Hispanic+Heritage+Essay+CC15

=Thesis Statement:= We need to keep the Hispanic heritage alive in the US because it composes the very roots of America.

=Essay:=

"The land of the free and the home of the brave." Those are the closing words in the United States of America's national anthem. These few words define the attitude of Americans since and even before the U.S.'s founding on July 4, 1776. Americans have persevered through tough times and come out of hard situations such as the founding of our country, the claiming of land and expansion of America, and the industrial revolution stronger than ever before. These situations have shaped our country into what it is today, but would not have been possible without the help of many important Hispanic Americans.

The founding of our country began when Ponce de Leon discovered Florida in 1513 when he landed on the coasts of Florida and claimed its land for Spain. He named it "Pasqua Florida" which means feast of the flowers, because he was amazed by the beauty of the land. Spanish soldiers established the first permanent Spanish settlement in St. Augustine Florida in 1565, and it is today the oldest city in the Unite States today. The city became the key to the Spainish's hold on the Florida coasts while fighting the French and British for control of the "New World also taking place around the late 1560's (Celebrate Hispanic Heritage- Florida). From this point on America was formed but Florida was not the only state strongly impacted by Spanish influence, there was also California.

Through California America was able to claim much more land previously owned by Mexico and migrate many people to opposite sides of the continent, but it all started with migration. Throughout the 1830's and 1840's american settlers move to California despite the fact that it is Mexico territory and this played a large part into the migration of the newly born U.S. to the West and Northwest (Celebrate Hispanic Heritage- California). Mexico is angered by all the new U.S. settlers in California and starts war for the land. In 1848 the US Mexican war ends with the Mexico signing a treaty that gives the US California along with other previously owned Mexico territories, and all Mexican citizens in these territories are granted US citizenship. This act of citizenship played a large role into the large population of Mexicans in America to this day (Celebrate Hispanic Heritage- California). Today many Mexicans are coming to the U.S. illegally, especially in Nebraska, which had a small but statistically significant increase in Mexican unauthorized immigrants in the past year (Unauthorized Immigrant).

During the next chapter in the founding of our country Hispanic Americans were key to helping the United States get through the Industrial Revolution and remain on top of the worldwide food chain. The Industrial Revolution came in three phases and the third and final phase is still happening today, but the one thing that all of these phases had in common was the need for communication and transportation. Many Mexican-Americans worked on the railroads during the industrial revolution, and made communication and transportation easier than ever through the ever growing railroad. (Bejarano, Mateo). Another part of the Industrial Revolution that Mexican Americans played a large role in was the gold rush.The gold rush in 1849 brings thousands of new settlers into the newly US claimed California from all over the world, and the new settlers brought an economy for California (Celebrate Hispanic Heritage- California). A large part of these new settlers flowing into California for the Gold Rush were Mexican because they were the more experienced minors they were given majority of the jobs available. Even though bad working conditions, inequality, poor treatment, and discrimination all was part of the Mexican-Americans' lives they pushed through these challenges and in turn changed America forever in a great way (Bejarano, Mateo).

"The impact that Mexican Americans had on the early stages of America is evident," says Frank Mastandrea, "and I see many of the traditions and cultures overlap in our lives." (Mastandrea, Frank). Mexican Americans and the Spanish have truly composed the roots of America in the sense that they given America the capability to expand or country in land and have allowed us to industrialize our nation into the greatness that it is today. They have also composed the roots of America in the sense of population. By 1990 the US census showed that Mexicans make up over 25% of the California population and probably more due to the undocumented immigrants, and projections show that from 1990 to 2010 the population of Mexicans in California are thought to double (Celebrate Hispanic Heritage- California). They not only have increased in California, but also in other states such as Nebraska and Texas, and with all of these new settelers comes endless opportunities if you put in the work, and that is just what Mexican Americans and the Spanish have done with their lives. The y have worked hard, created opportunities, persevered through challenges, and lived the American dream.

=Works Cited:=

Bejarano, Mateo. "Mexican-Americans in the Industrial Revolution."//Prezi.com//. Mateo Bejarano, n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2015. .
 * At first I was not sure whether this was a reliable resource, but upon further review I observed some of the sources used in the prezi and found that not only were they credible, but majority of the websites were related to the government.

"Celebrate Hispanic Heritage! Hispanic History in the Americas."//Celebrate Hispanic Heritage! Hispanic History in the Americas//. Scholastic, n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2015.  -California.
 * This is a valid source of information because it is written by Scholastic which is not only a textbook brand but a source of news for children and adults worldwide.

Mastandrea, Frank D., Dr. "Hispanic Heritage in the United States." Telephone interview. 28 Apr. 2015.
 * Frank Mastandrea is a valid source of information, because he lived in Spain for half a semester while taking his semester abroad and experienced much of the Spanish culture first hand when he was there.

"Unauthorized Immigrant Totals Rise in 7 States, Fall in 14." //Pew Research Centers Hispanic Trends Project RSS//. PEW Research Center, 18 Nov. 2014. Web. 21 Apr. 2015. .
 * The website authors have listed the sources from which they have gotten all of their information, and it is all reliable, from which the most of those sources are related to the government.