Hispanic America
Diversity
ETH 125
Week 7
The United States, a country of many different racial and ethnic groups, provides a home to the fastest growing minority group in America, the Hispanics. The Voice Of America (2008) stated, “The U.S. Census Bureau says the Hispanic population has grown to more than 45 million people, and now represents 15 percent of the total population in the United States” (para. 1). This alone makes the Hispanics a very important part of this country that not only supports the economy but also colorfully enriches this nation through food, language, religion and music.
The United States’ independence was created by the break and war with their mother country Britain in the 1700s and then later on established two of the largest minority groups in this country through war and annexation, the Mexican Americans and Puerto Ricans. They, in effect, became aliens in what was their country. This status did not help the Mexican Americans, as they were considered second-class citizens in this country, but with Mexico just a few hours away from the United States, the closeness to their own roots and family never stopped. It is this closeness and his or her family values that led many Mexicans to immigrate to this country. They long to be closer with their love ones and want to have a better life. There were also times that the Mexican was very welcomed in this country due to very cheap labor and help they provided, especially in times such as World War II, when most of the Americans were fighting for freedom. This is how Mexicans became a very important part of supporting the U.S. Farms that, even today, benefit many Americans in this country that are not willing to do the same work as most Mexicans and American Mexicans. Therefore, Hispanic groups are an important part of this country’s culture and an integral part of this country’s history (Schaefer, 2006).
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Mexican Americans are a Spanish speaking ethnic group that, unlike any...