İşçi Tarihinde Bugün, 13 Mayıs 1846: ABD, Meksika’ya savaş ilan etti. Meksika-ABD Savaşı’nda 1.733’ün üzerinde ABD askeri ve 5.000’den fazla Meksikalı asker hayatını kaybetti. Ancak, savaşla bağlantılı hastalık ve kazalardan kaynaklanan ölümler de hesaba katıldığında, Meksikalıların toplam kayıp sayısı muhtemelen 25.000’e yakındı. Savaşın sonucunda ABD, Teksas, Alta California, New Mexico, Nevada, Arizona ve Utah'ı ele geçirdi. Guadalupe Hidalgo Antlaşması, bu fethedilen topraklarda yaşayan Meksikalı ve Yerli halklara ABD vatandaşlığı vaat etti. Ancak ABD, 1930'lara kadar güneybatıdaki Yerli halklara vatandaşlık vermedi.

Whigler ve kölelik karşıtları, bu savaşa köle sahiplerinin toprak gaspı olarak karşı çıktılar. 1880'de Cumhuriyetçi Seçim Kampanyası El Kitabı, savaşı “Pis, kokuşmuş yolsuzluk… Tarihimizin en karanlık sahnelerinden biri—kölelik oligarşisinin toprak genişlemesi peşinde olan Başkan Polk tarafından bizim ve Meksika halkına dayatılan bir savaş” olarak tanımladı. Meksika-Amerika Savaşı, birçok yönden İç Savaş ve ardından gelen Amerikan Yerlilerine karşı savaşların koşullarını yarattı. Ayrıca, kıtalararası demiryolunun inşasında Çinli ve İrlandalı işçilerin acımasızca sömürülmesinin de önünü açtı.

Bu savaşın daha az bilinen bir başka mirası da İrlandalıların ABD Ordusu’ndan ayrılmasıydı. Birçoğu, Meksika tarafında savaşan Aziz Patrick Taburu’na katıldı. Bu kaçaklar genellikle Patates Kıtlığı’ndan kaçarak gelmiş yeni mültecilerdi ve kendilerini geçindirebilecek kadar para kazanmak için ABD ordusuna katılmışlardı. Ancak maaşlar düşüktü ve İrlandalı askerler ırkçılık ve dini hoşgörüsüzlüğe maruz kalıyordu. Meksika hükümeti onlara daha yüksek maaşlar ve arazi hibeleri sunmanın yanı sıra ortak bir din de vaat etti. San Patricios, ABD'nin savaşta karşılaştığı en şiddetli direnişin bir kısmından sorumluydu. İrlandalıların yanı sıra, San Patricios'ta diğer hoşnutsuz Amerikalılar, Avrupa'dan gelen göçmenler ve kaçak köleler de yer alıyordu.

Frederick Douglass savaşa karşı çıktı; yazarlar Ralph Waldo Emerson ve Henry David Thoreau da öyle; Thoreau, savaşa karşı Sivil İtaatsizlik eylemi nedeniyle bir gece hapiste geçirdi. Ekteki video, Tijuana No ve Kid Frost'un "Stolen at Gunpoint" adlı parçası, savaş sırasında Meksika'dan alınan ABD eyaletlerine atıfta bulunuyor. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jlO5RqXFLM

#işçisınıfı #İşçiTarihi #meksika #emperyalizm #yerliler #irlandalılar #kölelik #köleliğinortaldırılması #içsavaş #sanpatricios #sivilitaas #ırkçılık

Today in Labor History May 13, 1846: The U.S. declared war on Mexico. Over 1,733 U.S. soldiers and more than 5,000 Mexican soldiers died in the Mexican-American War. However, the Mexican death toll was probably closer to 25,000, if you include deaths from disease and accidents related to the war. As a result of the war, the U.S. conquered Texas, Alta California, New Mexico, Nevada, Arizona and Utah. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo promised U.S. citizenship to the Mexican and Indigenous Peoples living in these conquered territories. Yet, the U.S. denied citizenship to the Indigenous Peoples of the southwest until the 1930s.

Whigs and Abolitionists opposed the war as a land grab by the slave owners. In 1880, the Republican Campaign Textbook described the war as “Feculent, reeking Corruption…One of the darkest scenes in our history—a war forced upon our and the Mexican people by … President Polk in pursuit of territorial aggrandizement of the slave oligarchy.” In many ways, the Mexican-American War created the conditions for the Civil War and the wars against Indigenous Americans that followed. It also paved the way for the brutal exploitation of Chinese and Irish labor in the construction of the transcontinental railroad.

Another lesser-known legacy of this war was the defection of Irishmen from the U.S. Army. Many joined the Saint Patrick’s Battalion fighting for the Mexican side. These defectors were often recent refugees from the Potato Famine and had joined the U.S. army in order to earn enough to feed themselves. However, the wages were low and the Irish recruits were subjected to racism and religious intolerance. The Mexican government offered them higher wages and land grants, as well as a common religion. The San Patricios were responsible for some of the fiercest resistance the U.S. faced in the war. In addition to the Irish, the San Patricios also included other disgruntled Americans, emigres from Europe and escaped slaves.

Frederick Douglass opposed the war, as did writers Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Henry David Thoreau, who spent night in jail for his Civil Disobedience against the war. The accompanying video, “Stolen at Gunpoint,” by Tijuana No and Kid Frost, refers to the U.S. states taken from Mexico during the war. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jlO5RqXFLM

#workingclass #LaborHistory #mexico #imperialism #indigenous #irish #slavery #abolition #civilwar #sanpatricios #civildisobedience #racism

Today in Labor History May 13, 1846: The U.S. declared war on Mexico. Over 1,733 U.S. soldiers and more than 5,000 Mexican soldiers died in the Mexican-American War. However, the Mexican death toll was probably closer to 25,000, if you include deaths from disease and accidents related to the war. As a result of the war, the U.S. conquered Texas, Alta California, New Mexico, Nevada, Arizona and Utah. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo promised U.S. citizenship to the Mexican and Indigenous Peoples living in these conquered territories. Yet, the U.S. denied citizenship to the Indigenous Peoples of the southwest until the 1930s.

Whigs and Abolitionists opposed the war as a land grab by the slave owners. In 1880, the Republican Campaign Textbook described the war as “Feculent, reeking Corruption…One of the darkest scenes in our history—a war forced upon our and the Mexican people by … President Polk in pursuit of territorial aggrandizement of the slave oligarchy.” In many ways, the Mexican-American War created the conditions for the Civil War and wars against Indigenous Americans that followed. It also paved the way for the brutal exploitation of Chinese and Irish labor in the construction of the transcontinental railroad.

Another lesser-known legacy of this war was the defection of Irishmen from the U.S. Army. Many joined the Saint Patrick’s Battalion fighting for the Mexican side. These defectors were often recent refugees from the Potato Famine and had joined the U.S. army in order to earn enough to feed themselves. However, the wages were low and the Irish recruits were subjected to racism and religious intolerance. The Mexican government offered them higher wages and land grants, as well as a common religion. The San Patricios were responsible for some of the fiercest resistance the U.S. faced in the war. In addition to the Irish, the San Patricios also included other disgruntled Americans, emigres from Europe and escaped slaves.

Frederick Douglass, opposed the war, as did writers Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Henry David Thoreau, who spent night in jail for his Civil Disobedience against the war. The accompanying video, “Stolen at Gunpoint,” by Tijuana No and Kid Frost, refers to the U.S. states taken from Mexico during the war. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jlO5RqXFLM

#workingclass #LaborHistory #mexico #imperialism #indigenous #irish #slavery #abolition #civilwar #irish #sanpatricios #civildisobedience

Today in Labor History May 13, 1846: The U.S. declared war on Mexico. Over 1,733 U.S. soldiers and more than 5,000 Mexican soldiers died in the Mexican-American War. However, the Mexican death toll was probably closer to 25,000, if you include deaths from disease and accidents related to the war. As a result of the war, the U.S. conquered Texas, Alta California, New Mexico, Nevada, Arizona and Utah. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo promised U.S. citizenship to the Mexican and Indigenous Peoples living in these conquered territories. Yet, the U.S. denied citizenship to the Indigenous Peoples of the southwest until the 1930s.

Whigs and Abolitionists opposed the war as a land grab by the slave owners. In 1880, the Republican Campaign Textbook described the war as “Feculent, reeking Corruption…One of the darkest scenes in our history—a war forced upon our and the Mexican people by … President Polk in pursuit of territorial aggrandizement of the slave oligarchy.” In many ways, the Mexican-American War created the conditions for the Civil War and wars against Indigenous Americans that followed. It also paved the way for the brutal exploitation of Chinese and Irish labor in the construction of the transcontinental railroad.

Another lesser-known legacy of this war was the defection of Irishmen from the U.S. Army. Many joined the Saint Patrick’s Battalion fighting for the Mexican side. These defectors were often recent refugees from the Potato Famine and had joined the U.S. army in order to earn enough to feed themselves. However, the wages were low and the Irish recruits were subjected to racism and religious intolerance. The Mexican government offered them higher wages and land grants, as well as a common religion. The San Patricios were responsible for some of the fiercest resistance the U.S. faced in the war. In addition to the Irish, the San Patricios also included other disgruntled Americans, emigres from Europe and escaped slaves.

Ex-slave, Frederick Douglass, opposed the war, as did writers Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Henry David Thoreau, who spent night in jail for his Civil Disobedience against the war. The accompanying video, “Stolen at Gunpoint,” by Tijuana No and Kid Frost, refers to the U.S. states taken from Mexico during the war. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jlO5RqXFLM

#workingclass #LaborHistory #mexico #imperialism #indigenous #irish #slavery #abolition #civilwar #irish #sanpatricios #civildisobedience

Not sure if you’re the "head to a pub on St. Paddy's Day" kinda person, but IF YOU ARE I have a way to avoid the crowds…

Consider, this #SaintPatricksDay, celebrating the #SanPatricios (or the St. Patrick's Battalion). In the late 1840s, this battalion of mostly Irish immigrants to America were conscripted to fight in the American army in the Mexican-American War in order to "earn" citizenship. 1/2