USA HISTORY

Read the partial transcript of the “Texas Standard” radio show and answer the question below.“Well essentially, the Matanza resulted because of reprisals by state and local authorities against a guerrilla uprising that had occurred, “ says John Morán González (no relation), associate professor of English at the University of Texas at Austin and part of the group of scholars.He says the guerrilla uprising was small and not very well organized, made up of bandits or Mexican revolutionaries. Nevertheless, the Texas Rangers were called in to control the situation. The repression, however, was not just directed at the bandits, but at the Texas-Mexican population as a whole. Morán González says that between 1915 and 1919, hundreds-if not thousands-of Mexicans and Tejanos in South Texas were killed by the Rangers and other vigilantes.“So in that sense, the project of policing throughout much of this era was also about the establishment of a racial order, of white supremacy, “ Morán González says.What was the authorities response to Mexicans standing up for their rights?