Mini-DBQ Activity: Mexican-American Rights After the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo

The Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo promised property rights, citizenship, and religious freedom to Mexicans living in the new U.S. territory. Students read the promises, then test them against what happened next: Evaluate the extent to which Mexican-American rights were protected in the years following the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo.

What’s inside

• Excerpts from the treaty (Articles VIII and IX, plus Article X, which was stricken from the final version)

• 5 documents: an 1850 miners’ notice protesting California’s Foreign Miners’ Tax, the California Land Act of 1851, an 1857 poll tax receipt, the cover of a land-claim court case file, and an 1890 proclamation by Las Gorras Blancas

• An outline template: two arguments with document evidence, then a thesis statement

• An answer key with a sample outline and thesis

Details: Grades 8-12 | PDF, 8 pages

Also part of the Unit 5: Civil War & Reconstruction plan.