Utilizing the assigned reading please write a five page (double spaced, 12 pt. font) essay in response 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 your response. Be sure to include a thorough thesis statement, introduction, and conclusion. For evaluation criteria, please consult the "Evaluation Guideline for Exams and Papers" that was posted today.
1. Using Gutiérrez, Latinos and Latinas at Risk, and Acuña and Compeán, Voices of the US Latino Experience address the following points.
a. Address the significance and consequences of 19th Century US foreign policy and early diplomatic and legislative attempts by the US government to expand westward and throughout the hemisphere. Identify and discuss the rationales that were used for encroachment on western and southern territories. What examples existed in opposition to "expansion"? Consider major issues reflected in the documents and reading concerning the seizing of territory, the slave question, support and opposition to attempts to acquire more territory. What, if anything, does this tell us about the US design for the western hemisphere?
b. Discuss the functions of diplomatic, economic, political, and military attempts to acquire more land and resources. What were the consequences of such attempts in the hemisphere and in what became the United States? What forms of accommodation and resistance took place in response to encroachment?
c. What were the ultimate consequences of the Mexican American War? Was it more a practice of "expansion," as some have argued? Or, was it more characteristic of "conquest," as others have argued? Provide examples to substantiate your claims.