University of Pennsylvania ScholarlyCommons Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations Spring 2010 Before We Were Chicanas/Os: The Mexican American Experience in California Higher Education, 1848-1945 Christopher Tudico University of Pennsylvania, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations Part of the Chicana/o Studies Commons, History Commons, and the Social and Philosophical Foundations of Education Commons Recommended Citation Tudico, Christopher, "Before We Were Chicanas/Os: The Mexican American Experience in California Higher Education, 1848-1945" (2010). Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations. 148. https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/148 This paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/148 For more information, please contact [email protected]. Before We Were Chicanas/Os: The Mexican American Experience in California Higher Education, 1848-1945 Abstract Mexican American students have a long and proud history of enrolling in colleges and universities across the state of California for nearly 160 years, since shortly after the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848. Yet, inexplicably, historians of higher education have virtually ignored the Mexican American experience in California higher education. Based on the examination of primary sources such as the diary of Californio Jesús María Estudillo, the records of the University of California, and the college student-led Mexican American Movement’s newspaper, The Mexican Voice, this study reconstructs the history of the Mexican American experience in California higher education from not long after statehood through World War II. The children of Californios (wealthy landholders who stressed their “Spanish” heritage) attended Santa Clara College and the College of Notre Dame from the early 1850s to mid 1870s, and Mexicans and Californios also took part in the preparatory program known as the Fifth Class at the University of California in the early 1870s. These members of the Mexican community participated in higher education in order to acquire the skills (such as mastering the English language) that best equipped them to maintain their station near the top of California society. By the 1930s, the sons and daughters of Mexican immigrants attended colleges and universities across California in numbers large enough to form student organizations such as the Mexican American Movement (MAM). This new generation of Mexicans viewed a college education as a means to have a better life for themselves, their family, and their community. Degree Type Dissertation Degree Name Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Graduate Group Education First Advisor Dr. Marybeth Gasman Keywords Mexican American History, Chicano Studies, Higher Education, College Students, California Colleges & Universities Subject Categories Chicana/o Studies | History | Social and Philosophical Foundations of Education This dissertation is available at ScholarlyCommons: https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/148 BEFORE WE WERE CHICANAS/OS: THE MEXICAN AMERICAN EXPERIENCE IN CALIFORNIA HIGHER EDUCATION, 1848-1945 Christopher Tudico A DISSERTATION in EDUCATION Presented to the Faculties of the University of Pennsylvania in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2010 Supervisor of Dissertation: _________________________________________ Marybeth Gasman, Associate Professor of Education Graduate Group Chair: _________________________________________ Stanton E. F. Wortham, Professor of Education Dissertation Committee: Marybeth Gasman, Associate Professor of Education Shaun R. Harper, Assistant Professor of Education John R. Thelin, Professor of Education, University of Kentucky Before We Were Chicanas/os: The Mexican American Experience in California Higher Education, 1848-1945 COPYRIGHT 2010 Christopher Louis Tudico Acknowledgements As my journey to earn a PhD draws to a close, I would be remiss if I did not thank those who have honored me with their support over the last several years. First, the chair of my dissertation, Professor Marybeth Gasman, single-handedly fought on my behalf to first enter the PhD program at Penn GSE. Without her courage and determination, none of this journey would have ever taken place. I cannot thank her enough for giving me a chance—I trust I have not let her down. Once at GSE, Marybeth served as my mentor and advisor, and has guided me throughout this entire process. Because of her, I know what kind of faculty member I want to be. I also owe a great debt of gratitude to the two other members of my committee, Professor Shaun Harper and Professor John Thelin. Since coming to Penn, Shaun has enthusiastically supported each and every one of my endeavors as I moved forward in my graduate career. Professor Thelin, my wise grand- mentor and Assistant Analytic Strength Coach, generously agreed to serve as an outside reader on my committee, despite all of his commitments at the University of Kentucky. Both Professor Harper and Professor Thelin provided me with helpful feedback during my proposal defense, suggestions I incorporated into my study as it reached fruition. In addition, the Library of Congress, the Bancroft Library at the University of California, and the Santa Clara University Archive each housed primary sources that I based my study on. The rich stories of the Mexican American experience in California higher education are located within the walls of these outstanding libraries and archives, and I am thankful I had the privilege to draw upon their expansive primary sources. I would also like to thank Penn GSE, for I have treasured each and every moment I have had as a student at this amazing school. The initial three years of funding Penn iii GSE provided allowed me to begin my graduate career, as well this current project. In addition, the Josiah Macy, Jr. Foundation has generously funded my last two years as a PhD student. At Macy, I owe both Dr. George E. Thibault and Marc A. Nivet a great deal of thanks; as their understanding and flexibility not only gave me the opportunity to conduct research on behalf of the Foundation, but to complete my own study as well. One friendship has been especially instrumental as I move closer to completing my time as a graduate student. Valerie Lundy-Wagner and I met fourteen years ago this summer, at LEAD, a summer enrichment program held at Columbia in New York City. Fast forward to the present, and we are still together. After encouraging one another for several years as we finished a number of other pursuits, I convinced Valerie to join me at Penn GSE four years ago, a decision I never regretted. What better way to go through an experience like this but to have one of your best friends by your side. We took classes, attended conferences, and stopped by many a happy hour over the last four years. And this May we will graduate at the same time. How about that? I also believe in the following adage: behind any good man is an even better woman. For me, that woman is Marina Gritsik. Stealing her dart board two years ago is likely the best decision I have ever made. Spasibo Marina—te amo milaya moya. Most importantly, I cannot express how much the love and support of my parents, Louis James Tudico and Emma Flores Tudico, has meant to me. They led our family by example, and provided my sister and I with the opportunities that they themselves never had. My parents instilled the value of education in me since I was a little boy, a thankless task that I took for granted until I grew into a young man. Consequently, when I walk across the stage at Franklin Field for commencement, I know I will have stood on the iv shoulders of the two most influential persons in my life, my parents. They will each be right by my side. At that moment, the son of Italian immigrants and the daughter of the Rio Grande Valley will be the proud parents of not one, but two PhDs. Finally, my older sister Angela is not only my best friend, but an incredible role model (having courageously earned her own PhD in history last year). Throughout my entire experience at Penn, first as a PhD student and later a PhD candidate, I have relied on her advice and humor again and again. Angela, with little regard for her own time and commitments, was my very own sounding board, critic, and cheerleader. She is a hell of a copy editor, and deserves the title of honorary co-chair of my study. I could never, ever thank Angela enough for her support. v ABSTRACT BEFORE WE WERE CHICANAS/OS: THE MEXICAN AMERICAN EXPERIENCE IN CALIFORNIA HIGHER EDUCATION, 1848-1945 Christopher Tudico Supervisor: Dr. Marybeth Gasman Mexican American students have a long and proud history of enrolling in colleges and universities across the state of California for nearly 160 years, since shortly after the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848. Yet, inexplicably, historians of higher education have virtually ignored the Mexican American experience in California higher education. Based on the examination of primary sources such as the diary of Californio Jesús María Estudillo, the records of the University of California, and the college student-led Mexican American Movement’s newspaper, The Mexican Voice , this study reconstructs the history of the Mexican American experience in California higher education from not long after statehood through World War II. The children of Californios (wealthy landholders who stressed their “Spanish” heritage) attended Santa Clara College and the College of Notre Dame from the early 1850s to mid 1870s, and Mexicans and Californios also took part in the preparatory program known as the Fifth Class at the University of California in the early 1870s. These members of the Mexican community participated in higher education in order to acquire the skills (such as mastering the English language) that best equipped them to maintain their station near the top of California society. By the 1930s, the sons and daughters of Mexican immigrants attended colleges and universities across California vi in numbers large enough to form student organizations such as the Mexican American Movement (MAM).