History Colorado

Discuss with your group and record their ideas.

Engagement 3: Take a Stand (Group)

Think about the timeline and the maps that you just explored.

Go through the slides and complete each step to answer the Guiding Question.


Engagement 1: Color, Symbol, Image

Read the dilemma, then answer the following question. When you're done, it will be time to discuss with your group (next activity).

Engagement 3: Take a Stand (Independent)

As you explore the information on each slide; did the impact of the war last for a short period of time or a long period of time? Who and what were most impacted?

Lasting Impacts

Step In, Step Out, Step Back protocol show above.

Engagement 2: Step In, Step Out, Step Back

The territory Mexico lost to the United States after the war has a unique culture and history. This region - historians call it "the Borderlands" - has been claimed by multiple American Indian tribes as well as France, Spain, Mexico, and the United States. Explore the timeline to understand why.

Timeline of Events

As you read about the impacts of the Mexican-American War in the slides, thing about if they are positive or negative. Who and what was most impacted?

The Mexican-American War

Explore how Colorado has changed from the 1600s to today. What do you notice about the cultural groups in the region and how they change over time?

Maps of Colorado (1600-Today)

The town of San Luis is the longest continually-inhabited non-indigenous or non-native settlement in Colorado, meaning people have lived there since the town was first settled in 1851. San Luis was part of the New Mexico territory until Colorado became a territory in 1861. The Hispanics who founded the town of San Luis came from New Mexico and spoke Spanish. They moved into the valley to farm and to raise sheep and other animals. 

Colorado's Oldest Town: San Luis

Record anything you may be thinking now, then rejoin your group for the last question.

Engagement 3: Take a Stand (Independent & Group)

The clues spell out the name of a Spanish town in Colorado. What does the word mean in English? Tell your teacher when you escape the room!

BONUS: Escape Room!

Welcome to the Borderlands of Southern Colorado, an ancient crossroads. They have a violent history of conquest and enslavement, but also traditions of beauty and diversity. A place where Indigenous cultures blend with Spanish, Mexican, and American traditions to create a unique identity unlike any other in the world. This identity lives within the people of the Borderlands, and it goes with them wherever they move. Borderlands people don’t stay still. By choice, by force, or by necessity, they have moved a lot. They are mobile people who have lived beyond boundaries and between languages. They are people who live "sin fronteras" - without borders.

Educator Overvie -  Colorado Borderlands (Grades 6-8).pdf

Directions for Engagement activities found below;

Take a Stand Student Handout for Engagement 3 can be printed for students (optional): 

Colorado Borderlands

Civics and Government

Social Studies

Geography

U.S. History

The Mexican-American War, also known as the Mexican War or the Invasion of Mexico, was fought between 1846 and 1848. As a result of losing the war, Mexico lost almost half its territory, and the United States gained much of the land that makes up the American West.

The United States was inspired by the concept of Manifest Destiny—the idea that America had the right to expand across the continent.  The United States provoked the war in order to gain new land from Mexico.

When Congress declared war on Mexico in 1846, the invading U.S. Army massed at Bent’s Fort near present-day La Junta, Colorado, before charging onto Mexican soil.

Oil paint on canvas. Bent's fort is located directly in the center with the entrance on the side facing the viewer. There is a trail of covered wagons, horses and people entering the fort. On both sides of the tan fort there are Native American Tepees/tents, camps. Behind the fort is a herd of cattle and beyond that a river. There are mountains and a blue sky in the background. Painting done by Harry Miller, Works Progress Administration staff artist of SHS, in the 1930s.

Oil Painting, Bent's Fort Area View

The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed on February 2, 1848 and ended the Mexican-American War. By the terms of the treaty, the United States paid $15 million to Mexico and up to $3.25 million to pay off the claims of American citizens against Mexico. The United States claimed the Rio Grande as a boundary for Texas, ownership of California, half of New Mexico, most of Arizona, Nevada, Utah, and parts of Wyoming and Colorado.

The 80,000 Mexican people living in those areas woke up in a new country. They were given the choice to move south to within Mexico’s new borders or stay in their homes and become American citizens with full civil rights. More than 90% of the people chose to stay in their homes and become U.S. citizens.

Life was not easy for these new American citizens. They were supposed to be able to keep their property, but various tactics resulted in their land being taken. For example, Mexican American landowners had to appear in English-speaking courts to keep their property. Unless they had enough money to travel to court and hire bilingual attorneys or interpreters, they often lost their land. According to the treaty, a Spanish or Mexican title should have been sufficient to prove land ownership. However, the United States exploited the difference between Mexican and American documents, and families often lost their land as a result. Losing land often forced people into poverty, creating a division of wealth based on race and ethnicity.

Upon ratification of the treaty, the United States Senate deleted the entirety of Article 10, a section meant to guarantee land rights for citizens living within the new borders. This decision deliberately broke promises the US government made with Mexican Americans, and it opened up loopholes to exploit these new citizens.

The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo left a legacy of anger and a sense of injustice for the Mexican people and many Mexican Americans. In Mexican, Mexican American, Hispano, and Chicano history it was an incredibly important event.

Discusses the 15,000 square miles of southern Colorado which was subject to the Mexican land grant system.
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, Sangre de Cristo Land Grant, Maxwell Land Grant, Nolan Land Grant, Conejos Land Grant, Vigil and Saint Vrain Grant, Baca Grant, Tierra Amarilla Land Grant

Resource Kits

Object Library

Museums

Colorado Borderlands

The Mexican-American War

Guiding Question

Mexican-American War