What do you think of Mexicans in the United States?

Mexico is the birthplace of the Aztec civilization, one of the three most developed Indian civilizations in ancient Central and South America. By the 15th century, the Aztecs had defeated other smaller Indian tribes and controlled large tracts of land in the south and center, building huge cities, magnificent pyramids, and water diversion projects. The potatoes, corn, tomatoes, peppers and other foods we eat today were first cultivated by the Indians.

The Aztecs did not expect that their achievements would bring them great disasters. As soon as Spanish explorers arrived in Mexico in the early 16th century, they determined that such a developed civilization must be built with inexhaustible gold and silver. In 1521, Spanish explorer Cortez led more than 600 Spanish soldiers, a dozen horses and several artillery pieces to land. When he landed, he was surprised by the glorious civilization he saw and determined to conquer it.

The Spanish's advantages lay in weapons, horseback riding, organization and war strategy. The Indians who used primitive bows and arrows had never seen horses, nor did they have the sharp blades used by Europeans. When the Spanish in armor rushed over on horses, they thought that humans and horses were one, either gods descending from the earth or monsters. You can imagine how soldiers with this idea in their minds would fight. They might just disperse with a shout. Just now, I saw a fighting performance dressed as a medieval knight. The armor was shining brightly, and the eyes under the helmet turned into two deep holes. Even the tall horse was wearing a mask. The knight rushed over with a spear eight feet tall. If the hand There are no machine guns inside, no one will be afraid of them.

The Spaniards, who had fought for a long time, were well-trained and well-organized, adopted the strategy of dividing and attacking, contacting different Indian tribes individually and pretending to be friends. The biggest weakness of the Indians is not their weapons and psychology, but that they do not have a unified society. In the terms of modern Western political science, it means that it has not gone through the process of "nation building". It is impossible for such a civilization to fight against the Europeans who have already taken the lead in this regard. The situation was mostly the same wherever Europeans went. In Asia, the British used the same method to control hundreds of millions of Indians.

The Spanish were called conquistadors.

The Indians who allied themselves with them regarded them as white-skinned gods. The Spaniards help this tribe fight that tribe, and after they fight, they fight another one, and then it's your turn. How could the Indians have such complicated schemes? It didn't take long for the Aztecs to be defeated.

Following the soldiers was the priest. Columbus's generation had only three words in mind: "gold, God and glory" (gold, God and glory). Gold speaks for itself, God is to go on a mission, glory is to establish a colony for my king.

After the army established the fortress, they moved the Indians to a place and built a settlement like a village. They ordered them to farm and provide food and labor. The priest began to preach and redeem them spiritually.

To encourage colonization, the Spanish Crown allowed settlers to enslave Indians.

Slaughter, enslavement, and viruses brought by Europeans caused two-thirds of the Indian population to disappear in just a few decades. In 1535, the conquistadors established a colony, "New Spain," much like our New York is called New York. In order to expand the territory of the New World, and because of food shortages, the new colony expanded northward. The Spaniards, Franciscans and Jesuit priests worked together to establish new settlements. The settlers lived a difficult life in this vast land, often without necessary daily necessities.

In 1810, under the influence of the American War of Independence and the French Revolution, Father Hitago launched a series of riots that lasted for eleven years. Spain was by this time too weak to control its distant colonies and had to allow them independence. In 1821, Mexico became an independent country and the Mexican Republic was founded.

Coexisting with powerful neighbors is not a good thing for a country.

As the United States becomes increasingly powerful, Mexico's life becomes difficult. Attracted by the land of Mexico, people from the southern United States came to the vast land of Texas to raise cattle. This is the origin of the Texas Cowboy. It seems like that’s where jeans started. In the past ten years, there have been nearly 30,000 American cattle ranchers in Texas. These people had a new name, Texans.

Texans have a rebellious character, and at a certain point they begin to riot and demand independence. One of the reasons for independence is that they believe in Protestantism (Christianity), which is incompatible with the Catholicism of the Mexicans. Second, Mexican law does not allow slavery. These people from the southern United States are accustomed to and rely on slavery for their lives. Third, tax incentives have been discontinued.

In December 1835, the Texas armed forces captured the largest city, St. Anthony.

Mexican President Santa'an quickly responded by sending troops, and an army of 1,500 people surrounded the Alamo, a barracks in the city. The Alamo is a bit like a large courtyard surrounded by stone walls in northern China, with yellow earth-colored walls and one hundred and eighty-five Texans inside.

The result of that battle was that the defending party was outnumbered and all were killed. Mexico has now stung a hornet's nest. The slogan circulating in the United States at that time was "Remember the Alamo!" The Alamo became a revolutionary holy place in the minds of Americans. Trouble begins in Mexico.

More than ten years ago, I was studying in Texas and traveling to St. Anthony. At the Alamo ruins, I saw the docent still emotionally telling the history to the tourists who were standing quietly, just like the one at the Chinese History Museum. People are telling the heroic deeds of the five heroes of Langya Mountain. I walked into the courtyard and saw a small stone tablet standing next to the wall of the ammunition depot at that time. On it were engraved in Chinese italics something like "die before your ambitions are fulfilled."

I was surprised that among the dozens of visitor messages left in the form of tablets, one was written in Chinese. I went to China for a year and saw a stone tablet with square Chinese characters engraved on it in another corner of the world. I felt very friendly. However, I disagree with the commenter. I think the susceptible compatriot may be expressing his passion without understanding the history. Of course, maybe he just looks at the issue purely from the standpoint of the United States.

People are always divided into groups based on certain cultural similarities and differences: nations are formed by customs and habits. The Alamo incident depends on which side you stand on. If you side with the Mexicans, it is a just war to fight against the invasion from the north and defend their land and people; if you side with the Americans, it is a bloody suppression of freedom-loving fighters. We must remember the martyrs and commemorate the Germans. The free spirit of Texas, of course, is also a just war.

The United States is a very interesting country. As long as it is history, everything is mixed together. Maybe it’s because the history of the United States is too short, and everything is taken into account; maybe it’s because Americans are too broad-minded and have no idea of ​​success or defeat. The Alamo may be said to be a shame in American history, but it is also there to promote the spirit of freedom. Free spirit is certainly a good thing, it's just a bit far-fetched at the Alamo.

After the Alamo, former U.S. Congressman and Tennessee Governor Samuel Houston led the Texas armed forces to fight on this vast plain. With the support of the United States, the Mexican government has nothing to do with this group of fierce armed cowboys. They declared independence in 1836 and established the Republic of Texas. There was only one star on the flag. It was later called the Lone Star State after joining the United States. As soon as Houston became independent, it sent people to Washington to apply to join the United States. At that time, the northern and southern parts of the United States were wrestling with each other in Congress to see which side's political power would overwhelm the other. For the North, if Texas joined the United States, this newly arrived slave-holding state would greatly strengthen the power of the South, and the balance of political power would tip toward slavery. Therefore, the North firmly resisted the entry of Texas. Texans waited eagerly for nine years before being admitted as a state in the United States in 1845. Texas is the only state that joined the United States as an independent country, so it is the only state that has the right to secede from the Union. The other 49 states do not have this legal right.

However, the Mexican government has never recognized Texas' independence or that it is a state of the United States. Some things in the world are just that complicated. Of course, this is already a de facto marriage, and the Mexicans have nothing to do, unless the United States really goes downhill one day, and there is internal discord and separation and divorce. That’s enough for the Mexicans to wait for.

Mexico has always been worried about Texas' independence.

Most Americans are in favor of acquiring more land. You can imagine the pain in the hearts of Mexicans. The Chinese also talk about how the three French territories east of the Ussuri River were seized by Tsarist Russia from time to time.

In 1846, Americans who settled in California rioted, triggering the Mexican-American War. The United States won a year later. The situation that Mexico faces is a bit like China after the Opium War. One-third of Mexico's land was transferred to its powerful neighbor to the north. The United States gained a large area of ​​land that includes today's California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, Arizona, and New Mexico. They are all great places in America today. Especially California, a geomantic treasure land, the breadbasket of the United States and the base camp of high technology.

After the United States annexed large areas of Mexican land, thousands of Mexicans found themselves living on American soil overnight. Mexicans say something like this: "Some of us crossed the border, but the border crossed some of us."

When talking about illegal immigrants in the United States today, most of them actually refer to Mexicans. It is difficult to count the number of people, but there are always millions of people. After a while, there will always be a discussion about the issue of illegal immigration and how it affects American job opportunities. Those who say these words should really think about it: How can the things the United States did in the last century be worthy of the Mexicans? Nowadays, when Mexicans come here to make some money, they mostly do low-paying menial and sweaty work that few Americans are willing to do. How much I owe to my ancestors, I can earn a little money for them, and I can sleep peacefully.

In the 19th century, the mainstream thought in American society was the Manifest Destiny: God has given the Anglo-Saxons of America (white people mainly of British descent) the right to expand their territory and expel backward peoples.

This is a religious rationalization to plunder land and wealth and eliminate weak ethnic groups (mainly Indians). In this way, white Christians can engage in violent activities that are contrary to the spirit of Christianity with peace of mind. Beginning in the mid-19th century, some people from the eastern United States migrated to the west to develop. This is the westward expansion movement in American history. This great population migration formed the vast territory of the United States today, which is bordered by two oceans.

In the southwestern United States, whites have long been a minority. However, they used discriminatory methods to control the Mexicans, who constituted the majority of the population. Limit their political rights and lower their social status; Mexicans were once said to be dirty, fond of deception, lack the concept of justice, and have no sense of responsibility.

Mexicans are actually mostly simple and kind-hearted people. I believe anyone who has worked in a restaurant with them will have this impression. Most Mexicans do not speak English well. They are gentle and work quietly and non-stop. I go to the park to play football on my day off every week and like to get together and drink beer. Chinese restaurants mostly employ Mexicans to wash dishes, a dirty job that even the Chinese, who are known for their hard work and hard work, are unwilling to do. We often use the word "Amigo" to refer to Mexicans. I'm not sure how much contempt there is in this title. I feel that there is always a little bit. Many Chinese restaurant owners keep their wages low whenever Mexicans come looking for work. I always feel that in the United States, where everyone is very good at defending their own interests, Mexicans are a bit too kind. I am reminded of the saying that a horse is good at being ridden by others.

With the development of the U.S. economy, a large number of Mexicans are crossing the border to work. The border between the United States and Mexico is more than 2,000 miles long. In fact, in the early twentieth century, there was no such thing as illegal border crossing. At that time, it was impossible to tell where the border was. In 1890, 75,000 people came from Mexico. Ten years later it had increased to 562,000. The railroads and mines of the American Southwest relied on Mexican labor. By 1908, the Santa Fe and Southern Pacific Railroad employed more than 1,000 Mexicans from both sides of the border to work every day.

World War I created greater labor demand. The U.S. Department of Labor relaxed restrictions on foreign farmworkers, and a large number of Mexicans crossed the border to work in the United States. Wages in factories were higher than on farms, and northern and midwestern cities attracted many Mexicans. More and more people are working in Detroit's auto plants, Indiana's meatpacking plants, Pennsylvania's steel mills, and New York's restaurants as busboys. Mexicans say: "The United States always needs our hands."

In the 1920s, due to restrictions on immigration from Asia and Eastern Europe, the United States lacked labor and opened the door wider to immigrants. From 1921 to 1929, 600,000 Mexicans entered the United States and obtained resident status. Most of these people live in the Southwest.

In 1924, the United States officially established a patrolled border line on the U.S.-Mexico border. Since then, there have been reports of illegal border crossings.

For more than a century, in addition to other labor and contributions, how many vegetables and fruits have the hard-working Mexicans harvested for the United States with their calloused hands? Without the hard work of millions of Mexicans every day, there would be no comfort and enjoyment for Americans. We should respect people who bring comfort to our lives.