Research Guides
Who We Are: Latinx Americans
Table of Contents
Introduction Telling All Americans' Stories
Spotlighted Stories
Continue Your Research
- Telling All Americans' Stories: American Latino HeritageA resource from the national parks service on important people and places in Latinx American history.
- Latinas in the United States
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Call Number: OnlineA Historical Encyclopedia records the contribution of women of Latin American birth or heritage to the economic and cultural development of the United States.
- Latino American Experience
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Digital resource exploring the history and culture of U.S. Latinos - Oxford Encyclopedia of Latinos and Latinas in the United StatesOver 900 entries detailing historical and contemporary experiences of Latinos and Latinas
Officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, PR is one of the United States' unincorporated territories. People born in PR are American Citizens but lack the full protections of the Constitution. They are represented by a single Congressional Representative who can only vote in Committee. Puerto Rico served as the test case for a number of legal challenges to the Constitution and US Law as the United States expanded its empire at the turn of the twentieth century. PR's status and treatment remains under discussion on the island, in the United States, and among nations.
- Periódicos Históricos de Puerto RicoHistorical newspapers from Puerto Rico.
- The Foraker Act, or The Organic Act of 1900Established (limited popular) civilian government in Puerto Rico. Section VII also provides for Puerto Rican Ciizenship.
The Insular Cases
The Insular Cases, heard before the Supreme Court in the first quarter of the twentieth century, were borne out of the debate over the tax and tariff status for overseas territories and the question of whether people in those territories would be fully considered United States Citizens. The four most significant are generally considered to be Downes v. Bidwell (1901), Dorr v. United States (1904), Balzac v. Porto Rico (1922), and Rassmussen v. United States (1925).
Of the four, Downes (1901) rises among the Insular Cases as perhaps the most significant. Downes was a citrus importer based in NY and had been forced to pay import duties on oranges from PR. In DeLima v. Bidwell (1901), the court had decided that since PR had been acquired by the US normal customs levied on imports from foreign countries no longer applied, but the Foraker act had levied specific customs duties against PR. Downes submitted to the court that under Article I Section 8 of the Constitution the duties were unconstitutional. The court was stunningly divided in this 5-4 decision with five different opinions entered (one majority, with two separate concurrences, and two dissenting). In the majority decision, it was held that the newly annexed territories were not properly part of the United States. It is from this decision that the idea of an "unincorporated territory" was born. The idea is that the United States can be the proprietor of a territory without that territory being fully incorporated into the union and is distinct from corporate incorporation. Arguably, the deeply divided decision in Downes v. Bidwell represented a step back in territorial governance from the supreme court and firmly left this in the hands of Congress going forward.
Dorr (1904) and Balzac (1925) dealt with the right to trial by jury. The former dealt with the Philippines, an unincorporated territory at the time, and the latter with Puerto Rico which is unincorporated today. In both, the court ruled against the plaintiffs who claimed their Sixth Amendment rights had been violated. The Court affirmed that the constitution did not extend "ex proprio vigore" (by its own force) do territories that had not been incorporated into the union, so the plaintiffs had no Sixth Amendment rights to violate.
Rassmussen (1925) dealt with Alaska. In contrast to the Philippines, Puerto Rico, and the other Pacific Territories acquired by the United States in treaty with Spain, Alaska was acquired from Russia with intent to include the territory in the union of states. The territories acquired from Spain according to the Court were acquired for ulterior purposes. Therefore, Alaska was an incorporated territory and its inhabitants were entitled to the full protection of the constitution.
The Jones Act
In conversations about hurricane relief, the question of suspending the "Jones Act" is perennial. But what is the Jones Act? Actually, it's two acts.
The Jones-Shafroth Act, or the Puerto Rican Federal Relations Act of 1917, established that all Puerto Ricans were US citizens created the Senate of Puerto Rico, established a bill of rights, and authorized the election of a Resident Commissioner (previously appointed by the President) to a four-year term. The Resident Commissioner is also the non-voting Congressional rep for Puerto Rico.
The Merchant Marine Act of 1920 Section 27 is the Jones Act relevant to hurricane relief. It requires that all goods transported by water between US Ports be carried on US-flag ships, constructed in the US, and crewed by US citizens and permanent residents. In terms of hurricane relief, this requirement means that aid comes at a higher cost since nowadays there are fewer Jones Act compliant ships on the waters.
- NY Fed Report on Puerto RicoA study by the Federal Reserve Bank of NY indicates that the Jones Act significantly hinders economic development in Puerto Rico.
- GAO Report on the Jones ActThis Government Accountability Office report indicates that the cost of the Jones Act described above is "not verifiable."
United Farm Workers
¡Si, Se Puede!®
- Huelga! The First One Hundred Days of the Delano Grape Strike byCall Number: HD5325.V5 N4Publication Date: 1966
- César E. Chávez National Monument, California. byCall Number: I 29.21:C 39/2016/SPANISH-ENGLISHPublication Date: 2016
The Words of César Chávez by Call Number: HD6509.C48 A25 2002ISBN: 9781585441693Publication Date: 2002- An Evening with Dolores Huerta byCall Number: Media Storage - ask at Circulation desk Cd UW 081Publication Date: 2014
- FBI Files on Cesar Chavez and The United Farm WorkersResource Description from the FBI: "Cesar Chavez was the founder and director of the National Farm Workers Association, later known as the United Farm Workers Organizing Committee. The FBI investigated Chavez and his organization based on allegations in 1965 that he and others within the organization had communist affiliations."
The Border
Even though the US has a land border with Mexico and with Canada, when we say "The Border" we rarely mean the northern one. Here are a few resources to dip your toes in to understand this immensely complicated issue.
The Borderlands by
The more than 2,000-mile U.S.-Mexico border is a focus of intense interest today, as immigration, security, and environmental issues dominate the headlines. This is the first A-to-Z encyclopedia to overview the unique and vibrant elements that make up the borderlands. More than 150 essay entries provide students and general readers with a solid sense of the U.S.-Mexico border history, culture, and politics. Coverage runs the gamut from key historical and contemporary figures, art, cuisine, sports, and religion to education, environment, legislation, radio, rhetoric, slavery, tourism, and women in Ciudad Juarez. The more than 2,000-mile U.S.-Mexico border is a focus of intense interest today, as immigration, security, and environmental issues dominate the headlines. This is the first A-to-Z encyclopedia to overview the unique and vibrant elements that make up the borderlands. More than 150 essay entries provide students and general readers with a solid sense of the U.S.-Mexico border history, culture, and politics. Coverage runs the gamut from key historical and contemporary figures, art, cuisine, sports, and religion to education, environment, legislation, radio, rhetoric, slavery, tourism, and women in Ciudad Juarez. Alphabetical and topical lists of entries in the frontmatter allow readers to find topics of interest quickly, as does the index. Those looking for more in-depth coverage will find many helpful suggestions in the Further Reading section per entry as well as in the Selected Bibliography. A chronology and historical photos also complement the text.
Call Number: eBookISBN: 9780313339967Publication Date: 2008
Echoes of the Mexican-American War by
The Mexican-American War (1846-1848) was an event of major consequences, not only for the countries involved, but for the entire North American continent. It was also the first war to be documented with photographs and the first to be witnessed by press correspondents. Rich in period illustrations and photos, this fascinating book recounts the war from both sides of the conflict. In addition to the extensive core text comprised of eyewitness accounts and documents from the wartime period, notes and captions illuminate and explain the material. From great political and military strategies to individual soldiers, perceptions (the endless marches under searing sun or torrential rain, in wool uniforms and shoes made to fit either foot) the book shows the enormous complexity of the war from many perspectives. More than 200 images illustrate the text, many of them lithographs based on images drawn by the soldiers themselves.
Call Number: E404 .M83 2004ISBN: 9780888995827Publication Date: 2005- Chronicles of the gringos: the U.S. Army in the Mexican War, 1846-1848; accounts of eyewitnesses & combatants. byCall Number: E411 .S6Publication Date: 1986
- Treaty of Guadalupe HidalgoPublication Date: 1848
- 99% Invisible - The Border WallIn part 1 of the show, the folks over at The Radio Diaries tell two stories from the Chamizal Dispute. In Part 2, Avery Trufelman examines some of the prototypes for Trump's Wall.
Statecraft, Domestic Politics and Foreign Policy Making by Call Number: F786 .L28 1988ISBN: 9780813372914Publication Date: 1988-05-08
Operation Gatekeeper by
By 1994 American anti-immigration rhetoric had reached a fevered pitch, and throngs of migrants entered the U.S. nightly. In response, the INS launched "Operation Gatekeeper," the centerpiece of the Clinton administration's unprecedented effort to "regain control" of our borders. In Operation Gatekeeper, Joseph Nevins details the administration's dramatic overhaul of the San Diego-Tijauna border-the busiest land crossing in the world-adding miles of new fence and hundreds of trained agents.
Call Number: JV6483 .N47 2002ISBN: 9780415931045Publication Date: 2001
- The Secure Fence Act of 2006Signed in October of 2006, President Bush signed this act into law. It called for the construction of hundreds of miles of border fence and increased patrols. It was expanded and clarified by a 2007 amendment.
- Executive Order 13767One of President Trump's first executive orders, this officially called for the promised border wall to begin construction.
Mural painted by Yreina Cervántez in Los Angeles, California at the First Avenue Bridge. The mural depicts the union leader Dolores Huerta.
Photo by T. Murphy, image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons licensed under CC by 2.0.
Latino, Latin@, Latine, Latinx?
One of the aspects at the intersection of gender and race is grammatical gender. This is a complicated discussion with many different perspectives, a few of which are linked below. We have decided to use Latinx on this guide, taking our cues from the UW Latinx Student Union, but will preserve the usages of the various gender neutral/gendered language from the resources we quote.
- Colectiva Legal del PuebloColectiva Legal del Pueblo is a non-hierarchical collective organization founded for and by undocumented and migrant communities working to provide legal support while building community power for migrant justice.
- El Centro de la RazaAs an organization grounded in the Latino community, our mission is to build unity across all racial and economic sectors, to organize, empower, and defend our most vulnerable and marginalized populations and to bring justice, dignity, equality, and freedom to all the peoples of the world.
- El Comité Pro-Reforma Migratoria Y Justicia SocialEl Comité Pro-Reforma Migratoria Y Justicia Social is a social justice organization based in Seattle, Washington which focuses on civil, labor and human rights.
Quantitative Data
Looking for quantitative resources? Try these:
- Explore Census Data This link opens in a new windowCensus and survey data about the United States, Puerto Rico and the Island Areas.
- U.S. Statistics GuideStatistics resources from the UW Libraries.
- America: History & Life with Full Text This link opens in a new window
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Scholarly articles on American and Canadian history - HAPI This link opens in a new window
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Citations and online journal articles about Central America, South America, the Caribbean, Mexico, Brazil, and Hispanics/Latinos in the United States. - PRISMA Publicaciones y Revistas Sociales y Humanisticas This link opens in a new window
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English, Spanish & Portuguese articles related to Latin America. - Latin American Newspapers, Series 1 This link opens in a new window
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19th and 20th century Latin American newspapers. Series 1: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Cuba, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru, Venezuela and elsewhere. - Latin American Women Writers This link opens in a new window
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Prose, poetry, and drama composed by women writing in Mexico, Central America, and South America. - Latino American Experience This link opens in a new window
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History and culture of Latinos living in the United States.
- U.S. Federal Legislative History Library This link opens in a new window
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An expansive collection of federal legislative histories from the U.S. GPO and private publishers.
- The United States and Brazil: Expanding Frontiers, Comparing CulturesExplores the history of Brazil, interactions between Brazil and the United States from the eighteenth century to the present, and the parallels and contrasts between Brazilian and American culture and history. The project is a collaboration between the Library of Congress and the National Library of Brazil.