The Concequences Of Discrimination And Segregation Against Mexicans In California

The residents in California were divided for multiple reasons. Reasons including: how they appeared or were ranked in society, regarding social status, race, and overall power/influence. It was not long until the remaining Mexicans in California further experienced fall to the bottom of “class” ranking and began to experience increased unfair treatment in every aspect. The division between Californios and Euro Americans was highly evident. The “minority within a minority” could not even seem to obtain the resources that the Californios obtained.

Class division affected how California progressed and the disarray that took place. For example, Juan Flores put together a gang who appeared to be in favor of the “whites” but who actually had a secret goal of killing them all. Juan’s gang started with the murder of the sheriff. The actions by Flores and other groups, such as the El Monte gang, on the Americans and non original California settlers, caused uncalled for malice against Mexican Americans and also further divided Californios and the lowest class. Although division in the United States today is not nearly as striking or apparent, it still exists and is a topic commonly talked and debated about.

The memories and stigma of the harsh discrimination in early California lives on in history and has spilled over into other states. Joaquin Murieta was known as, and goes down in history as, the best social bandit in California. Joaquin and his family came from Sonora, Mexico to California during the Gold Rush. Joaquin, upon moving his family to California, experienced many tragedies that led to him becoming an outlaw. Not only did he endure the loss of land and the murder of his brother, but his wife was also brutally gang raped. All of these tragedies were caused by the same “gringo, ” and he desired revenge. Not seeing any other way, he robbed and put the “gringo” to death. These actions of his went down in history. Despite the odds against him, he remained alive until he was tracked down by Captain Harry Love and was killed. A social bandit is someone who comes from the lower class and does something that society would usually frown upon, but rather results in praise and admiration. This was true for Murieta, as he faced such tragedies and oppression that caused him to act out, but was praised for essentially taking justice for what he and his family endured. He was so admired, many people in fact identified themselves as him in order to protect him and support him. Such a large number of people claimed that they in fact were Murieta, that many wondered if it was him who was actually caught by Love and put to death. Murieta is just one example of a social bandit during this time, there were many others that rose up during the uprising of California as well.

The phrase “The exclusion of the other” had to do with the severe segregation that took place during this time period in California. Many were left out, segregated, and dissuaded from certain places depending on their race and occupation. For example, Mexican mine workers were forced to live separately than the “Cornish miners, ” and neither Mexicans or their families were allowed to associate themselves in the “whites” space, schools, or churches. The decline of Mexicans was clear in 1880 when the “white population” was 80%. Not only was the Mexican population decreasing, they faced extremely harsh inequality daily, and were constantly controlled. Another major happening that killed a great deal of Mexicans before they reached the age of 20 was disease, specifically smallpox. Often, their health and “urbanization” was looked past and Mexicans could not afford the limited doctor possibilities they were offered. First and foremost, who can argue with history? Facts are facts, dates and events took place, and our world is constantly molded and shaped accordingly.

I believe that these things took place and I believe that discrimination towards the Mexicans, the original inhabitants, took place both in California and Texas, and that it is tragic. Greed is the root of all evil in this world and the fight for power and greed still continues today across the world. Sadly tragic event dates continue to be set in history today, discrimination and segregation continues against many races, in some instances even against white people, and most often greed and power still seem to be the root cause. You would think people would learn over time, but human nature is human nature.