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Texas, One and Indivisible?

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Texas, One and Indivisible? Texas, One and Indivisible? Kimberley Williams Daniel Ortiz Middle School INTRODUCTION I have been interested in immigration issues for many years. Once I started teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) classes, my interest in immigration grew to become more of a passion. I have listened to many of my students tell me about how they arrived in this country and the strain of trying to adjust to a new life in a country so unlike their own. I strongly believe that the average immigrant is at a great disadvantage when s/he arrives in America. There is usually a language barrier, some may be away from family for the first time with few or no friends, they have a new city to learn about, and many have no more than a promise of a possible job. It is not totally negative for the immigrant. S/he has often times made many sacrifices to come to the land of opportunity. In an informal survey that I conducted some time ago, I learned that most come here for a better job, more opportunities for the members of their families, and /or a better education. In this way, I feel that recently arriving immigrants see possibilities in America that we native Americans either do not recognize or take for granted. My students have told me about how they arrived in Texas, how they had to adapt to the culture, food, and language, and the obstacles they had to overcome to adjust to life at school. I teach eighth grade Language Arts. We are on a ninety-minute block schedule, but the students attend their Language Arts class daily. I have three classes; two of those are ESL. The other is a regular non-ESL class. In my ESL Beginning and ESL Intermediate classes, I have students from Vietnam, Honduras, El Salvador, and many from Mexico. They have been in America anywhere from two weeks to eight years. Unfortunately, I also have students who where born in the United States but have learned little English. My intention in creating this unit is to present both a subjective and an objective view about the major topics of immigration. I want my students to be exposed to multiple views on the subject. I felt that it was more substantial to narrow the topic a bit so that my students would be able to relate easier. By doing this, I have chosen to focus on immigration in Texas as opposed to discussing immigration in America as a whole. BACKGROUND ON IMMIGRATION IN TEXAS I think it is important to start the unit with a brief history of Texas as it relates to immigration. At one time the territory known today as Texas was a part of the country of Spain. Many Americans wanted to move to the province of Texas because the price of land was so cheap and the colonists were not required to return payment of any borrowed money. “Mexico and the United States had no reciprocal agreements enabling creditors to collect debts or to return fugitives” (Henson 2). In 1820, Moses Austin requested permission from the Spanish governor of San Antonio to bring 300 families from Missouri to the province of Texas. Moses Austin was granted his request but was never able to see his dream realized. Moses died in June of 1821. His oldest son, Stephen F. Austin, picked up his father’s torch and led the families to their predetermined land. 190 Houston Teachers Institute There were a few requirements that the colonists had to agree to if they chose to move to this section of Mexico’s territory. They had to agree to learn Spanish, convert to Catholicism, and become citizens of Mexico. There was also a rarely enforced law, which stated that slavery was not allowed in the Mexican territory. “[P]oliticians shut their eyes to the system in their eagerness to have the Anglos produce cotton in Texas” (Henson 3). Within a decade, Mexico became dismayed with the number of residents in its territory (later known as Texas). Mexico attempted to stop people from migrating to Texas. The Texans became upset and revolted against the Mexican government. This uprising led to Texas becoming an independent republic. Although at first Mexico did not recognize Texas as an independent republic, America did. Texas later became a state of the United States of America. Soon Mexico found itself at war with America mainly due to disputes concerning the southern border of Texas. After Texas Independence in 1836 and after the United States defeated Mexico in the Mexican American War in 1848, Mexico ceded much of its land. The political lines were redrawn, and America was awarded what is presently known as California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas “...the region had formed approximately one-third of the country of Mexico.” (“Mexican Cession,” par. 1) All prior agreements that the colonists of Texas had with Mexico were null and void. Mexican citizens living within the boundaries of those states were considered to be Americans with the same rights and laws as all other American citizens. So for many Mexican people they did not cross the border, the border crossed them: People forget that less than 170 years ago, the whole West was part of Mexico. Who do you think named Los Angeles, San Francisco, and San Antonio? It wasn’t the people who came through Ellis Island. It was us. We didn’t cross the borders. The borders crossed us. (Velasquez 40) Now we advance a few decades to 1960. There is a different type of immigrant arriving in the Texas area. Now immigrants from around the world are arriving in Texas. According to the Federation for American Immigration Reform, Texas is “the fastest growing state in the U.S.” (“Immigration Impact: Texas,” par. 1). Since 1960, Texas has doubled in population reaching 20,000,000 in 2000. SUMMARY OF ESPERANZA RISING Esperanza Rising is an award-winning novel written by Pam Munoz Ryan and published in 2000 by Scholastic Inc. The novel can be used in grades 4-8 as part of a thematic unit on social classes in Mexico, bravery, starting over, the Great Depression, California labor farms, immigration, and/or discrimination. Esperanza Rising begins on a beautiful vineyard in Aguascalientes, Mexico in 1924 where Esperanza and her father are listening to the heartbeat of the earth. The story fast forwards to 1930 where Esperanza is preparing for her quinceanera (15th birthday celebration). She lives in a luxurious home with her parents, Sixto and Ramona, her grandmother, and their servants (Alfonso, Hortensia, and their son Miguel) living a privileged life. As Esperanza readies for her 15th birthday party, tragedy strikes. Her father is found dead, murdered by bandits. Soon after the father’s funeral, the house burns leaving very little to salvage. Esperanza and her mother decide to leave Mexico for America when their former servants announce that they are going to America for a better life. In America, Esperanza experiences harsh conditions in a Mexican labor camp. Esperanza must find a way to rise to the challenges of her new life for the survival of herself and her family. Esperanza Rising will be used as an anchor for this curriculum unit. Although the novel takes place in Mexico and California, the content is still relevant to what is happening in Texas. Kimberley Williams 191 The students will read the novel. We will stop frequently for discussions and activities will be based on sections of the novel and expanded when necessary. TOPICS TO BE DISCUSSED WITHIN ESPERANZA RISING Reasons to Immigrate Esperanza, her mother, and their former servants leave Mexico for different reasons. Esperanza and her mother go away because of a series of misfortunes. Growing up rich and pampered, Esperanza is accustomed to having material possessions and anything of her liking. The death of Esperanza’s father, Sixto Ortega, leaves the family poor and destitute, forcing them to adjust to a new and harsher way of living, making them feel as though their lives were spiraling out of control. Esperanza went up to her room, thinking that nothing seemed right. She walked slowly around her bed, running her hand over the finely carved posts. She counted the dolls lined up on her dresser: thirteen, one for each birthday. When Papa was alive, everything was in order, like the dolls lined up in a row. (Munoz 37) Sixto’s brother, Luis, offers to marry his brother’s widow, not for love, but because of the respect Ramona has from the community. Luis would soon be running for governor and wanted to marry Esperanza’s mother because of the strength that she would bring to his campaign. Ramona refuses and Luis tells her that life will be very difficult. She will have no money, no home, and no one to rely on. Shortly afterwards, the house burns and Ramona decides to take Esperanza and flee to America with the servants, Alfonso, Hortensia, and Miguel. The servants of the Ortega family are leaving Mexico for political reasons. They want to be able to be viewed as equals and not as second class citizens. In Mexico, there in no chance for advancement in power or money, so they decide to take a chance and find a better life in America. Miguel often says to Esperanza, “In Mexico we stand on different sides of the river” (Munoz 37). This is to say that they are not alike and that social obstacles prevent them from ever being equals. Going to America The two families abandoned their homes in the middle of the night taking only what they could carry.
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