How is the Mexican-American War taught in Mexico?
Como se ensenan la guerra entre Mexico y America en las escuelas Mexicanas. I need to find out what teachers in Mexico tell their students about the Mexican war.
Other - Mexico - 6 Answers
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1 :
Here in Mexico, the kids are taught that the USA in conjunction with Santana, the corrupt president of Mexico at that time, stole the land from Mexico. You will never get a different answer from anyone here, child or adult.
2 :
We are taught that it was an invasion with the sole purpose to acquire the rest of the what would become the American west. President Santa Ana was forced to sign the release under duress, Mexico City was under US occupation when the treaty was signed.
3 :
With the US being the Evil Empire, and the Mexicans being the brave, valient oppressed freedom fighters of course. How is anything involving the US taught in Mexico.
4 :
I'm mexican and i was taught that Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna was somehow a corrupt president and that we lost territories to USA after the Treaty of Gudalupe Hidalgo. That's it, they never told me anything about USA stealing, or that it was an unfair treaty. I think it depends of the quality of education that some other mexicans receive, i went to a private school, so i don't know if they teach the same in public schools.
5 :
Well depends; the official history puts Santa Ana as a devil not worthy of mention, but the truth is that Mexico was a very divided country with a lot of internal wars and disputes, so when the US decided to invaded Mexico some Generals support Santa Ana, some were against him and some others believe that the best way to end with the problems was to go back to become a colony, the catholic church supported the idea of a foreign occupation, So not everything that official history is true, the United States enhance the victory, Mexico victimized it self. Santa Ana was not a Saint, he was an opportunist, pragmatic politician, that went from royalist to republican as fast as the times were right for the move, he was like a lot of dictators, full with vanity he called him self the "Napoleon of the South" when he was dumb enough to be right in front of a battle and then caught by Houston in San Jacinto, (now Houston tx), he was the president! why he shall be risking so much by doing what he did!. and by the way in American History it is told that El Alamo was taken by an organized Army.. far from the truth, most of this soldiers were force to enter the war and were very much against it, they did not have uniforms and even did not know how to use a rifle, but they were plenty. In the conflict that follow the war known as the Mexican war Generals never fought side by side supporting each other, they fought their own battles and even helped the US, by not helping a fellow Mexican General in a battle, so they just watch how they were defeated. The catholic church was a very powerful institution and in a lot of towns they spread the word that finally mexico was being conquered back again, so they told the population not to do anything. The third thing is that Mexico was very very poor, Santa Ana kick out all the rich Spanish out of the country in 1828, and they took all of the money with them, close their stores , factories and mines, and the trade with the Philippines, so mexico became from being the richest spanish colony, to a really poor country with a lot of internal disputes. Santa Ana saw an opportunity to sell part of the country getting some cash for his government and some to his pocket as well. I can go on an on but I rather suggest you one book call "Mexico Mutilado" by Francisco Martin Moreno http://www.gandhi.com.mx/index.cfm/id/Producto/dept/Libros/pid/189976 Also the history of the "septentrion" or the far north, a history of the north of Mexico and what is now the SW of the USA that is not often told in American history despite the importance of it, since is really how the west was born, during the time of the Spanish, from cowboys to indian conflicts etc,and 200 years before those lands called USA or Mexico "Crónica de un PaÃs Bárbaro" by Fernando Jordán.
6 :
They tell the students that the greedy "North Americans", which is what Mexicans call Americans, were not happy having taken Texas from Mexico so they invaded in order to steal more land. That's it in a nutshell.
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