HI 453 Online Primary Sources (Documents)

Updated: January 12, 2008 Documents are grouped under topics and generally appear in chronological order. Students, you will use these primary sources for a variety of assignments. Learning to find, analyze, and interpret such firsthand accounts is the primary task of the historian. You may wish to review the differences between primary and secondary sources.

Some of these documents contain Spanish words that you may not know. Try to use context to figure out the meaning. If that doesn't work then visit your handy Online Spanish-English Dictionary. Plug in the word and you'll get a translation pronto. It will even pronounce some of the words for you!

Primary Sources for US-Latin American Relations

    Table of Contents

    [Click a topic or scroll down to find the documents]

    Early Spanish Explorations of what is now the US Southwest and Florida

     The first two documents below come from Alvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca was shipwrecked in 1528 on what is now Galveston Island. He lived among America's native peoples for the next eight years, transcending enslavement to become recognized as a great spiritual leader. Cabeza de Vaca was the first European to explore what is now Texas and the Southwest. His account, La relación, offers a remarkable historical portrait. It is also one of humankind's great adventure stories. The second link below reproduces the English translation of the original 1555 edition of La relación, which resides at the Southwestern Writers Collection, Alkek Library, Texas State University-San Marcos.
  1. Excerpt from the journal of Alvar Nuñez Cabeza De Vaca (1542)
  2. Full Account and Commentaries of Governor Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, of what occurred on the two journeys that he made to the Indies, 1550
  3. Coronado's Report to Viceroy Mendoza Sent from Cibola, August 3, 1540
  4. Coronado's Report to the King of Spain Sent from Tiguex on October 20, 1541
  5. The Journey of Coronado An account of the expedition to Cibola which took place in the year 1540, in which all those settlements, their ceremonies & customs, are described. Written by Pedro de Castaneda, of Najara.

    Bilateral Treaties: the US, Spain, and Latin America
  6. Convention for Indemnification of 1802 Between Spain and The United States
  7. Treaty with Spain for the Acquisition of Florida, 1819
  8. Chile: Convention of Peace, Amity, Commerce, and Navigation with the US May 16, 1832
  9. Peru: Convention with Peru for the Satisfaction of Claims of American Citizens; March 17, 1841
  10. Argentina: Treaty for the Free Navigation of the Rivers Parana and Uruguay With the United States; July 10, 1853
  11. Argentina: Treaty of Friendship, Commerce and Navigation With the United States; July 27, 1853
  12. Bolivia: Treaty of Peace, Friendship, Commerce, and Navigation with the US; May 13, 1858

    The Amistad Affair, 1839-42

     Murders? Pirates? Free people? A major conflict in US-Spanish-Cuban relations. Most of the links below include multiple documents. Select those you find most credible.
  13. Amistad Research Center, Tulane University
  14. Links to The Amistad Revolt and Trial, Documents and History
  15. Primary Souces on the Amistad Case Scroll down to the primary source links from the National Archives and Records Administration

    Want to see conditions faced by enslaved Africans? Watch portions of the PBS documentary Dark Passages [Length: 50 minutes]. Employs a mixture of interviews, slave narratives, and dramatization. Tells the story of the impact of the Atlantic slave trade. Takes the viewer from the House of Slaves on Goree Island off the coast of Dakar, Senegal, to the village of Juffere on the Gambia River.

    War between Mexico and the US, 1845-48

     During this conflict, 78,718 American soldiers served, 1,733 died on combat, another 11,550 died of non-combatant causes,and another 4,152 suffered non-mortal wounds.
  16. "A Foreigner in My Own Land": Juan Nepomuceno Seguin Flees Texas, 1842
  17. James K. Polk's Request for a Declaration of War
  18. Debating the Mexican-American War, 11 May 1846
  19. "A Hungry Savage Look which was Truly Fearful": Samuel Chamberlain's Recollections of the Mexican War, 1846
  20. Maps, pictures, and documents from PBS series on the Mexican War
  21. Documents from Texas History, From Independence to Annexation
  22. Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, ending the war, February 2, 1848.
  23. Here's another online version of the treaty. You might also wish to see the Library of Congress exhibit of actual page from the treaty. Click on a page to enlarge it so that you can read the handwriting. English appears in the left column; Spanish in the right column.
  24. Gadsden Purchase Treaty, acquiring additional Mexican territory, December 30, 1853

    Prefer visual evidence? Watch portions of this excellent PBS documentary on the war. U.S.-Mexican War: 1846-1848, Episodes 1 & 2: Neighbors and Strangers & War for the Borderlands [Length: 111 minutes]. Episode 1: Tensions mount between the expanding United States and Mexico during the 1830s and come to a boil in 1836, when Americans living in Texas, then part of Mexico, rebel against Mexican authority. Antonio López de Santa Anna leads a Mexican army against the insurgents but fails to stop the rebellion. Nine years later, the U.S. annexes Texas and the two countries become embroiled in a border dispute. Episode 2: President Polk orders the Army of the West to take over New Mexico, while John C. Fremont leads a rebellion that overthrows Mexican authority in California. Fremont's followers initially declare themselves an independent republic, but three weeks later decide to join the United States. Mexican settlers in both territories fight in vain to reclaim their land, and U.S. forces move south toward Mexico City.

    US-Mexican War: 1846-1848, Episodes 3 & 4: The Hour of Sacrifice & The Fate of Nations [Length: 112 minutes]. Episode 3: Santa Anna returns from exile in Cuba and is again elected president of Mexico. American President Polk orders a two-pronged attack on Mexican territory: Zachary Taylor's army move in overland from the north, while Winfield Scott leads an attack on Veracruz by sea. After defeating Santa Anna at Cerro Gordo and capturing Veracruz, the U.S. troops continue their push toward the capital. Episode 4: American troops capture Mexico City after heavy fighting, and the war ends. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo cedes Upper California and all the states of the present-day American Southwest to the United States.

    The War of 1898 against Spain

     In this conflict, 306,760 US troops participated, mostly in the Army, with about 23,000 in the Navy. During the war, 385 soldiers died in battle, another 2,061 died from other than battlefield wounds, and another 1,662 suffered non-mortal wounds.
  25. The de Lôme Letter, written by Señor Don Enrigue Dupuy de Lôme, Spanish Ambassador to the US, cortical of US President William McKinley
  26. Teller Amendment, 1898
  27. "Shameful Treachery: Hearst's Journal Blames Spain for Maine explosion
  28. Heroism under fire: Captain C.D. Sigsbee, late commander of the USS MAINE, detailing the actions of Private William Anthony, USMC, after the explosion, and recommending him for promotion, NAVY DEPARTMENT, Washington, D.C., April 8, 1898.
  29. "Suspended Judgment": A Times Editorial on the Maine Tragedy
  30. Sounding the Depths: The New York Times and the Sinking of the Maine
  31. The Maine and the World: Sailing into History
  32. Better Late Than Never?: US Admiral Rickover Clears Spain of the Maine Explosion
  33. Lieutenant Colonel Theodore Roosevelt's report on the operations of the Rough Riders, including the Battles of El Poso, Kettle Hill, San Juan Hill, and Santiago, Cuba Camp Hamilton, near Santiago de Cuba, July 20, 1898
  34. "A Perfect Hailstorm of Bullets": A Black Sergeant Remembers the Battle of San Juan Hill in 1899 by Frank Pullen
  35. Treaty of Peace Between the United States and Spain, December 10, 1898

    Defending US Intervention in Latin America

     Mola, handmade textile of Panama
  36. White Man's Burden by Rudyard Kipling Poem that well expresses the white racism of the time
  37. Clayton-Bulwer Treaty, US and Great Britain, April 19, 1850
  38. Panama Canal Treaty, 1904
  39. Convention Between the United States and the Republic of Panama (1904) Another version
  40. 1912 video of building of the Panama Canal"Through the Canal Bottom" - Canal under construction / working trains, cranes and dredges filmed from the ground along with general scenes of the canal
  41. Brief (50 second) video of historic canal and 1977 treaty to turn canal operation over to Panama
  42. Time-lapse video of the Panama Canal locks in operation
  43. The Monroe Doctrine of 1823 and Theodore Roosevelt's Corollary and updating of the doctrine
  44. Theodore Roosevelt defends his polices in Latin America and the Caribbean
  45. Theodore Roosevelt, an undelivered message to the US Congress concerning Colombia and the Panama Canal
  46. Manifest Destiny, Continued: McKinley Defends U.S. Expansionism
  47. President Calvin Coolidge on US Intervention in Nicaragua, 1925

    Want a brief visual looks at this important historical period? Watch the PBS documentary Between the Wars, Episode 10: Latin America: Intervention in our Own Backyard [Length: 26 minutes]. Excellent, concise picture of early U.S. policies in the Caribbean, Central America, and South America from intervention in Cuba in 1898 as Pan-American relationships deteriorated, until 1933, when President Roosevelt renounced military intervention in Latin America.

    Criticizing US Intervention
  48. Platform of the American Anti-Imperialist League, 1898
  49. Debating Imperialism, 1898 and the Aftermath
  50. Statement by the Anti-Imperialist League, 1899
  51. Cuban independence hero José Martí warns against US expansionism in Cuba, 1889
    52. [photo: Cuban Independence Leader and Martyr José Martí]
  52. American Soldiers in the Philippines Write Home about the War
  53. Rubén Darío's poem "To Roosevelt" An anti-Roosevelt poem by Nicaragua's leading poet.
  54. Francisco Garcia Calderón (Peruvian diplomat), "Imperialism of Decadence", 1913 Criticizes US political, economic, and cultural imperialism in Latin America
  55. Bandits or Patriots?: Documents from Charlemagne PéralteTestimony on US occupation of Haiti, 1919
  56. "The People Were Very Peaceable": The U.S. Senate Investigates the Haitian Occupation" Testimony on US Marine occupation of Haiti, 1919
  57. "To Abolish the Monroe Doctrine": Proclamation from Augusto César Sandino, on US Marine occupation of Nicaragua
  58. "Un Colombiano con Sandino": U.S. Intervention in Nicaragua, 1920s Note: English translation appears below the Spanish original. Augusto Cesar Sandino

    The following three sites include links to a large body of documents and literature, gathered and edited by Jim Zwick in his online reader, "Anti-Imperialism in the US, 1898-1935." Look for documents that address imperialism in Latin America or the Phillippines.
  59. Anti-Imperialist Essays, Speeches and Pamphlets
  60. Anti-Imperialist Organizational Platforms and Petitions
  61. Anti-Imperialist Literature
  62. Criticism by Victor Raul Haya de la Torre of US Actions in Central America

    US Intervention and Interests in Mexico
  63. James Creelman article, "President Diaz: Hero of the Americas," Pearson's Magazine
  64. Two commentaries on Porfirio Diaz and the Mexican Revolution Authors: Channing Arnold & Frederick J. Tabor Frost, 1909, and a later view by Victor Raul Haya de la Torre, Peruvian political critic.
  65. Plan of San Luis Potosi by Francisco Madero, 1910
  66. Brief (50 second) video clip of Pancho Villa
  67. Emiliano Zapata's "Plan de Ayala," November 25, 1911
  68. The United States and the Mexican Revolution: Letter from Venustiano Carranza, 1915, "A Danger for All Latin American Countries"
  69. Zimmerman Telegram, secret message from German Foreign Secretary Arthur Zimmermann to the Mexican Government, 1917
  70. US Diplomatic Correspondence during the Mexican Revolution
  71. Avoid the Use of the Word Intervention": Wilson and Lansing on the U.S. Invasion of Mexico
  72. John Reed's "What About Mexico?": The United States and the Mexican Revolution
  73. The Reply to Mexico: Standard Oil Puts Forth Its Position Against Mexican Nationalization of the Oil Industry, 1938
  74. Not So Private Negotiations": Mexico Expropriates the Oil Companies, 1938

    Discrimination Against Hispanics/Latinos in the US
  75. I. Juan Cortina, Proclamation to Texans, September 1859 and II. Juan Cortina, Proclamation to the Mexicans of Texas, November 1859
  76. Guadalupe Vallejo, "Ranch and Mission Days in Alta California," Century Magazine, XLI (December 1890), pp. 189-92 From Digital History
  77. Puerto Rico at the Dawn of the Modern Age: Nineteenth- and Early-Twentieth-Century Perspectives This site is rich in a variety of primary sources. Explore it thoroughly.
  78. "Such Cases of Outrageous Unspeakable Abuse...": A Puerto Rican Migrant Protests Labor Conditions During World War I by Rafael Marchán, testifying at Fort Bragg, NC, 1919
  79. The Sleepy Lagoon Case, prepared by the Citizens' Committee for the Defense of Mexican-American Youth, Los Angeles, 1942 Anti-Mexican-American sentiments, from Digital History
  80. Protest by a Chicano (Mexican-American) Activist, Reies Lopez Tejerina, 1969
  81. Cesar Chavez on discimination against Mexican-American farm workers, Hearings Before the Committee on Labor and Human Resources, U.S. Senate, 96th Congress, 1st Session, 1997 From Digital History
  82. My Immigration Story Firsthand accounts of experiences by immigrations in the US today, hosted by Raul Ramos y Sanchez
  83. Corridos (Mexican protest songs) You may listen to and read song lyrics at the previous site. You may also view the lyrics without listening to the music.

    84. US Fights Revolutionary Challenges, 1950s--
  84. Philosophy and Goals of the APRA Party (Peru) by Victor Raul Haya de la Torre
  85. Alliance for Progress speech by J. F. Kennedy and critique by Colombian president Alberto Lleras
  86. A Program of Covert Action Against the Castro Regime This once-secret CIA plan details the measures President Eisenhower authorized in March, 1960, to undermine the Revolutionary government.
  87. Speech by Juan Bosch (December 10, 1962) Bosh (1909-2001) served briefly as president of the Dominican Republic from Feb-Sept 1963. Here he expresses his opposition to the dictator Rafael Trujillo, who had run the Dominican Republic from 1930 until his assassination in 1961. Notice the political context that he uses to explain Trujillo's rule.
  88. Criticism by Senator J. William Fulbright on US 1965 Invasion of Dominican Republic
  89. "History Will Absolve Me" by Fidel Castro, 1953
  90. Castro Speech of May 1, 2002 on pre-revolutionary conditions in Cuba versus the rest of Latin America
  91. Brief video (3 min.) on corruption and Mafia influences in Fulgencio Batista's Cuba, 1950s and on the rise of Castro's revolutionary movement
  92. Brief (50 second) video on Castro's attempts to export revolution
  93. Communism in the Americas by Roy R. Rubottom, Jr. (1958 anti-communism propaganda from the Eisenhower administration). Excellent example of the Cold War mentality. Che Guevara
  94. Che Guevara on Guerrilla Warfare, 1961
  95. Brief (50 second) video of Che Guevara's impact. He was killed in Bolivia on Oct. 8, 1967
  96. Criticism of US imperialism by two Nicaraguan revolutionaries, Augusto Cesar Sandino (1920s) and Omar Cabezas (1970s)
  97. Chile and the United States: Declassified Documents Relating to the Military Coup, September 11, 1973
  98. The CIA in Latin America
  99. 3 CIA Manuals for Latin America When you reach this CNN Interactive page, use the "Historical Documents" menu item on the middle right side of this page to find (1.) CIA "Freedom Fighter Manual" for Contra rebels fighting the Sandinistas, 1983 (2.) CIA Operating Guidance on Coup Plotting in Chile October 16, 1970 (3.) CIA Manual: Psychological Operations in Guerrilla Warfare

    Bay of Pigs and Cuban Missile Crisis, 1961-62
  100. Brief video (2 min.) showing that Castro spies had warned him of the CIA's Bay of Pigs invasion Despite CIA knowledge of the intelligence leak, the agency still recommended that the invasion proceed!
  101. Pre-knowledge: CIA expected Bay of Pigs invasion to fail Probably did not inform President Kennedy
  102. Postmortem: Inspector General's Report on the Bay of Pigs Operation - October 1961 Secret report of the CIA's many failures in planning and executing the Bay of Pigs invasion. Declassified in 19
  103. John F. Kennedy, thirty-fifth U.S. president, discloses discovery of Soviet missile sites in Cuba "Our unswerving objective, therefore, must be to prevent the use of these missiles against this or any other country, and to secure their withdrawal, or elimination, from the Western Hemisphere." (White House, Washington, D.C., October 22, 1962) Fidel Castro and Che Guevara
  104. Nikita S. Khrushchev, Letter to President John F. Kennedy, Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962
  105. Brief video summary (2 min.) of the Cuban Missle Crisis
  106. Cuban Missile Crisis, documents and photos
  107. 14 Days in October: The Cuban Missile Crisis
  108. Soviet Documents on the Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962
  109. "Cuba's Fate Linked to the United States" A Special Washington Post Report
  110. Cuban Missile Crisis Summary
  111. Kennedy Administration and Cuba Volume X, Cuba 1961-1962; Volume XI, Cuban Missile Crisis and Aftermath
  112. Kennedy and Castro: Secret Quest for Accommodation Documents of the National Security Archive
  113. Brief video (2 min.) on US plots to assassinate Fidel Castro

    For more on the Cuban revolutionary leader, see the PBS documentary Fidel Castro [Length: 117 minutes]. Through interviews with relatives, childhood friends, fellow rebel leaders, and journalists, the film constructs an intimate and revealing portrait of the most resilient of leaders.

    Promoting Militarism or Democracy?
  114. Is Latin America Capable of Democracy? An essay by Victor Raul Haya de la Torre, 1955 Map of Western Hemisphere
  115. US Support for the Argentine Military's "Dirty War," 1976
  116. Confessions from a Torturer in Argentina's Military, part of the "Dirty War," 1976-83
  117. U.S. Policy in Guatemala, 1966-96 Documents of the National Security Archive
  118. Interviews with Guatemalan refugees
  119. Interview (Dec. 2003) with Ariel Dorfmann, who fled into exile to escape the Chilean military dictatorship in 1973
  120. Lyndon B. Johnson, 36th U.S. president, orders U.S. troops to the Dominican Republic "The United States government has been informed by military authorities in the Dominican Republic that American lives are in danger." (April 28, 1965
  121. Grenada's response to the Reagan invasion of 1983: "All Grenadians report immediately to your respective militia bases. All doctors, nurses, and medics report to the hospital." (Grenada, October 25, 1983)
  122. Marlin Fitzwater, White House press secretary to the first Bush president announces the U.S. invasion of Panama "The president has made every effort peacefully to resolve the situation." (White House, Washington, D.C., December 20, 1989)
  123. James A. Baker, U.S. secretary of state to the first Bush president defends U.S. invasion of Panama "The United States, under international law, has an inherent right of self-defense." (Washington, D.C., December 20, 1989)
  124. Reagan/Bush Iran/Contra Scandal: Exectuve summary by the independent prosecutor
  125. Documents on the Reagan-Bush Iran-Contra Scandal
  126. Policy recommendations of Nobel Peace Prize winner (and past president of Costa Rica) Oscar Arias
  127. Bolivian President Evo Morales Discusses US Policies, 2007
  128. Brief video documentary critical of US intervention and drug-busting efforts in Bolivia
  129. Brief video documentary arguing that US intervention has had negative consequences in Bolivia, Argentina, and Venezuela

    Additional Human Rights Concerns

     Oscar Arias
  130. Confessions from Argentina's "Dirty War," 1976-83
  131. US State Dept. Declassified Files on Argentina's Dirty War PDF documents
  132. 20 Cases of Torture described in Brazil "This is a not a pleasant exhibition, but it is a very important one. It consists of photographs and text describing twenty out of more than 500 documented cases of torture in Brazil when the Military ruled the country between 1964 and 1980. Brazil has punished no one for these crimes, and none of the victims of torture or their families received any compensation from the government for their losses."
  133. Human Rights Abuses by Salvadoran Military and Death Squads
  134. 2004 Amnesty International Report on Human Rights in Guatemala
  135. National Security Archive Documents on the Cuban Missle Crisis, Iran Contra Scanadal, Oliver North documents, Guatemalan Death Squads, Richard Nixon ordering actions against Chilean President Salvador Allende, and much more. Click on country names under "Archive Projects" on the lower right-hand part of the page.
  136. Interviews with Guatemalan refugees
  137. Interview (Dec. 2003) with Ariel Dorfman, who fled into exile to escape the Chilean military dicatorship in 1973
  138. Expenditures on the Military in Latin America
  139. Human Rights Concerns in Latin America
  140. Amnesty International: 1997 Report on human rights in the Americas
  141. Human Rights Watch Americas, Human rights in Latin America
  142. School of the Americas

    143. NAFTA, CAFTA, Globalization, Economic Development
  143. Criticisms of NAFTA Public Citizen
  144. NAFTA document links Texas A&M International University
  145. NAFTA's Impact on North Carolina August 2002 analysis [read all 3 parts]
  146. Additional US Historical Documents, 1492–1904