THE HISPANIC BLOG IS THE LATEST HISPANIC NEWS BY JESSICA MARIE GUTIERREZ

FEBRUARY 3^rd –  ON THIS DAY IN LATINO U.S. HISTORY

Gonzales Becomes First Hispanic U.S. Attorney General – On this day in 2005, Alberto Gonzales won Senate confirmation as the nation’s first Hispanic attorney general despite protests over his record on torture.The Senate approved his nomination on a largely party-line vote of 60-36, reflecting a split between Republicans and Democrats over whether the administration’s counterterrorism policies had led to the abuse of prisoners in Iraq and elsewhere. Shortly after the Senate vote, Vice President Dick Cheney swore in Gonzales as attorney general in a small ceremony in the Roosevelt Room at the White House. President Bush, who was traveling, called to congratulate him.

Relief Teams Sent to Help the Immigrants – On this day in 1847, an appeal was answered for relief for the ill-fated Donner Party. The immigrants, who had suffered from poor decisions, timing, and luck, had been stranded for months near the crest of the Sierra Nevada. In Yerba Buena (today’s San Francisco), a collection was made at a meeting called by the alcalde Washington Bartlett. They raised eight hundred dollars to purchase provisions, clothing, horses, and mules, to rescue those souls still stranded.

INTERNATIONAL (INCLUDING USA) TIMELINE OF LATINO EVENTS

1783 – Spain recognizes US independence

1945 – Walt Disney’s “3 Caballeros” released (see picture above)

1962 – Pres Kennedy bans all trade with Cuba except for food & drugs

1964 – Black & Puerto Rican students boycott NYC public schools

1989 – Military coup overthrows Alfredo Stroessner, dictator of Paraguay

ON THIS DAY “THE WEEKEND EDITION”

ON THIS DAY IN LATINO U.S. HISTORY (FEBRUARY 4^th)

Bahía to Villa de Goliad – On this day in 1829, the Mexican government issued a decree officially changing the name La Bahía to Villa de Goliad. The term La Bahía (“the bay”) historically referred to several entities, including La Bahía del Espíritu Santo (present Matagorda and Lavaca bays) and Nuestra Señora del Espíritu Santo de Zúñiga Mission and its accompanying presidio. Coahuila and Texas state legislator Rafael Antonio Manchola proposed the change, arguing that the name of the settlement around the presidio was meaningless because neither the mission nor presidio were located on “the bay.” His suggestion of “Goliad” was actually an anagram for the name of Father Hidalgo, the priest who led the fight for Mexican independence. For a time during the 1830s settlers called the town both La Bahía and Goliad. The community played a key role in the Texas Revolution and became the site of the signing of the first declaration of independence for Texas.

Hero from Rio Grande Valley Dies in Vietnam – On this day in 1968, Marine sergeant Alfredo Gonzalez died near Thua Thein, Vietnam, after action that earned him the Medal of Honor. On January 31 the native of Edinburg was commanding a platoon in a truck convoy formed to relieve pressure on the beleaguered city of Hue. After being wounded, he moved through a fire-swept area and rescued a wounded comrade. On February 3 he was again wounded, but refused medical treatment. The next day, as the enemy inflicted heavy casualties on his company, Gonzalez knocked out a rocket position and suppressed much enemy fire before falling. The missile destroyer USS Alfredo Gonzalez, named for him, is the first United States military ship named for a Hispanic.

INTERNATIONAL (INCLUDING USA) TIMELINE OF LATINO EVENTS

1855 – Soldiers shoot Jewish families in Coro, Venezuela

1914 – US Congress approves Burnett-anti-immigration law

1984 – Frank Aquilera sets world frisbee distance record (168m) Las Vegas

ON THIS DAY IN LATINO U.S. HISTORY (FEBRUARY 5^th )

Immigration Passed Over Wilson’s Veto – On this day in 1917, with more than a two-thirds majority, Congress overrides President Woodrow Wilson‘s veto of the previous week and passes the Immigration Act. The law required a literacy test for immigrants and barred Asiatic laborers, except for those from countries with special treaties or agreements with the United States, such as the Philippines. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the United States received a majority of the world’s immigrants, with 1.3 million immigrants passing through New York’s Ellis Island in 1907 alone. Various restrictions had been applied against immigrants since the 1890s, but most of those seeking entrance into the United States were accepted. However, in 1894, the Immigration Restriction League was founded in Boston and subsequently petitioned the U.S. government to legislate that immigrants be required to demonstrate literacy in some language before being accepted. The organization hoped to quell the recent surge of lower-class immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe. Congress passed a literacy bill in 1897, but President Grover Cleveland vetoed it. In early 1917, with America’s entrance into World War I three months away, xenophobia was at a new high, and a bill restricting immigration was passed over President Wilson’s veto. Subsequent immigration to the United States sharply declined, and, in 1924 a law was passed requiring immigrant inspection in countries of origin, leading to the closure of Ellis Island and other major immigrant processing centers. Between 1892 and 1924, some 16 million people successfully immigrated to the United States to seek a better life.

INTERNATIONAL (INCLUDING USA) TIMELINE OF LATINO EVENTS

1428 – King Alfonso V, orders Sicily’s Jews to attend conversion sermons (pictured above)

1556 – Kings Henri I & Philip II sign Treaty of Vaucelles

1782 – Spanish take Minorca (western Mediterranean) from English

1900 – The United States and the United Kingdom sign treaty for Panama Canal

1904 – American occupation of Cuba ends

1917 – Mexican Constitution Proclaimed  – On this day in 1917, after seven years of revolution and civil upheaval, Mexican President Venustiano Carranza emerged as the leader of the revolutionary forces. In an attempt to institutionalize the Revolution, he called for a meeting at Querétaro, where the revolutionaries put together a new supreme law for Mexico; hence, the “Constitucion Politica de los Estados Unidos de Mexicanos” was officially formed (Country Studies). To many, this is seen as one of the most liberal codes of the century, due to its clauses on land reform, women rights- that in the end were stroked from the document- and its complex labor code that emphasized the rights of the Mexicans above any other thing (Tuck). However, some of its provisions were not implemented at the time because the former president overlook constitutional reforms to maintain the economy and mend its deterioration; similarly, the following presidents- Obregon and Calles- ignored the provisions- specially those related to land expropriation- to focus on their personal needs and pragmatic views.

1949 – Huaso sets official world equestrian high-jump record, 2.47 m, Chic

1967 – Anastasio Somoza elected president of Nicaragua

1986 – Corazon Aquino & Ferdinand Marcos appear on “Nightline”

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