Mexico's border crossed: The forgotten Hispanic past in the U.S.'s 250 years

As the United States approaches its 250th anniversary, a debate is emerging over historical narratives. While some, like former President Donald Trump, emphasize a celebration of white national identity, historians are drawing attention to the deep-rooted Hispanic presence in areas that now constitute the U.S., a presence that predates the original Thirteen Colonies.

Historian Geraldo Camarillo points out that many Mexicans became part of the U.S. not by crossing a border, but through territorial shifts following the Mexican-American War. The 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which ended the conflict, transferred over half of Mexico's territory to the U.S., incorporating present-day California, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona, and Colorado. Despite treaty assurances, Mexicans who remained in these lands often had their properties seized by Anglo-Americans resentful of the war, according to historical documents.

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Trump wants to keep the celebration as a white America, he would like to take us back to when the U.S. was overwhelmingly white, he doesn't want to talk about Hispanics or slavery. That's what we mean when we talk about whitewashing history.

Violence extended beyond property disputes. A study by William Carrigan and Clive Webb, 'Forgotten Dead,' published by Oxford University Press, details how lynchings against Mexicans in the Southwest were a deliberate tactic to displace them from their ancestral lands. This violent chapter remains largely marginalized in official U.S. history.

Camarillo also criticizes the American education system for its failure to adequately inform citizens about the continent's broader history. "Most Americans have no idea what was happening on the rest of the continent," he states, limiting public understanding of Hispanic communities' roles beyond current immigration debates. He notes that many Americans believe Hispanic presence began only in the 1980s. Exceptions exist, particularly in California and New Mexico, where curricula may include the history of Spanish missions and indigenous settlements, but the broader omission is attributed to American nationalism and the 'manifest destiny' doctrine.

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I think if you ask the average American how long they think Hispanics have been in the United States, they will say they started arriving in the 80s.