The interaction between Mexicans and Americans was always complex. The diplomatic relations between the two countries was very tense, and each nation would blame the other. The lynching and racial prejudice of all varieties against the Mexicans, unfortunately, shaped a definition of their race. Their racial identity was much defined by their rights and responsibilities, defining them as low class and consequently labeling them in a constantly decreasing position in American society, matching them to a very low status of racial minority and bringing lack of monetary assets. The early Anglo settlers considered themselves superior to Mexicans as a racial group. That was one of the main reasons which developed and influenced violent effects and behaviors against the Mexican people. They were categorized by Anglos as very low in status or ability, considered an inferior race. The lower class of Mexicans suffered in their hands from the beginning.
That conception of Anglos toward Mexicans brought big consequences, because it also came with economic discriminations, so they (Mexicans) basically only worked doing manual labor and the compensation was insignificant. They had no right to better opportunities in the workforce, which made tougher for them to feel better about themselves or, most importantly, feed their families and protect them from diseases. Anglos created a racial stereotype of Mexicans mostly because they did not have the same religious values and beliefs as them, so they established the idea that Mexicans were opposed to civil matters, intended to kill people, damage and hurt everything. As if those wrong notions were not enough, they also characterized Mexicans as unwilling to use energy to work and as lacking effort or care to do their activities, another misconception! They used mistakenly racial arguments to take over Mexican assets.
A big example of the Anglos strong hostility toward Mexicans was the California Gold Rush. Thousands of Mexicans with knowledge on the field migrated to the mining regions of California around 1850, getting there earlier that the Anglos, which was a smart move because they were also knowledgeable and ready to work. That was not enough; the Anglos drove the Mexicans away with the mob violence, and took control. So even if the Mexicans got there before, had more skills, and tried to establish an honest living, the Anglos turned to violence to kick them out. (Lopez, 193)
Mexicans did not fit. Racial identities have connoted homogeneity and recognizing features, but for Mexican in the United States it was always very hard to assimilate. Only a small minority of Mexicans could secure the privileges of being white, and with being considered white they would be safe from mob violence. The history of mob violence against Mexicans is much unknown throughout the U.S and the world. One of the reasons is that because Mexican were considered white, and the definitions of races in the past was only “black or white”, it’s hard to separate the crimes that were done only against Mexicans, specifically lynching them. Numbers of this kind of violence are omitted and hard to find, so the information is not quite there for everyone. Another reason why many people do not know about the Mexican lynching, is that the blacks suffered in much larger numbers and that eliminates some of the importance of the terrible crimes against the Mexicans, which shared with African Americans the feeling of being afraid every day and not having the same life expectancy and rights as white, since the second half of the nineteenth century to the first half of the twentieth.
Even after court laws against the model of vigilantism, which was full of pretexts to without restrictions, commit violence against Mexicans, Anglos did not recognize the legitimacy of the courts when controlled by Mexicans, so they came with their own justice system, offering no regard for Mexicans authorities. It is important to notice that not all lynching ascended because of the vigilantes against the legal structure, actually, most of them were just carried out by mobs, and their reason would be “irrational prejudice toward racial minorities” (Carrigan and Webb, 2009). The mobsters did not even give the chance of a trial to Mexicans, just brutally eliminated them. In the mind of mobs the Mexicans were already guilty and because of that they deserved to be hanged or mutilated right away, which did not give any perspective to the Mexicans to defend themselves. That was a huge problem because, in reality, the lynching of Mexicans was not protected by law, and even some that worked in the legal system would get involved against the Mexicans, abusing their power in a wrong way. Only with federal people asking, some local and states authorities started to investigate the many accountable for lynching, and of course, no guilty whites were found for the heartless crimes. Since Mexicans had no help from municipal or government authorities, they had to fight for themselves against the inequality and savagely focused their way. They had to counterattack the mob violence otherwise they would be harmed, wounded, or slaughtered. They had to fight for justice, but they had no economic resources or political rights, so it was difficult to stop being victimized by Anglos.
Only by the early twentieth century, Mexicans were able to consolidate a resistance. A factor that would help was having more civil rights and protection. They needed immediately new civil rights laws and organizations that protected them from all the damage, and assisted them on freedom matters and to combat oppression. It took an extensive approach to form organizations that could have some political influence and respect on the anti-lynching problem. The diplomatic protests of the Mexican Government was closer to a definite result to settle the issue of mob violence and all the protests were more persistent, aiming justice for the sufferers. Finally the protests of Mexican officials got some response from the U.S Department of state. That happened not because the Anglos were changing their badly stereotyped ideas against Mexicans, but because the world was criticizing the U.S for not protecting foreign people in their land. Diplomatic pressure was crucial to the decline of the lynching against Mexicans. Still, the lynching continued for decades, especially along the border.
Mexicans racial identity was defined by their class status. This made everything worst and positioned the Mexican race in a low standard place, with the poorest conditions, denying their rights for a better living. Whiteness perception was the most essential influence that defined the Mexican identity and the worst justification for using physical force and unlawfully exercising terrorization against the Mexican race.
