Whose land is it?

Gustavo Quintero
English 48B
February 1, 2008
Journal #16 Maria Amparo Ruiz de Burton


Quote:
"...shall be governed by the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo; the law of the nations; the laws, usages, and customs of the government form which the claim is derived..."(Ruiz de Burton 93).


Summary:
Ruiz de Burton is telling the reader where and how the Untied States was able to get it's newly acquired land.


Response:
The reason I chose the above quote is because it is the closest one I could find on what I wanted to write this journal entry about. If I run onto another tangent than I apologize. I have always felt a inner struggle between the American culture and the Mexican culture. The reason being is because both my mother and my father were born in Durango, Mexico. I was born in California. From very early on I have never really known which side to embrace more. At times I want to embrace my Mexican Heritage because of my parents roots, yet the closest I have ever been to my parents homeland in Tijuana or Mexicali, Mexico( which does not really count as being Mexico). On the other hand I was born in the United States and here I have been given opportunities and education that I would have never seen If I was born on my parents ranch. The reason I bring this up is because after reading a little of Ruiz de Burton's introduction, I get the sense that she also has a similar conflict. She is a Mexican -American,like myself, in the midst of a land transformation. It must have been an extremely difficult time for the Spanish and Mexicans to have to give huge lots of their land overnight. This has been an question that has plaugued me ever since I first learned about the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo; How different would California and it's surrounding states be if Mexico was able to defeat the Americans and keeps the land that it ultimately gave up? This goes back to my inner struggle, especially when I consider many legislation going on.

Take for example the border situation, part of me says let them in because they want to work and make money buy another part says that if we let all Mexican immigrants in than the California will become overcrowded and its resources and money will fade quickly. I find it so hard to put my foot down for either side. It's an issue that I have learned to deal with by sort of ignoring it. I know that this is the wrong way to approach it but it's how I have dealt with issues concerning American and Mexican relations.