The language of blood: the making of Spanish-American identity in New Mexico, 1880s-1930s

Abstract

When United States declared war on Spain in 1898, rumours abounded throughout nation that Spanish-speaking population of New Mexico secretly sympathised with enemy. At end of war, The New York Times warned that New Mexico's professed a deep hostility to American ideas and American policies. As long as Spanish remained primary language of public instruction, Times admonished, the majority of inhabitants will remain 'Mexican' and retain a pseudo-allegiance [to Spain]. This perception of Spanish-speaking New Mexicans as 'un-American' was widely shared. Such allegations of disloyalty, coupled with prevalent views that all Mexican peoples were racially non-white and 'unfit' to assume rights and responsibilities of full citizenship, inspired powerful reactions among Spanish-speaking people of New Mexico. Most sought to distinguish themselves from Mexican immigrants by emphasising their 'Spanish' roots. Tourism, too, began to foster myth that nuevomexicanos were culturally and racially Spanish. Since 1950s, historians, sociologists, and anthropologists have dismissed ubiquitous Spanish heritage claimed by many New Mexicans.

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