Gilder Lehrman Resources for Hispanic Heritage Month

Map of the United States, Mexico, and the West Indies, with Parts Adjoining, J.H. Colton & Co., New York, 1846. (The Gilder Lehrman Institute, GLC04577)National Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15–October 15) celebrates the contributions made by Hispanic and Latino Americans to the history and culture of the United States.

The Gilder Lehrman Institute offers the following resources for classroom study and enrichment:

Spotlights on Primary Sources

Spain authorizes Coronado’s conquest in the Southwest, 1540
Francisco Garcia de Loaysa to Francisco Vasquez de Coronado, June 21, 1540. (The Gilder Lehrman Institute, GLC04883)A letter written on behalf of the king of Spain by Francisco García de Loaysa, the president of the Council of the Indies, acknowledging Francisco Coronado’s report of the famous Niza expedition of the previous year and authorizing Coronado to explore the northern lands

A report from Spanish California, 1776
A letter from Fernando de Rivera y Moncada, military commander of Alta California, about the defense of the Catholic missions in California

The Monroe Doctrine, 1823
The Monroe Doctrine, declaring American territories free from European influence, as a means for enforcing US power throughout the hemisphere

ESSAYS

Historical Context: Mexican Americans and the Great Depression
An exploration of the situation Mexican Americans faced during the Great Depression

Why I Embrace the Term Latinx

An essay by Ed Morales exploring the 1970s birth of Hispanic and Latino terminology and how that led to the term “Latinx.”

 

Become a subscriber to the Gilder Lehrman Institute History Now journal (free for Affiliate School members) and enjoy a full issue devoted to The Hispanic Legacy in American History.

 

Also, from past issues of History Now:

 

The Pueblo Revolt
An account of the Pueblo Revolt in 1680 against the Spanish in the American Southwest in 1680

 

The US and Spanish American Revolutions
A comparison of the US revolution against the British Empire and the Spanish American revolutions against imperial Spain

Bridging the Caribbean: Puerto Rican Roots in Nineteenth-Century America
An essay exploring the deep history of US Latinos of Caribbean ancestry, particularly those from Puerto Rico