Everything about Hispanics In The United States totally explained
Hispanic Americans (
Spanish:
Hispano Estadounidense) are
Americans of
Hispanic ethnicity who largely identify with the
Hispanic cultural heritage. Hispanics constitute 15% of the total U.S. population or around 45
million people, forming the second largest ethnic group after
European Americans (which in turn have numerous
ethnic groups) . It also includes sub-ethnic groups such as
Mexican American,
Cuban American, etc. People of Hispanic heritage have lived continuously in the territory of the present-day United States since the 1565 founding of
St. Augustine, Florida by the
Spanish, the longest among
European American ethnic groups and second-longest of all
U.S. ethnic groups, after
American Indians.
Terminology
In the
United States,
Hispanic is one of several terms of
ethnicity employed to categorize any person, of any racial background, of any country and of any religion who has at least one ancestor from the people of
Spain or
Spanish-speaking Latin America, whether or not the person has Spanish ancestry. The term was first adopted in the United States by the administration of
Richard Nixon and used in the 1980 census The term has continued to be used in the census and since been used in local and federal employment,
mass media, and business market research.
The ethnic label
Hispanic was the result of efforts by a New Mexican U.S. Senator,
Joseph Montoya, who wanted a label that could be used to quantify the Spanish-speaking population for the US Census. The label
Hispanic was chosen in part because in New Mexico, people of Spanish descent such as Montoya referred to themselves as
Hispanos which was anglicized as "Hispanic."
The Hispanic population consists of the people of Spain and anyone with origins in any of the
Spanish-speaking nations of the Americas, regardless of ancestry of the latter (including Amerindians).
Sometimes, by mistake, the people confuse the terms "Spanish" with "Hispanic." The Spanish (or Spaniards) are the people wo are born in the country of Spain.
The Hispanic population has enriched its culture and ethnicity with a mix of aboriginal (native), African and Spanish-European civilizations. The politics of the XVI Spanish Empire of the Americas let the mix of races (mestizaje) between the Spanish and the native people in the New World. The British Empire, conversely, discouraged the mixing of races.
Previously Hispanics were commonly referred to as "Spanish-Americans," "Spanish-speaking Americans," and "Spanish-surnamed Americans." These terms, however, proved even more misleading or inaccurate since:
- Most U.S. Hispanics were not born in Spain, nor were most born to recent Spanish nationals;
- Although most U.S. Hispanics speak Spanish, not all do, and though most Spanish-speaking people are Hispanic, not all are (for example, many U.S. Hispanics by the fourth generation no longer speak Spanish, while there are some non-Hispanics of the Southwestern United States that may be fluent in the language), and;
- Although most Hispanics have a Spanish surname, not all do, and while most Spanish-surnamed people are Hispanic, not all are (for example, there are tens of millions of Spanish-surnamed Filipinos, but very few, only 2%, would qualify as Hispanic by ancestry. In addition, there are also many Chamorros, Marshall Islanders, and Northern Marianas with Spanish surnames in US.).
- A number of Louisiana Creole and Cajun people have Spanish ancestry, and Hispanic surnames, yet they may identify more strongly with the traditional Francophone cultures of the region.
- Hispanics may also be of full black African Latin American or Afro-Latino heritage, Amerindian/Native American heritage including mestizo, White Hispanic and even Asian Latin American heritage.
The term "Spanish American" is still currently in use by many of those who, while not of recent descent from a Spanish national, have continued to practice and view Spanish culture and identity as dominant in their lives. In this usage, it emphasizes ancestral history and identity, and isn't meant to indicate citizenship of the 'old country'.
History
A continuous Hispanic presence in the territory of the United States has existed since the 16th century,
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!Hispanic Group||Population||Percentage||Margin of Error
|-
|
Mexican
!28,339,354
!(64% Of Total)
!+/-87,068
|-
|
Puerto Rican
!3,987,947
!(10%)
!+/-48,136
|-
|
Cuban
!1,520,276
!(3.5%)
!+/-30,458
|-
|
Salvadoran
!1,371,666
!(2.4%)
!+/-42,389
|-
|
Dominican
!1,217,225
!(2.3%)
!+/-35,099
|-
|
Spanish
!1,141,675
!(1.8%)
!+/-75,669
|-
|
Guatemalan
!874,799
!(1.3%)
!+/-29,272
|-
|
Colombian
!801,363
!(0.9%)
!+/-26,498
|-
|
|}
Hispanics constitute one of the largest ethnic groups, by place of origin, in the United States. A Hispanic person may be of any race (
Amerindian,
White,
Black,
Asian,
Pacific Islander or
Multiracial such as
Mulatto,
Mestizo,
Zambo or any "Other" race) As of
July 1,
2004, Hispanics accounted for 14.1% of the population, around 41.3 million people. The Hispanic growth rate over the
July 1,
2003 to
July 1,
2004 period was 3.6%—higher than any other ethnic group in the United States, and in fact more than three times the rate of the nation's total population (at 1.0%). The projected Hispanic population of the United States for
July 1,
2050, is of 105.6 million people. According to this projection, Hispanics will constitute 25% of the nation’s total population on that date.
Of the nation's total Hispanic population, 49% lives in
California or
Texas. Not counting
Puerto Rico—which is a territorial possession of the United States—
New Mexico is the state with the highest proportion of Hispanics, where 43% is of Hispanic origin. The proportion of Hispanics in the states of California and Texas exceeds 35% each.
The Hispanic population of
Los Angeles County, California—numbering over 4.6 million—is the largest of any county in the nation. Meanwhile, for the
2000 to
2004 period,
Lee County, Florida had the fastest growth rate in Hispanic population of any other county in the United States.
Some 64% of the nation's Hispanic population are of Mexican or
Mexican American ancestry. Approximately 10% are of Puerto Rican background, with about 3% each of Cuban, Salvadoran and Dominican origins. The remainder are of other
Central American, South American or other Hispanic or Latino origins, including of Castilian descent directly from Spain or are descended from early Spanish settlers, including New Mexicans, several Tejanos, and some Cajuns.
Racially, Mexican Americans, as well as most Central Americans such as Salvadorans, are usually
mestizo (mixed European and Amerindian background) or are primarily Amerindian or of European descent. Most Puerto Ricans are considered Mestizo with a European and Taino Indian background although there are a significant number of White and Black Puerto Ricans. Most Dominicans (73% of Dominicans) are a triracial mixture of White, Black, and Amerindian Taino background, others are solely White (16%), Black (11%) or Asian. Despite this fact, however, the Census Bureau considers about 93% of U.S. Hispanics to be "white".
(External Link
) There are also some
White Americans who have Spanish surnames and who are otherwise indistinguishable from other white Americans who are also counted as Hispanic. (See
White Hispanic.)
The overwhelming majority of Hispanics of Mexican/Mexican-American origin are concentrated in the
Southwestern United States, primarily
California,
Texas,
Arizona,
Nevada and
New Mexico. The majority of the Hispanic population in the
Southeastern United States, concentrated in
Florida, are of
Cuban origin. The Hispanic population in the
Northeastern United States, concentrated in
New York and
New Jersey, is composed mostly of Puerto Ricans, however, the Dominican population has risen considerably in the last decade, especially in proportion to that region's Hispanic population. The remainder of other Hispanics, composed of various
Central American and South American origins, may be found throughout the country, though South Americans tend to concentrate on the
East Coast of the United States (joining Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, and Cubans) and Central Americans on the
West Coast of the United States (joining Mexicans/Mexican Americans).
There are few recent immigrants directly from Spain. In the 2000 Census, 299,948 Americans specifically reported their ancestry as
Spaniard(External Link). Additionally, in the 2000 Census some
2,187,144 Americans reported "
Spanish" as their ancestry.
The Census Bureau reports a decrease in the numbers of Hispanics of all national groups, including Spaniards, who identify themselves with a specific national origin separate from general labels such as "Hispanic". Several long-established Hispanic communities within the present-day territory of the United States do clearly fall within a traditional national origin category. One example is the
Hispanic population of northern New Mexico and southern
Colorado. These peoples trace their ancestry to Spanish settlers who arrived in the region during the late
16th century through the
17th century. Many of these settlers also intermarried with local Amerindians, creating a mestizo population. People from this background often self-identify as "Hispano," "Spanish," or "Hispanic." Likewise, southern Louisiana is home to communities of people of
Canary Islands descent, known as
Isleños, in addition to other people of Spanish creole ancestry.
Notable contributions
Hispanic Americans have made many contributions to the United States ranging from politics, military, music, sports and economy.
Government
Hispanic Americans have held several important positions in the
Federal government of the United States in all levels such as the senate, the White House
cabinet, House of Representatives and governorship. For instance Hispanic politicians include
Alberto Gonzales, former
United States Attorney General,
senators Mel Martinez,
Ken Salazar,
Octaviano Ambrosio Larrazolo,
Dennis Chavez,
Joseph Montoya and
Bob Menendez. They also hold significant representations in the House of Representatives such as
Joe Baca,
Silvestre Reyes,
Rubén Hinojosa,
Linda Sánchez,
John Salazar, etc.
Business
Hispanic Americans are a major contributor to the economy and many basic jobs such as dry cleaning, cooks, dish washers, fast food chains, cleaning, constructions are held by considerable Hispanic Americans. There are many others that have started their entrepreneurship by opening up restaurants, fast food chains and stores, etc.
Sports
Many Hispanic Americans have excelled in sports. There are a considerable amount of Hispanic and Hispanic American athletes that have competed in
Major League Baseball, including
Alex Rodriguez and
National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum members
Lefty Gomez and
Ted Williams.
Boxing champion
Oscar De La Hoya,
National Football League hall of fame football player
Anthony Muñoz,
National Soccer Hall of Fame player
Tab Ramos,
tennis legend
Pancho Gonzales,
World Golf Hall of Fame golfers
Juan "Chi-Chi" Rodríguez and
Lee Trevino have all distinguished themselves in their respective fields of sport.
Music and entertainment
There are many Hispanic American musicians that have achieved international fame, such as
Christina Aguilera,
Linda Ronstadt,
Marc Anthony,
Ricky Martin,
Joan Baez,
Carlos Santana,
Gloria Estefan and
Zack de la Rocha. Latino and Hispanic music remains popular in the United States and around the world.
There are also many prominent actors and entertainers in the television and film industry, including
Jessica Alba,
Jennifer Lopez,
Cameron Diaz,
Salma Hayek,
Benicio del Toro,
Martin Sheen,
Rita Hayworth,
Eva Longoria Parker,
Joaquin Phoenix,
George Lopez,
Edward James Olmos,
Rita Moreno,
Anthony Quinn,
Raquel Welch, and
Robert Rodriguez.
Military
There are considerable Hispanic representations in the
military of the United States and military recruitment are quite active in the Hispanic communities in the United States. Some of them are deployed in the
Iraq War,
Afghanistan War among others.
Science and technology
Among Hispanic Americans that have excelled in science, we find
Luis Walter Alvarez (
Nobel Prize-winning physicist) and his son
Walter Alvarez, the geologist who first proposed the well known asteroid collision theory of dinosaur extinction;
Ellen Ochoa, pioneer of spacecraft technology and astronaut;
Juan R. Cruz, NASA aerospace engineer; Liutenant Colonel
Carlos I. Noriega, NASA mission specialist and computer scientist.
Socioeconomic circumstances
Immigration from Hispanic countries, such as Mexico and Cuba, have followed adverse political and economic circumstances in such countries. Cubans left to flee the rule of Castro. The strongest waves of Mexican immigrants came between the late 1970s and mid 1990s when the value of the Mexican currency (the peso) dropped suddenly to half its value sending the country into and economic shock. The party which held the presidency at the time, the PRI, gained extreme disdain in the majority of the country and has been in decline following the election after Salinas de Gortari left.
Many of the Cubans that left Cuba were people who had privileged socioeconomic conditions, thus were fleeing Castro's communist government. Some of the Cubans had businesses and professional occupations. The move to the US was an effort to save their standard of living.
Many of the people who have come from Mexico have been from the lower classes. Many come from the poor parts of Mexico city, the southern states with large Amerindian communities, and also the poor parts of the north of Mexico. The crime related to Mexican immigration is directly related to their original impoverished condition.
In the late 1990s a few of the Mexican professionals have started to work between the two countries, and some of the lower middle class has also begun to immigrate.
Workforce and Average Income
In 2002, the average individual income for Hispanics was highest amongst
Cuban Americans ($38,733); and lowest amongst Dominican-Americans ($28,467) and
Mexican Americans ($27,877).
Puerto Ricans ($33,927) and Central and South Americans ($30,444) placed in between. In comparison, the income of the average Hispanic American is lower than that of the national average.
Among Hispanics, Cuban-Americans (28.5 percent) had the highest percentage in professional-managerial occupations, but that percentage was lower than the average for non-Hispanics (36.2 percent). In comparison the percentage for Puerto Ricans was 20.7 percent, Central and South Americans was 16.8 percent and Mexican-Americans was 13.2 percent.
[]
Education
High school graduation rates are highest among Cuban-Americans (68.7 percent) and lowest among Mexican-Americans (48.7 percent). Other Hispanic groups fall in between including, Puerto Ricans (63.2 percent), Central and South Americans (60.4 percent) and Dominican-Americans (51.7 percent).
According to the 2000 census, Cuban-Americans and Central and South Americans had the highest college graduation rates with 19.4 percent of Cuban-Americans and 16 percent of Central and South Americans 25 years and older achieving a 4-year
college degree. Mexican-Americans, Puerto Ricans and Dominican-Americans had considerably lower college graduation rates with only 6.2 percent of Mexican-Americans, 9.9 of Puerto Ricans and 10.9 of Dominican-Americans achieving a 4-year college degree. In comparison non-Hispanic Asian-Americans (43.3 percent) and non-Hispanic White-Americans (26.1 percent) had a higher graduation rate than all Hispanic-American groups. Non-Hispanic Black-Americans (14.4 percent) had a lower graduation rate than Cuban-Americans and Central and South Americans but had a higher graduation rate than Mexican-Americans, Puerto Ricans and Dominican-Americans.[]
Cuban-Americans have the highest attainment of graduate degrees among all Hispanic groups, with 6.7 percent of Cuban-Americans 25 years and older attaining a graduate level degree. Central and South Americans also have a high percentage of graduate level degrees (4.2 percent), but is still lower than that of non-Hispanic Asian-Americans (15.6 percent) and non-Hispanic White-Americans (8.7 percent). Non-Hispanic Black-Americans (4.1 percent) have a higher percentage of graduate level degrees than all Hispanic groups with the exception of Cuban-Americans and South and Central Americans. Of those 25 years and older only 3.1 percent of Puerto Ricans, 1.8 percent of Dominican-Americans and 1.4 percent of Mexican-Americans have attained a graduate level degree. []
Poverty
Among Hispanic groups the
poverty threshold is highest among Dominican-Americans (29.9 percent), Puerto Ricans (22.8 percent) and Mexican-Americans (21.2 percent). Cuban-Americans (12.9 percent) and South and Central Americans (14.1 percent) had the lowest poverty rates among Hispanic groups. In comparison the average poverty rate for European-Americans (6.3 percent) and Asian-Americans (7.1 percent) was lower than that of any Hispanic group. African-Americans (21.3 percent) have a higher poverty rate than all Hispanic groups with the exception of Dominican-Americans and Puerto Ricans.[]
Political trends
Hispanics differ on their political views depending on where they're located and their background, but the majority identify themselves as Democrats, support the Democrats (57%) and/or vote for the
Democratic Party in some percentage such as in
California,
Texas and during the presidential elections of
Bill Clinton and
George W. Bush among others. 23% of Hispanics identify themselves as
Republicans with 34% Independent or undecided as of 2007, the largest in years. Many Cubans and Colombians tend to favor conservative political ideologies and support the Republicans, while Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, and Dominicans tend to favor liberal views and support the
Democrats; however, because the latter groups are far more numerous (Mexicans alone are nearly 60% of Hispanics), the Democratic Party is considered to be in a far stronger position among Hispanics overall in the longer run. The Democratic party has been more guarded about their opinions on
illegal immigration such as
Hillary Rodham Clinton and
Barack Obama with the hope that that'll get more Hispanic votes in the election, even though this may alienate some Hispanics.
In the past two national election cycles the Presidency of
George W. Bush has had a significant impact on the political leanings of Hispanic Americans. As a former Governor of
Texas, President Bush has regarded the growing Hispanic community as a potential source of growth for the conservative and/or Republican movement.
Bush has made some gains for the Republican Party among Hispanics. For example, in the
1996 presidential election, 72% of Hispanics backed President
Bill Clinton, but in 2000, that Democratic total fell to 62%, and down further to 58% in 2004, with Democrat
John Kerry winning Hispanics 58-40 over Bush.
It also breaks down by state. Hispanics in the West, especially in California, were much stronger for the Democratic Party than in Texas and Florida. California Latinos voted 63-32 for John Kerry in 2004, and both Arizona and New Mexico Latinos by a smaller 56-43 margin, but Texas Latinos were split nearly evenly (50-49 for Kerry), and Florida Latinos (mostly being Cuban American) backed Bush by a 54-45 margin.
In the
2006 midterm election, however, due to the unpopularity of the
Iraq War, the heated debate concerning
illegal immigration, and Republican-related Congressional scandals, Latinos went as strongly Democratic as they've since the Clinton years. Exit poll showed Latinos voting for Democrats by a lopsided 69-30 margin, with Florida Latinos for the first time split evenly. The runoff election in Texas' 23rd congressional district was seen as a bellwether of Latino politics, and Democrat
Ciro Rodriguez's unexpected (and unexpectedly decisive) defeat of Republican incumbent
Henry Bonilla was seen as proof of a left lurch among Latino voters, as heavily Latino counties overwhelmingly backed Rodriguez, and heavily
Anglo counties overwhelmingly backed Bonilla. There has been numerous talks in the media that the heated Republican opposition to the Comprehensive Immigration Bill of 2007 will or might have significant damage to the Republican party in the years to come, especially in the
swing states such as
Florida,
Nevada,
Colorado, etc.
Some political organizations associated with Hispanic Americans are
LULAC, the
United Farm Workers, the
Cuban American National Foundation, and the
National Institute for Latino Policy.
Cultural trends
Popular culture varies widely from one Hispanic community to another, but despite this several features tend to unite Hispanics from diverse backgrounds. Many Hispanics, including U.S.-born second and third generation Mexican-Americans, use the
English language frequently and
Spanish language to varying degrees. The most usual pattern is monolingual Spanish usage among new migrants or older foreign born Hispanics (65% are Mexican), complete bilingualism among long settled immigrants and their children, and the use of
English and/or
Spanglish and colloquial Spanish within long established Hispanic communities by the third generation and beyond. In some families the children and grandchildren of immigrants speak mostly English with some Spanish words and phrases thrown in. More than half of U.S. Hispanics are bilingual in English and Spanish. Another one quarter, approximately, speak Spanish only, and the rest (perhaps one in seven Hispanics) speak English only. Overall, about three-fourths of the Hispanic population speaks English, most of them very well. This is especially due to the fact that 60% of Hispanics are US-born.
(External Link)
Media
The United States is home to thousands of
Spanish language media outlets ranging in size from giant commercial broadcasting networks and major Hispanic-oriented
magazines with circulations numbering in the millions, to low-power AM radio stations with listeners numbering in the hundreds. There are hundreds of online media outlets targeting US Hispanic audiences, some of which are online versions of their printed counterparts and others online exclusively.
In the aspect of
public television, otherwise known as non-commercial television, there are organizations that advocate a greater degree of programming from a Hispanic-American perspective in public television. The National Hispanic Media Coalition (NHMC) has been a leader since its founding in 1986 in advocating for Latino inclusion in television, radio and film. In 1999, along with a board coalition of national Latino organizations, the NHMC led a "brownout" of the national television networks after discovering that there were no Latinos in any of their new shows that year. This resulted in the signing of historic diversity agreements with ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC that have increased the hiring of Latino talent and other staff in all of the networks since then. Also prominent in this area is
Latino Public Broadcasting which funds programs of educational and cultural significance to Hispanic-Americans. These LPB-funded projects are distributed to various public television stations throughout the United States.
Noteworthy Spanish-language media outlets include:
Univision and Telemundo, respectively the first and second largest Spanish-language television networks in the United States, each with affiliates in nearly every major U.S. market, including numerous affiliates internationally.
El Nuevo Herald, a Spanish-language daily newspaper serving the greater Miami, Florida market.
Vida Latina, a Spanish-language entertainment magazine distributed throughout the Southern United States.
Discrimination
» See also: Discrimination against Mexican Americans
Hispanophobia has existed in various degrees throughout U.S. history, based largely on ethnicity, race, culture, Anti-Catholicism, and use of the Spanish language.
In 2006, Time Magazine reported that the number of hate groups in the United States increased by 33 percent since 2000, primarily due to anti-illegal immigrant and anti-Mexican sentiment.
According to Federal Bureau of Investigation statistics, the number of anti-Latino hate crimes increased by 35 percent since 2003. In California, the state with the largest Latino population, the number of hate crimes against Latinos has almost doubled.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Hispanics In The United States'.
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