Learning Objectives

  1. Summarize the population characteristics of all HispanicAmericans and the 10 largest Hispanic American groups.

     

  2. Summarize and explain the history of Mexican Americans, including their cultural characteristics, their immigration patterns, changing U.S. policy and laws affecting them, their development in the United States, and their protest organizations and leaders.

     

  3. Summarize and explain the history of Puerto Ricans, including their immigration patterns.

     

  4. Summarize and explain the history of Cuban Americans, including their immigration patterns and the dynamics and

     

  5. importance of the Cuban American ethnic enclave.

     

  6. Summarize how prejudice and discrimination affect Hispanic Americans.

     

  7. Describe the situation of Hispanic Americans using the concepts of assimilation and pluralism, especially in terms of:

    • acculturation,

    • secondary structural assimilation, and

    • primary structural assimilation

       

  8. Assess the overall situation of Hispanic Americans today based on the concepts and information presented in this chapter, and assess the future of American society in terms of racial perceptions: Will the United States grow whiter or browner, or will a new racial order emerge?