). Gonzales County Records, Texas State Library and Archives Commission. Victoria College / University of Houston, Vol. 2: 362, February 20, 1893 & Vol. 3: 163-164, February 14, 1898; Vol. 3: 329, September 9, 1900; Vol. 3: 315 [1847-1941]; August 6, 1900; February 4, 1901, Vol. 3: 346.
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Hanson, J. H. (1898) Complete City Directory of the City of Gonzales Including Other Matters of Interest. Inquirer Book and Job Print: Gonzales.
'Editorial', Holland’s Magazine (December 1912) Vol. 31, Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin: 10.
Kammen, M. (1993) Mystic Chords of Memory. The Transformation of Tradition in American Culture. Vintage books: New York.
Limón, J. (1974) 'El Primer congreso mexicanista de 1911: A Precursor to Contemporary Chicanismo’. Aztlán 5 (1-2): 85-117.
Lord, W. (1961) A Time to Stand. The Epic of the Alamo. University of Nebraska Press: Lincoln & London.
Massey, D. (2005) For Space. SAGE publications: London.
Massey, Doreen & S., L. Goldring, et al. (1994) 'Continuities in Transnational Migration: An Analysis of Nineteen Mexican Communities'. The American Journal of Sociology 99 (6): 1492-1533.
Messenger (1971) April 2. The Archdiocese of San Antonio Archives, San Antonio.
Montejano, D. (1987) Anglos and Mexicans in the Making of Texas, 1836-1986. University of Texas Press: Austin.
Morowski, D. L. (2008) Prevailing over Prejudice: A Story of Race, Inequity, and Education in Gonzales, Texas. The Faculty of the Graduate School, the University of Texas: Austin (PhD thesis).
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Today's Catholic (1985) December 20. The Archdiocese of San Antonio Archives, San Antonio.
Tuan, Y. F. (2007) Space and Place. University of Minnesota: Minneapolis.
Turner, E. H. (2007) ' Juneteenth: Emancipation and Memory', in G. Cantrell and E. H. Turner (eds.) Lone Star Pasts. Memory and History in Texas. Texas A&M University Press: College Station: 143-175.
US Census (Gonzales) 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910. Microfilm, Center of American History, The University of Texas at Austin.
US Census (2000) http://www.census.gov/ (Aug. 28, 2009).
Vollentine, G. B. (1986) History of Gonzales County. Curtis: Dallas.
Werner, M. and B. Zimmermann (2006) 'Beyond Comparison: Histoire Croisée and the Challenge of Reflexivity'. History and Theory, 45 (Feb. 2006): 30-50.
Young, E. (1994) 'Deconstructing La Raza: Identifying the Gente Decente of Laredo, 1904-1911', Southwestern Historical Quarterly (1994): 227-259.
Zamora, E. (1993) The World of the Mexican Worker in Texas. Texas A&M University Press: College Station.
Zamora, E. et al. (eds.) (2000) 'Introduction', in Mexican Americans in Texas History. Texas State historical Association: Austin: 1-18.
Brear, H.B. (1995) Inherit the Alamo. Myth and Ritual at an American Shrine. University of Texas Press: Austin.
Caldwell County Oral History Project (1976) Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin.
Campbell, R. B. (2003) Gone to Texas. A History of the Lone Star State. Oxford University Press: New York and Oxford.
Camejo, Antonio (ed.) (1970) 'El Plan de Aztlán', in Documents of the Chicano Struggle, Regents of University of California http://clnet.ucla.edu/research/docs/struggle/aztlan.htm (1.9.2006).
Connor, S. V. (1971) Texas. A History. AHM Publishing Corporation: Illinois.
Cornell, S. and D. Hartmann (1998) Ethnicity and Race. Making Identities in a Changing World. Pine Forge Press: Thousand Oaks.
Correspondence with Parish of Gonzales St. Joseph Church, 1993. The Archdiocese of San Antonio Archives, San Antonio.
Cresswell, T. (2002) 'Introduction. Theorizing Place'. Thamyris/Intersecting, 9.
Cresswell, T. (2004) Place. A Short Introduction. Blackwell publishing: Oxford.
Crónica, La (1910-11), Laredo.
Daily Inquirer, The (1895-1915), Gonzales.
Davis, S. G. (1986) Parades and Power. Temple University Press: Philadelphia.
Flores, R. (2002) Remembering the Alamo. Memory, Modernity, and the Master Symbol. University Of Texas Press: Austin.
Foley, N. (1997) 'Becoming Hispanic: Mexican Americans and the Faustian Pact with Whiteness', in N. Foley (ed.), Reflexiones 1997. New Directions in Mexican American Studies. Center for Mexican American studies, University of Texas: Austin, 53-70.
Gamio, Manuel (1969) The Mexican Immigrant. His Life Story. The Chicago University Press: Chicago.
Glassberg, D. (2001) Sense of History. The Place of the Past in American Life. University Of Massachusetts Press: Amherst.
Gonzales, City of (2008) www.cityofgonzales.org (August 1, 2008)
Gonzales City Council Minutes (1847-1941). Gonzales County Records, Texas State Library and Archives Commission. Victoria College / University of Houston, Vol. 2: 362, February 20, 1893 & Vol. 3: 163-164, February 14, 1898; Vol. 3: 329, September 9, 1900; Vol. 3: 315 [1847-1941]; August 6, 1900; February 4, 1901, Vol. 3: 346.
Gonzales Inquirer, The (1880-1915), Gonzales.
Hanson, J. H. (1898) Complete City Directory of the City of Gonzales Including Other Matters of Interest. Inquirer Book and Job Print: Gonzales.
'Editorial', Holland’s Magazine (December 1912) Vol. 31, Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin: 10.
Kammen, M. (1993) Mystic Chords of Memory. The Transformation of Tradition in American Culture. Vintage books: New York.
Limón, J. (1974) 'El Primer congreso mexicanista de 1911: A Precursor to Contemporary Chicanismo’. Aztlán 5 (1-2): 85-117.
Lord, W. (1961) A Time to Stand. The Epic of the Alamo. University of Nebraska Press: Lincoln & London.
Massey, D. (2005) For Space. SAGE publications: London.
Massey, Doreen & S., L. Goldring, et al. (1994) 'Continuities in Transnational Migration: An Analysis of Nineteen Mexican Communities'. The American Journal of Sociology 99 (6): 1492-1533.
Messenger (1971) April 2. The Archdiocese of San Antonio Archives, San Antonio.
Montejano, D. (1987) Anglos and Mexicans in the Making of Texas, 1836-1986. University of Texas Press: Austin.
Morowski, D. L. (2008) Prevailing over Prejudice: A Story of Race, Inequity, and Education in Gonzales, Texas. The Faculty of the Graduate School, the University of Texas: Austin (PhD thesis).
Patton, J. and J. Rosenfield, John (1935 (1928)) Texas History Movies. Four Hundred Years of History and Industrial Development. Turner Company: Dallas.
Prensa, La (1913-1940), San Antonio.
Primer Congreso Mexicanista verificado en Laredo, Texas, EE.UU. DE A. Los Días 14 al 22 de Septiembre de 1911. Discursos y Conferencias. Por la Raza y Para la Raza. Tipografía de N. Idar, Laredo, Texas 1912. Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin.
Proceedings of the Twelfth Annual Meeting of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas held at Waco, Texas, April 20-21, 1903, Houston, Texas. DRT Library at the Alamo, San Antonio, s. 67-72.
Rather, E. Z. (1904) ' DeWitt's Colony'. The quarterly of the Texas State historical Association 8 (2): 1-193.
Regidor, El (1903-1910), San Antonio.
Senate Bill No. 287, Journal of the State of Texas, January 12, 1909, Austin, p. 630 and e.g. GI, March 31, 1910: 7.
Stewart, K. L. and A. de León (1993) Not Room Enough. Mexicans, Anglos, and Socioeconomic Change in Texas, 1850-1900. University of New Mexico: Albuquerque.
Taylor Collection, Paul S. (1919-1934) Social Science Research Council, Mexican Labor in the United States (1927-1933) 1919-1934. Bancroft Library, University of California at Berkeley.
Today's Catholic (1985) December 20. The Archdiocese of San Antonio Archives, San Antonio.
Tuan, Y. F. (2007) Space and Place. University of Minnesota: Minneapolis.
Turner, E. H. (2007) ' Juneteenth: Emancipation and Memory', in G. Cantrell and E. H. Turner (eds.) Lone Star Pasts. Memory and History in Texas. Texas A&M University Press: College Station: 143-175.
US Census (Gonzales) 1860, 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910. Microfilm, Center of American History, The University of Texas at Austin.
US Census (2000) http://www.census.gov/ (Aug. 28, 2009).
Vollentine, G. B. (1986) History of Gonzales County. Curtis: Dallas.
Werner, M. and B. Zimmermann (2006) 'Beyond Comparison: Histoire Croisée and the Challenge of Reflexivity'. History and Theory, 45 (Feb. 2006): 30-50.
Young, E. (1994) 'Deconstructing La Raza: Identifying the Gente Decente of Laredo, 1904-1911', Southwestern Historical Quarterly (1994): 227-259.
Zamora, E. (1993) The World of the Mexican Worker in Texas. Texas A&M University Press: College Station.
Zamora, E. et al. (eds.) (2000) 'Introduction', in Mexican Americans in Texas History. Texas State historical Association: Austin: 1-18.
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Published
2009-01-01
How to Cite
Magnussen, A. (2009). New People, New Historical Narratives: When the Mexican-Americans Came to Gonzales, Texas at the Turn of the 20th Century. Diálogos Latinoamericanos, 10(16), 19. https://doi.org/10.7146/dl.v10i16.113575
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