Utilizing the assigned reading please write a five page (double spaced, 12 pt. font) essay in response to the following question. Your essay will be evaluated on the basis of your ability to make statements, substantiate those statements with evidence and other forms of logic, and provide analysis of the issues addressed in the question you have selected. Be sure to include a thorough thesis statement, introduction, and conclusion.
Notions of what it means to be "American" have been debated over the course of time. For Chicanos/as (Mexican Americans) in particular and Latinos/as in general, these discussions have had direct consequences on social and political rhetoric that sometimes has found its way into legal constructs in the form of legislation, judicial rulings, and executive orders. Using the assigned reading (Acuña and Compean, Parts XIII through XVII):
a) Assess the various ways people defined "American" identity through proclamations and actions (For instance, consider: speeches, personal testimonies, participation in labor organizing, etc)
b) Address how such ideas resulted in implementation of laws that positioned people based on how they were identified, (For instance, consider: school and housing segregation, deportations, voter suppression, etc)
c) Discuss how people responded to the implementation of such laws,
d) Examine how the meanings and adaptations of American identity may have been negotiated.