U.S. Society > Hispanic Americans A Nation of Immigrants I Native Americans I African Americans | Asian Americans I Demographics | Social Welfare | Health Care | Education | Religions I Youth & Family Life I Women I Crime & Justice

What kind of information materials are available?
Background · American Family: Journey of Dreams · Beyond the Border · Diversity in the U.S. · Hispanic American Literature CD · Hispanic Heritage Free Resource · Hispanics in U.S. Culture · Immigration From Mexico: Assessing the Impact on the United States · Mexican American History · Pew Hispanic Center · Rural Hispanics: Employment and Residential Trends CD · Smithsonian Center for Latino Initiatives · Where the New Immigrants Are CD Original Documents · Documents in Mexican American History Multimedia · Americanos: Latino Life in the United States · Hispanic Heritage Month. Multimedia Page · Puerto Rico & The American Dream · Realidades Statistics & Maps · Coming from the Americas: A Profile of the Nation's Foreign-Born Population From Latin America (2000 Update) CD · Facts for Features: Hispanic Heritage Month 2009 · Facts on the Hispanic/ Latino Population · Foreign Born from Mexico · Hispanic Ancestry of the U.S. (Map) · Hispanic Fact Pack 2009 · The Hispanic Population 2000 CD · Hispanic Population of the U.S. 2002 CD · Hispanic Population Statistics · Hispanic Trends 2005 · Historical Census Statistics on Population by Race, 1790 to 1990, and by Hispanic Origin, 1970 to 1990 · Map of Hispanic and Latino Population. Census 2000 · Mapping Census 2000: Hispanic or Latino Origin · Mexican Immigrants in the U.S. 2008 · Statistical Portrait of Hispanics in the U.S. 2007 · We, the People: Hispanics in the U.S. CD Exhibits - Digital Images · Latino Virtual Gallery · National Museum of Mexian Art · Our Journeys/Our Stories: Portraits of Latino Achievement · Portugese in the United States For High School Students · Celebrate Hispanic Heritage · Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month · Famous Hispanics · Hispanic Heritage Month · Latinos Spice Up Melting Pot · Meet Amazing Americans: Cesar Chavez   There are an estimated 6.8 million Hispanic or Latino children ages 5 to 13 living in the United States. Hispanics accounted for nearly half of all immigrants to this country between April 1, 2000, and July 1, 2003. ( Photo by Lloyd Wolf for the U.S. Census Bureau.) It is not uncommon to walk down the streets of an American city today and hear Spanish spoken. In 1950 fewer than 4 million U.S. residents were from Spanish-speaking countries. Today that number is about 45 million. About 50 percent of Hispanics in the United States have origins in Mexico. The other 50 percent come from a variety of countries, including El Salvador, the Dominican Republic, and Colombia. Thirty-six percent of the Hispanics in the United States live in California. Several other states have large Hispanic populations, including Texas, New York, Illinois, and Florida, where hundreds of thousands of Cubans fleeing the Castro regime have settled. There are so many Cuban Americans in Miami that the Miami Herald, the city's largest newspaper, publishes separate editions in English and Spanish. The term Hispanic was coined by the federal government in the 1970's to refer to the people who were born in any of the Spanish-speaking countries of the Americas or those who could trace their ancestry to Spain or former Spanish territories. Obviously, this represents a wide variety of countries and ethnic groups with different social, political and emotional experiences. Most Hispanics see themselves in terms of their individual ethnic identity, as Mexican American, Puerto Rican, Cuban, etc. instead of members of the larger, more ambiguous term Hispanic or Latino. The Newcomers Myth People think of Hispanics as the latest, most recent group to enter the so called "melting pot". This erroneous perception is mostly due to the media attention given to Hispanic groups in the 1980's, after the Bureau of the Census published their 1980 results. Their report revealed that Hispanics were the fastest growing group in the U.S., soon to become the largest minority group. People associated the growth with immigration, ignoring the long history of Hispanics in the United States. Hispanic heritage in the U.S. goes back a long time. When Plymouth was founded in 1620, Santa Fe was celebrating its first decade and St. Augustine its 55th anniversary. Spanish settlements developed in the southwest of today's U.S. and also in the Gulf coast and the Florida peninsula. Some Latinos can trace their ancestors back to those days.
Other Hispanic groups, like the Puerto Ricans, did not migrate into the U.S. but instead were absorbed into it during the American expansions of the late 19th century. Puerto Ricans were granted American citizenship in 1917. Economic depressions and two world wars forced many Puerto Ricans to migrate from the island in search for better opportunities. Their current political situation still confuses many who think of Puerto Rico as a foreign country. Hispanic Population 2000. U.S. Census Brief
Teacher Resources · Celebrate Hispanic American Month · Celebrate Hispanic Heritage. Teacher's Guide · Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month · Celebrating Hispanic Heritage. Free Resources · Hispanic American History Lesson Plans · Hispanic Heritage Month · Latino Culture and Communities · National Hispanic Heritage Month   · Si, Se Puede! (NYT Learning Network) · Teaching Chicano Literature: An Historical Approach · Understanding Hispanic/Latino Culture and History Through the Use of Children’s Literature   Link Lists · Chicana Studies · Latin American Resources · Latino Internet Sites · Pew Hispanic Center. Internet Resources · Smithsonian Center for Lationo Initiatives
Texts are abridged from U.S. State Department IIP publications and other U.S. government materials.
Feature Articles:
InfoAlert   InfoAlert highlights recent articles and reports from leading U.S. journals and policy sources and provides informed commentary on international and domestic issues.   • InfoAlert > U.S. Society > Multiculturalism • InfoAlert Archive > Multiculturalism Hispanics, the Largest U.S. Minority, Enrich the American Mosaic. By Louise Fenner Hispanics, the largest and fastest-growing minority in the United States, are changing U.S. society and culture. Latinos fill several top positions in the U.S. government, and more and more products, advertising and media are directed at Hispanic consumers. (America.gov, Sept. 22, 2009) Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month Hispanic Heritage Month honors the diverse people of Spanish-speaking backgrounds in the United States. From September 15 to October 15, a multitude of special programs, events, exhibits and Web sites celebrate the heritage, culture, spirit and extraordinary contributions of Hispanic Americans. ... (America.gov, 17 September 2009) Latino American Literature New Immigrant Tales: Junot Díaz and Afro-Latino Fiction | An Interview with Junot Díaz The writer speaks about growing up Dominican American. | Lost City Radio The scene is set for turbulence in a sleepy, fictional Latin American town. (Multicultural Literature in the United States Today. eJournal, February 2009) Identity in America: Are Perspectives Shifting? Multicultural, post-ethnic, post-racial. While these descriptors are debated, most agree that with the possible exception of the American Indian, to be American is to be, genealogically speaking, from somewhere else. During February, America.gov is exploring how the ever-increasing diversity of the U.S. ... (America.gov, 29 January 2009) Landmark Exhibit on Race Asks “Are We So Different?” Is race real or a recent human invention? Is it about biology or culture? These questions are addressed by RACE: Are We So Different?, a traveling exhibit and related Web site on the history of the idea of race, the science of human variation, and the experience of living with race and racism. ... (America.gov, 28 January 2009) - "Race: Are we so different" Web Site U.S. Minority Population Continues to Grow. By David Minckler Slightly more than one-third of the population of the United States -- 34 percent -- claims minority, racial or ethnic heritage, a jump of 11 percent from 2000. The May 1, 2008 Census Bureau report, covering estimates for the year 2007, confirms that the U.S. population is becoming increasingly diverse. Hispanics and Asians continue to be the two fastest-growing minorities. There are 45.5 million Hispanics living in the United States, accounting for 15 percent of the U.S. population. (America.gov, May 14, 2008.) Cinco de Mayo Shows the Americanization of a Mexican Holiday. By Lauren Monsen When the Cinco de Mayo (fifth of May) holiday is observed in the United States, the annual festivity honors the Mexican heritage of a growing number of U.S. citizens, with a focus on Mexico's distinctive cuisine, folk dances, colorful costumes and mariachi music. (America.gov, May 5, 2008.)
What kind of information materials are available? CD: These documents are available in fulltext format on the About the USA CD-ROM. Teachers: Request a copy for classroom use. L: Selected documents are available in German as well as other languages, including Arabic, Chinese, French, Spanish, Persian and Turkish.

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U.S. Diplomatic Mission to Germany /Public Affairs/ Information Resource Centers  Updated: November 2009.