Unit 6 Reading Comment 10
#Hist2110

Site Y was the codename given to Los Alamos, New Mexico during World War II. The codename itself held no significance and only existed to obscure the real location. The amount of secrecy surrounding this site is interesting to me, as it is hard to believe that, out of thousands of workers, no one every slipped up and gave away the location or the purpose of the site.

Unit 6 Reading Comment 9
#Hist2110

Reies López Tijerina led the Alianza Federal de Mercedes in the 1960s. This group existed to reclaim Mexican and Spanish land grants in New Mexico. Tijerina is considered one of the "Four Horsemen" of the Chicano Movement, along with César Chávez, Rodolfo Gonzales, and José Ángel Gutiérrez.

Unit 6 Reading Comment 8
#Hist2110

The Navajo Code Talkers were vital in America's success in WWII, and I find their treatment after the war to be appalling. After the war, the Code Talkers were not celebrated alongside other veterans, and still faced mistreatment. For example, they were unable to recieve veteran benefits without returning to their reservation, and still faced poverty and discrimination. They were given medals in 2001, but this recognition still came too late.

Unit 6 Reading Comment 7
#Hist2110

The Manhattan Project is, in my opinion, one of the most famous parts of New Mexico history (especially outside of New Mexico). The creation of the nuclear bomb is something that I will always find equally interesting and terrifying. I will always wonder where our political climate would be today had no countries succeeded in the creation of nuclear weaponry.

Unit 6 Reading Comment 6
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In 1934, the Indian Reorganization Act was passed. This was a major turning point for New Mexico, as the law aimed to reverse some of the damage done to Native communities by protecting their land, encouraging tribal governments, and providing funds to buy back land that had been previously stolen.

Unit 6 Reading Comment 5
#Hist2110

There was a common claim that the Great Depression was not impacting New Mexico, as the state was used to poverty. This claim came from a negative stigma, and was untrue. New Mexico did have a history of poverty, but that didn't stop the Depression from hitting the state.

Unit 6 Reading Comment 4
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In 1906, the Antiques Act was passed. This act serves to protect objects and places of historical, cultural, or scientific significance. This was obviously very significant in New Mexico, as cultural artifacts had been destroyed time and time again as different groups attempted to erase Native culture.

Unit 6 Reading Comment 3
#Hist2110

The WPA held women to strange standards as well, claiming that, "women who married non-citizens prior to 1922 lost their citizenship by virtue of their marriage". The WPA also said that sensible women in this situation would just get a divorce.

Marriage was insanely important for a woman to live at this time. Women essentially needed a husband to live comfortably, and it makes it worse that they could lose their citizenship through their choice in partner.

Unit 6 Reading Comment 2
#Hist2110

Deportation raids, characterized in the textbook as, "the requirement that all Mexican-heritage people carry identification papers at all times, and concentrated radio campaigns [that] instilled fear amongst the Mexican American populace", are unfortunately a concept that is very relevant in today's political climate. It is interesting to see the ways in which history repeats itself.

Unit 6 Reading Comment 1
#Hist2110

In late 1937, Procopio Carabajo, who was a forty-six year old father of eight, was told that the WPA was removing him from working on federal projects due to him being an "alien". This was surprising to Carabajo, who had not priorly realized he wasn't considered a legal New Mexico resident. This was because border control had not existed at the time he crossed the border.