GEORGE I. SANCHEZ: DON QUIXOTE OF THE SOUTHWEST DISSERTATION Presented to the Graduate Council of the North Texas State University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy By Gladys R. Leff Denton, Texas December, 1976 © 1976 GLADYS RUTH LEFF ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Leff, Gladys R., George I. Sanchez; Don Quixote of the Southwest. Doctor of Philosophy (College Teaching of History), December, 1976, 580 pp., bibliography, 312 titles. This historical study examines the career of George I. Sanchez, New Mexican educator, who led many political and educational battles in New Mexico and Texas to improve edu- cational opportunities for Spanish-speaking children. Archival materials from the State Records' Center of New Mexico, the papers of Senator Bronson M. Cutting, the Rockefeller Foundation Archives, the papers of President Lyndon Baines Johnson, Sanchez's private papers, unpublished materials at the University of Texas in Austin, oral his- tory, and published materials were used in this study. Sanchez was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 1906, and he received his bachelor's degree from the University of New Mexico in 1930. He earned his master's degree from the University of Texas in Austin in 1931, and his doctorate from the University of California in Berkeley in 1934. Both his master's thesis and doctoral dissertation dealt with educational problems of Spanish-speaking children. These studies set the tone for much of his later writings. The educator began his career as a teacher. He also served as a school principal as well as head of the Division of Information and Statistics in the New Mexican State De- partment of Education. From this position of leadership he strived to work actively for improved funding of public education. Sanchez also served as president of the New Mexico Education Association and represented the interests of the state's teachers in appeals to the legislature for more adequate educational funding. The General Education Board of the Rockefeller Foundation aided Sanchez's career by awarding him fellowships for graduate study, underwriting the funding of the Division of Information and Statistics for a four-year period, and sponsoring research projects in topics of concern to Mexican-Americans. Sanchez wrote many articles during his career in New Mexico, but Forgotten People: A Study of New Mexicans, published in 1940, is his best-known work. This book deals with rural poverty in northern New Mexico, a region largely inhabited by the Hispanos, or Spanish-Americans. The educator joined the faculty of the University of Texas in Austin in 1940. He chaired the Department of His- tory and Philosophy of Education from 1951 to 1959. Sanchez took an active role in both university and national issues, and he frequently spoke out publicly concerning the needs of the Mexican-American. He participated in many court cases dealing with the segregation of Spanish-speaking people. The most famous case concerned his development of the "class apart" theory used by the plaintiffs in the 1954 United States' Supreme Court case, Hernandez vs. Texas. Sanchez assumed a leadership role in state and national Mexican-American organizations. He received recognition from Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson who appointed him to national and international commissions dealing with problems of Hispanic people. Sanchez's determination to equalize opportunities for the Spanish-speaking people brought him into frequent conflict with state political leaders and university ad- ministrators. These battles received publicity in the press and in many of Sanchez's published materials. He died in 1972. INTRODUCTION This historical study describes the professional ca- reer of George I. Sanchez, New Mexican-born educator, who participated in educational and political events for al- most half a century. Sanchez's activities transcended the political borders of the United States, but this work is limited to those activities in New Mexico and Texas aimed at improving opportunities for the Spanish-speaking child. Sanchez's career began in New Mexico, and this dis- sertation includes the historical and socio-economic con- ditions that Sanchez found when he became an educator. Additionally, the study contains chapters discussing Sanchez's early writings, an analysis of his doctoral dis- sertation and a discussion of his political contests in New Mexico. The Texas portion of the dissertation includes a bird's eye view of Texas history, and an explanation of the role of language as an important determinant in shaping the Spanish- speaking child's self-concept. The work has chapters detail- ing Sanchez's later writings, the theses and dissertations of his graduate students which reflected his concerns, his po- litical activities in Texas, his contests at the University of Texas and the historical perspective of the total work. xn Sanchez's activities generated a great deal of contro- versy in both political and educational communities of the Southwest. This work attempts to explore the dynamics of that controversy in a balanced fashion to illustrate the many facets of Sanchez's educational and political interests. The author used oral history and archival materials to gather much of the information for this work. The author ex- tends special thanks and appreciation to Mrs. George I. Sanchez for making Sanchez's private papers available for study. The author also wishes to thank Dr. Hector Garcia, Senator Ralph Yarborough, Judge Carlos Cadena, Tom Sutherland, Arthur Campa, J. W. Edgar, Ed Idar, Jr., John Silber, and Connie Sprague, Sanchez's daughter, for their help. IV TABLE OF CONTENTS Page INTRODUCTION . ii;L Chapter I. NEW MEXICO: LAND OF "FORGOTTEN PEOPLE" . 1 II. LAND OF POCO TIEMPOj ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL CONCERNS OF HISPANOS 36 III. GEORGE I. SANCHEZ'S EARLY WRITING 77 IV, "THE EDUCATION OF BILINGUALS IN A STATE SCHOOL SYSTEM" HI V. THE QUEST FOR EQUAL EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY 14 0 VI, THE TEXAS STORY „ 188 VII. SOCIOCULTURAL MILIEU OF THE MEXICAN- AMERICAN IN TEXAS: ROLE OF LANGUAGE AND SELF-CONCEPT IN THE PERPETUATION OF THE "MEXICAN PROBLEM" 2 25 VIII. SANCHEZ'S WRITINGS DURING HIS YEARS IN TEXAS: EXPRESSIONS OF ACTIVISM ..... 280 IX. STUDENT THESES AND DISSERTATIONS: REFLECTIONS OF SANCHEZ'S CONCERNS 334 X. FEISTY FIGHTER FOR FAIR PLAY 392 XI. "OBEDEZCO PERO NO CUMPLO—I OBEY BUT I DO NOT COMPLY!" ....... 462 XII. THE HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE 519 BIBLIOGRAPHY 557 V CHAPTER I NEW MEXICO: LAND OF "FORGOTTEN PEOPLE" The Southwest, the lands of the Texas Republic and the Mexican Cession, is an area possessing a population that re- veals examples of both cultural pluralism and cultural iso- lationism existing side by side. Regional diversities offer a laboratory for students with varied interests. Some stu- dents find topographical contrasts, variations in climate and soil conditions to be worthy of study. Others discover that some of the underground natural resources are already being exploited. Yet other students, interested in history, examine the region from the viewpoint of the groups of people who call this area home. When the student who is interested in human concerns ex- amines the lifestyles of the Southwest, he finds that the in- terplay of geography and history has brought about develop- ment of culturally distinct living patterns. These distinc- tions sometimes present difficulties for people who cherish those differences. Sociological questions arise, and these complex questions defy easy solutions. These solutions have not been found, but the quest for answers does move forward. George I. Sanchez, New Mexican-born educator, reacted with sensitivity to the regions cultural differences, and he in- dicated this concern in his speeches and writings. He traced 2 his own cultural heritage to the arrival of the conquista- dores, a group which left its cultural stamp on the region. Sanchez considered himself to be a spokesman for the Hispano, the Spanish-speaking New Mexican. In that role he led many political and educational battles to try to improve opportuni- ties for this ethnic group. He became a student of history and politics in order to effect social change. His political battles remained an all-consuming interest throughout his life. Sanchez challenged repeatedly leaders whom he believed neglected the Hispanos' needs, and he criticized political decisions which he felt ignored the Spanish-speaking New Mexican. His writings, speeches, and political activities illustrate his concerns. This work examines George I. Sanchez's career in both New Mexico and Texas and his attempts to reach his goal of estab- lishing equal opportunities for the Spanish-speaking people. The primary focus of this study concerns Sanchez's educational and political activities, as well as the inevitable rebuff he enountered when his philosophical positions differed from the goals of the establishment. Sanchez's behavior as an educator and a participant in political action illustrated the old saying, "You can take the man out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the man." Sanchez never forgot his cultural heritage. It was that heritage that served as the propellent for his total life's work. 3 New Mexico may be viewed as the "land of enchantment" by its civic clubs, but Spanish explorer Antonio de Espejo named the region New Mexico, hoping that it would offer the wealth of already discovered Mexico to its enterprising explorers. Early colonial maps chose the label "New Mexico" to embrace what is now both southwestern United States and northern Mexico. Geographically New Mexico is a land that has large areas of mountains, some flat plains, pine forests, and de- serts. Lands adjoining New Mexican rivers provided rich farm- ing soil when free from destructive flooding; but water, rather than minerals, has been the prime-mover in determining New Mexican historical development.! When Spanish conquistadores reached the region in the sixteenth century, they found several different Indian cul- tures.