Anglo American Conquest, the 1830s-1910s.

Anglo American Conquest
Introduction
History reveals that Mexicans started living in California and Texas since the late 1700s. In the beginning, the Mexicans were sparsely populated on what they referred to as far-flung ranches. However, some also settled in the nearby towns. In the earlier stages of their settlements in the California, the Mexicans were allowed to manage the local governments freely without any form of interference from the much established central government (McWilliams 92). Therefore, it can be argued that at the beginning, the Mexicans were welcomed in the California. From this experience of the managing of the local government, Mexicans began to develop an interest of the self-government. Besides, they were for the idea of the republican government as opposed to the capitalist enterprise because they were heavily influenced by both the Yankee revolution and the 18th-century Philosophers. By the 18th century, California was invaded by both the Anglo and the Euro immigrants. These invaders made the Mexicans feel very uncomfortable because they grabbed the land, married their daughters, they were capitalists, as well as they were not Catholics (McWilliams 89). As a result, the conflicts ensued among these groups the result was the colonization of the Mexicans by the Anglo-Americans. Therefore, this paper will cover the approaches such as economic strategies, brute force, and attitude made by the Anglo-Americans erode the Mexican rights in California, Texas, and New Mexico and how the Mexicans responded to such oppressions before and after the Mexican War.

Economic strategies
Anglo-Americans just like any other groups of individuals knew that the best way to have control over the other is to devise a strategy that will ensure total economic control over the Mexicans. It is worth noting that the livelihood of the Mexicans solely depended on the land, where they cultivated to harvest food crops and grazed their livestock (McWilliams 94). Food provision was reserved for all the members of the family with the women having kitchen gardens and the men cultivating larger farms in the ranch together with looking after the livestock for a livelihood. The Anglo-Americans took advantage of this and decided to take control of the land (Deutsch 196). Apart from controlling of the lands, Anglo-Americans also took control of the major towns. Controlling of the towns means controlling of the economic activities that are associated with the urban centers. Sheep were abundant at that time. The sheep were reared at the Mexicans’ but were sold in the towns managed and controlled by the Anglo-Americans. This means that they could easily exploit the Mexicans by setting the prices that only benefit them. This way, they were able to have economic control over the Mexicans (Deutsch 197).
Attitude strategy
Besides economic strategies, Anglo-Americans also employed attitude strategies as a way of controlling the Mexicans. One of such strategies is the stereotyping of the Mexican women. Anglo-Americans portrayed the Mexican women as judgmental as well as moralistic. Besides, they described the Mexican woman as an ideal housewife (Castaneda 169). A woman capable of doing anything possible to provide for her family. This attitude strategy was meant to brainwash the Mexican women to maintain the status quo so that they could not initiate any change (Buchanan 141). It is worth noting that such stereotyping did little to contain the Mexican women because they resorted to both the politics and other economic generating activities that assisted in their overall liberation. Besides stereotyping the Mexican women, another attitude approach that the Anglo-American used to erode Mexican rights is portray themselves to superior to the Mexicans. This notion of superiority made Anglo-Americans control virtually everything, including the all the lands and the cities. Intermarriages between the Mexicans and the Anglo-Americans was also another attitude strategy.
Brute force strategies
Taking control of the Mexico could not have been possible through peaceful means. In some instances, the force had to be applied. Land specifically was a contentious issue that Mexicans could not allow the Anglo-Americans to control without a fight. An example of the brute force strategy is the violent destruction of the Mexican involvement in the political activities. The most evident of the was the use of the Texas Rangers to prevent the Mexicans from participating in any form of political activities even up to the lowest level of the village (McWilliams 89). Moreover, since the Mexicans preferred barter trade, they were only allowed to directly trade with the Indians but not the Hispanics. Trading between the Hispanics and the Mexicans were brutally discouraged by the Anglo-Americans through forcefully imposing of the trade licenses (Buchanan 138). However, since the Mexicans and the Indians had similar commodities, trade between them was less beneficial.
Conclusion
Anglo-American colonization of the Mexicans was met with the mixture of feelings. At first, they successfully colonized the Mexicans in virtually all the aspects. Their success in colonizing and undermining the rights of the Mexicans was because of the combination of the approaches such as the economic strategies, brute force strategies, and attitude strategy (McWilliams 89). In response for these oppressions, the Mexican decided to form several resistance movements such as the Gorras Blancas of the San Miguel County. Additionally, some of them, including their women also became politically active as a way of fighting for their rights. Family roles also changed with the women and children joining the men in the fields to provide for the family (Deutsch 200).
Works cited
Buchanan, James. “Mexican Americans after the Mexican War, 1848-1860.” Major Problems inMexican American History: 135-143.
McWilliams, Carey. “Gringos and Greasers.” North from Mexico the Spanish-Speaking People ofthe United States 3.1: 87-101.
Castaneda, Antonia. “Anglo American Stereotypes of California.” Major Problems in MexicanAmerican History: 162-168.
Deutsch, Zaragosa. Major Problems in Mexican American History: 194-202. Web.