Southwest Land Reparations

Should the U.S. pay reparations for tracts of land in New Mexico that were taken in 1832?

1 minute read

March 6, 2001, 12:00 PM PST

By Chris Steins @planetizen


"The issue in Tierra Amarilla and across New Mexico, and the subject of the GAO's study, goes back to the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which ended the Mexican-American War. Almost half of Mexico's territory was ceded to the US. The treaty guaranteed the property rights of the Mexican settlers who remained on the land in a hundred towns and villages, each with tracts of land granted to them first by Spain and then by Mexico. But that's not how things stayed. Through a combination of taxation rules, legal maneuvering, and even a US Supreme Court decision, the settlers eventually lost much of the land. A good portion ended up in federal hands."

Thanks to Tom Collins

Tuesday, March 6, 2001 in The Christian Science Monitor

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