Mexican Borders Research Paper

Borders have been a staple of human society and are a projection of a society’s values and fears, regardless of if their creation is just or not. In this paper I will examine the presence of borders put up by humans, the reasons behind their creation, and how the effect the people around them. Some country’s borders have extensive walls that were erected for a purpose, other borders walls are not physical, and are quite permeable. I will delve into the reasons why some population’s consensus at the time was to isolate themselves, as well as give some context to what was happening at the time that could influence a society’s choices. Many reasons to construct borders exist. Some of these reasons are religious differences, economic disparities,

Not surprisingly powerful people and governments still try to dictate where people can and cannot settle. This is evident in the case of the Texas Mexico border. After the United States acquired a large swath of land from France in the Louisiana Purchase, the Mexican government encouraged thousands of citizens to settle in north Mexico. The thinking was that this would create a buffer zone in the event that the United States would try to settle in the region. However, this backfired as the settlers, in what is now Texas, declared independence in 1836. One man who had a hand in this declaration was Steven F. Austin. Eugene Barker gives insight as to what economic reasons may have contributed to Austin’s motive. By 1836 Santa Anna was destroying the federal system of Mexico and establishing a more centralized government. “Austin now realized that even separate statehood would not protect Texas and mentally advanced to the last step- the declaration of independence (Barker, 3). Because Mexico could not sustain the northern colonies, a new border was drawn, and like many new borders, it split families and allegiances. Nine years later in 1845 the United States annexed Texas. The Mexican government despised this and war broke out for two years eventually ending with the Treaty of Guadalupe

Her family was split by and she recounts crossing from one Laredo to the other with her dog Chirinola who needed papers to cross. She told stories of how in 1935 the United States deported many Mexicans, and even some U.S. citizens from the U.S. to Mexico. She told a story of how during one crossing to Laredo, her uncle Buelito lost his black truck and all their belongings to corrupt customs officials. These crossings were essential to their survival as food and supplies were actually affordable in Mexico. She told stories of crossing to go shopping at the Mercado Maclovio Herrera in Nuevo Laredo, “we carry bags she calls redes full of meat, sugar, tomatoes, groceries… and dark aguacates which he carefully cuts in half, satisfying U.S. Department of Agriculture requirements he extracts the pit so we can legally cross them to the United States. “We carefully count out the money, figuring out the exchange pesos to dollars” (Cantu 8). I can only imagine how tough this life must have been. To have to transverse an international border, which comes with some degree of treachery as noted above, just to go to a family members quinceanera (as the author did) will eventually breed feelings of discontentment. Many Mexicans despised the creation of the border seeing it as