General Mung Beans
Banned
What would be the social and cultural effects of all of Mexico being annexed into the US?
What would be the social and cultural effects of all of Mexico being annexed into the US?
What would be the social and cultural effects of all of Mexico being annexed into the US?
Unfortunately, this is a highly unlikely event to happen in a USA which is at all similar to ours in 1848. The strongest voices really calling for annexation were from the 'penny press' of the northeastern states (mostly Pennsylvania) and they were never seriously considered at governmental level. Not to put too fine a point on it, most of the Americans did not want to try to rule seven million people whom they saw as "mongrel papist greasers".
The problems were substantial; would the states go slave or free, how could the former Mexicans be classified, severe anti-Catholicism in some sections of the American population, and some fears of a 'bleeding sore' in occupying all Mexico. It could be done from a military point of view, but it would be expensive, lengthy and bloody unless the USA granted substantial civilian rights to the Mexicans (something which was unlikely). Indeed, Trist, the negotiator, while he was unpopular for offering such generous terms to the defeated Mexicans, was also quietly congratulated for conquering the maximum amount of Mexico with a minimum number of Mexicans.
To get a movement to annex all Mexico, you probably have to go back further than 1848. What might be more possible, however, is to have the USA acquire somewhat more of Mexico... any other negotiator than Trist would probably have arranged it. The most likely border would be between the 26th and 25th parallel, and annexing the Gulf Coast down to, say, Tampico was also considered. Even this would dramatically change the potential outcome of the civil war. Tamaulipas, Durango etc are good cotton country, and would probably produce some additional slave states.
My first instinct is to say, culturally not much...look at the Southwest. Socially, I think we get a lot more Conservative, but probably more Liberal economically. Populism would take over.
The Mexican population in the South West prior to the Anexation by the US was much smaller that the population in Central Mexico, so it's not comparable.
The efects of having millions of Catholic Mexicans in the mostly WASP early XIX century US will be huge.
However, I agree with Susano in the sense that Mexicans will try to get away from the US, and would have to be kept in by force. The cultural effects will be indirect: an US that keeps a lot of people under his control against their will might be less democratic.
I think it was Eric Hosbawn who wrote that one of the reasons of fascism was the following: some influentianial people realised around 1900 that, although they could control millions of brown people by relatively few soldiers and members civil service, internally they had to please the masses of the poor and allow them to participate in politics. Why couldn't the same principles used to run a colony be used to run the country internally? If this happened in the US, we might have seen a proto-fascist US.
I think the US might do something like the United States of Mexico in For Want of a Nail, that is grant Mexicans, especially the lighter-skinned ones full civil rights and citizenship. Perhaps this could lead to an earlier end to racism in the United States.
US annexes Mexico in 1848, Mexico Joins the CS in Leaving the Union 1861, US has the Virgina, Mississippi, Trans Mississippi, and the Mexican Fronts in The ACW.