Hispanic Heritage Timeline

1492

Christopher Columbus’ ship lands on San Salvador and Cuba

1600-1700s

• First permanent Spanish settlement is established in Texas
• Latino colonists settle California

1800s

• Mexico gains independence from Spain, including settlements in California, Arizona, Texas, Colorado and New Mexico. American settlers begin moving into Mexican territories
• Joseph Marion Hernandez becomes first Latino member of Congress
• Slavery is abolished in Mexico; Texas begins independence movement
• Texas is annexed by the United States
• Mexican-American War begins
• Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo cedes Texas, California, Arizona, New Mexico, parts of Colorado, Utah and Nevada to the United States. Nearly 75,000 Latinos choose to remain in the United States
• Fourteenth Amendment to Constitution declares all people of Latino origin born in the United States as U.S. citizens
• California’s Romualdo Pacheco becomes the first Latino in the House of Representatives
• Spain signs Treaty of Paris, transfers Cuba, Guam, Puerto Rico and the Philippines to the United States

1900-1950

• Mexican Revolution begins; hundreds of thousands of Mexicans immigrate to the United States
• Jones Act extends U.S. citizenship to all Puerto Ricans
• During World War I, “temporary” Mexican farm workers, railroad laborers and miners enter the United States to work
• New Mexico’s Octaviano Larrazolo becomes first Latino U.S. senator
• During World War II, Mexico supplies temporary farm workers, known as braceros, to the United States to help ease labor shortage

1950-1970

• Puerto Rico becomes a U.S. commonwealth
• Hernandez v. Texas: U.S. Supreme Court decision deems “Hispanic” a separate class of people suffering discrimination
• Fidel Castro takes power in Cuba
• Mexico and the United States allow corporations to operate assembly plants on the border to provide jobs for Mexicans displaced when bracero program ends

1970s

• Romana Acosta Bañuelos becomes first Latina U.S. treasurer
• Roberto Clemente becomes first Latino inducted into Baseball Hall of Fame
• Equal Educational Opportunity Act for public schools introduces bilingual education to Latino students
• Voting Rights Act Amendments of 1975 make bilingual ballots a requirement in certain areas

1980s

• Immigration Reform and Control Act enables undocumented immigrants, under certain conditions, to gain legal status, makes it illegal for employers to knowingly hire undocumented immigrants
• Lauro Cavazos becomes first Latino secretary of education
• Ileana Ros-Lehtinen becomes first Latina elected to Congress

1990s

• Antonia C. Novello becomes first Latino and first woman U.S. surgeon general
• Federico Peña is appointed secretary, Department of Transportation; Henry Cisneros, secretary, Department of Housing and
• Urban Development; Norma Cantú, assistant secretary for Civil Rights, Department of Education
• North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) goes into effect, eliminating all tariffs between trading partners Canada, Mexico and the United States

2000s

• Latino-owned businesses grow 31 percent from 1997 to 2002, compared with a national average of 10 percent
• At 37.1 million, Latinos officially become nation’s largest “minority” group
• Alberto Gonzales is confirmed as first Latino U.S. attorney general
• Sonia Sotomayor becomes first Latino U.S. Supreme Court justice
• Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis becomes first Latina Cabinet member
• Arizona law requires immigrants to carry registration documents at all times and requires police to question people if there’s reason to suspect they’re in the United States illegally. Justice department files lawsuit against Arizona
• April U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit rules against Arizona, blocking most contentious parts of state’s immigration law from going into effect July California now has the largest Latino population of any state (14.4 million)