Sunday, October 6, 2013

The Economic Development of the World: Part 7



This map shows how the Hispanic/Latino population expanded over the United States. The darker the color the more hispanic/Latino people in that area.

 Did you know that we have a continuous Hispanic/Latino presence in the territory of the United States that existed since the 16th century, earlier than any other group after the Native Americans? However some say including me, that African Americans came to America in small numbers before the Europeans landed in America. Spaniards pioneered the present-day United States. The first confirmed European landing in the continental U.S. was by Juan Ponce de León, who landed in 1513 at a lush shore he christened La Florida.

Within three decades of Ponce de León's landing, the Spanish became the first Europeans to reach the Appalachian Mountains, the Mississippi River, the Grand Canyon and the Great Plains. Spanish ships sailed along the East Coast, penetrating to present-day Bangor, Maine, and up the Pacific Coast as far as Oregon. 

From 1528 to 1536, Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca and three other castaways from a Spanish expedition (including an African named Estevanico) journeyed all the way from Florida to the Gulf of California, 267 years before the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

In 1540 Hernando de Soto undertook an extensive exploration of the present U.S., and in the same yearFrancisco Vázquez de Coronado led 2,000 Spaniards and Mexican Indians across today's Arizona–Mexico border and traveled as far as central Kansas, close to the exact geographic center of what is now the continental United States. Other Spanish explorers of the US make up a long list that includes, among others: Lucas Vázquez de Ayllón, Pánfilo de Narváez, Sebastián Vizcaíno, Gaspar de Portolà, Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, Tristán de Luna y Arellano and Juan de Oñate, but also non-Spanish explorers working for the Spanish Crown like Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo. In all, Spaniards probed half of today's lower 48 states before the first English colonization attempt at Roanoke Island in 1585.

The Spanish created the first permanent European settlement in the continental United States, at St. Augustine, Florida, in 1565. Santa Fe, New Mexico also predates Jamestown, Virginia (founded in 1607) andPlymouth Colony (of Mayflower and Pilgrims fame; founded in 1620). Later came Spanish settlements in San Antonio, Texas, Tucson, Arizona, San Diego, California, Los Angeles, California and San Francisco, California, to name just a few.


Chicanas/os march in California's third-largest city, San Jose in 2006.

Two iconic American stories have Spanish antecedents, too. Almost 80 years before John Smith's alleged rescue by Pocahontas, a man by the name of Juan Ortiz told of his remarkably similar rescue from execution by an Indian girl. Spaniards also held a thanksgiving — 56 years before the famous Pilgrims festival — when they feasted near St. Augustine with Florida Indians, probably on stewed pork and garbanzo beans. As late as 1783, at the end of the American Revolutionary War (a conflict in which Spain aided and fought alongside the United States), Spain held claim to roughly half of today's continental United States. From 1819 to 1848, the United States (through treaties, purchase, diplomacy, and the Mexican-American War) increased its area by roughly a third at Spanish and Mexican expense, acquiring three of today's four most populous states —California, Texas and Florida.

The Hispanic and Latino role in the history and present of the United States is addressed in more detail below (See Notables and their contributions). On September 17, 1968, President Lyndon B. Johnson designated a week in mid-September as National Hispanic Heritage Week, with Congress's authorization. In 1988, President Ronald Reagan extended the observance to a month, designated Hispanic Heritage Month


Hispanic and Latino Americans (Spanish: Latino-americanos) are an ethnolinguistic group of citizens of the United States with origins in the countries of Latin America or the Iberian peninsula. More generally it includes all persons in the United States who self-identify as Hispanic or Latino. Reflecting especially the Latin American population, which has origins in all the continents and many ancestries, Hispanic/Latino Americans are very racially diverse, and as a result form an ethnic category, rather than a race.

While the two terms are sometimes used interchangeably, Hispanic is a narrower term which mostly refers to persons of Spanish-speaking origin or ancestry, while Latino is more frequently used to refer more generally to anyone of Latin American origin or ancestry, including Brazilians. Hispanic thus includes persons from Spain and Spanish-speaking Latin Americans excluding Brazilians (who speak Portuguese) while Latino excludes persons from Spain but includes both Spanish-speaking and Portuguese-speaking Latin Americans. BecauseBrazil's population of 191,000,000 is several times larger than Spain's population of 47,000,000 and also because there are more Brazilian Americans (between 360,000 and 1,100,000 as of 2010) than Spanish Americans (about 85,000 as of 2010) in the United States, Latino is a broader term encompassing more people. The choice between the terms Latino and Hispanic among those of Spanish-speaking origin is also associated with location: persons of Spanish-speaking origins residing in the eastern United States tend to prefer the term Hispanic, whereas those in the West tend to prefer Latino.

Hispanics or Latinos constitute 16.7% of the total United States population, or 52 million people, making it home to the largest community of Spanish speakers outside of Mexico according to the Pew Research Hispanic Center, surpassing Argentina, Colombia, and Spain within the last decade. Latinos overall are the second largest ethnic group, after non-Hispanic White Americans (a group composed of dozens of sub-groups, as is Hispanic and Latino Americans). Hispanic and Latino Americans are the largest of all the minority groups, but Black Americans are the largest minority among the races, after White Americans in general (non-Hispanic and Hispanic). Mexican Americans, Cuban Americans, Colombian Americans,Dominican Americans, Puerto Ricans, Spanish Americans, and Salvadoran Americans are some of the Hispanic and Latino American national origin groups.

There have been people of Hispanic or Latino heritage in the territory of the present-day United States continuously 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 Native Americans to inhabit what is today the United States. Hispanics have also lived continuously in theSouthwest since near the end of the 16th century, with settlements in New Mexico that began in 1598, and which were transferred to the area of El Paso, Texas, in 1680. Spanish settlement of New Mexico resumed in 1692, and new ones were established in Arizona and California in the 18th century. The Hispanic presence can even be said to date from half a century earlier than St. Augustine, if San Juan, Puerto Rico is considered to be the oldest Spanish settlement, and the oldest city, in the U.S.

What is an Hispanic or Latino?

The term Hispanic was adopted by the United States government in the early 1970s during the administration of Richard Nixon, and has since been used in local and federal employment, mass media, academia, and business market research. It has been used in the U.S. Census since 1980. Because of the popularity of "Latino" in the western portion of the United States, the government adopted this term as well in 1997, and used it in the 2000 census.

Previously, Hispanic and Latino Americans were categorized as "Spanish-Americans", "Spanish-speaking Americans", and "Spanish-surnamed Americans". However:
  • Although a large majority of Hispanic and Latino Americans have Spanish ancestry, most are not of direct, 'from-Spain-to-the-U.S.' Spanish descent; many are not primarily of Spanish descent; and some are not of Spanish descent at all. People whose ancestors or who themselves arrived in the United States directly from Spain are a tiny minority of the Hispanic or Latino population (see figures in this article), and there are Hispanic/Latino Americans who are of other European ancestries in addition toSpanish (e.g. Italian, French, Romanian, Portuguese), and of Middle Eastern (e.g. Lebanese,Palestinian);
  • Most Hispanic and Latino Americans can speak Spanish, not all; and most Spanish-speaking Americans are Hispanic or Latino, not all. E.g., Hispanic/Latino Americans often do not speak Spanish by the third generation, and some Americans who are Spanish-speaking may not identify themselves with Spanish-speaking Americans as an ethnic group;
Neither term refers to race, as a person of Latino or Hispanic origin can be of any race.

The U.S. government has defined Hispanic or Latino persons as being "persons who trace their origin [to] . . . Central and South America, and other Spanish cultures.". The Census Bureau's 2010 census form did not provide a definition of the terms Latino or Hispanic, instead allowing respondents to self-define whether they were Latino or Hispanic and then identify their specific country or place of origin. On its website, the Census Bureau defines "Hispanic" or "Latino" persons as being "persons who trace their origin [to]... Spanish-speaking Central and South America countries, and other Spanish cultures";.

These definitions thus arguably does not include Brazilian Americans, especially since the Census Bureau classifies Brazilian Americans as a separate ancestry group from Hispanic or Latino. The 28 Hispanic or Latino American groups in the Census Bureau's reports are the following: Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Dominican; Central American: Costa Rican, Guatemalan, Honduran, Nicaraguan, Panamanian, Salvadoran, Other Central American; South American: Argentinian, Bolivian, Chilean, Colombian, Ecuadorian, Paraguayan, Peruvian, Uruguayan, Venezuelan, Other South American; Other Hispanic or Latino: Spaniard, Spanish, Spanish American, All other Hispanic.

Some authorities of American English maintain a distinction between the terms "Hispanic" and "Latino":
"Though often used interchangeably in American English, Hispanic and Latino are not identical terms, and in certain contexts the choice between them can be significant. Hispanic, from the Latin word for "Spain," . . . potentially encompass[es] all Spanish-speaking peoples in both hemispheres and emphasiz[es] the common denominator of language among communities that sometimes have little else in common. Latino—which in Spanish means "Latin" but which as an English word is probably a shortening of the Spanish wordlatinoamericano—refers . . . to persons or communities of Latin American origin. Of the two, only Hispaniccan be used in referring to Spain and its history and culture; a native of Spain residing in the United States is a Hispanic, not a Latino, and one cannot substitute Latino in the phrase the Hispanic influence on native Mexican cultures without garbling the meaning. In practice, however, this distinction is of little significance when referring to residents of the United States, most of whom are of Latin American origin and can theoretically be called by either word."

The AP Stylebook also distinguishes between the terms Hispanic and Latino. The Stylebook limits the term "Hispanic" to persons "from - or whose ancestors were from - a Spanish-speaking land or culture." It provides a more expansive definition, however, of the term "Latino." The Stylebook definition of Latino includes not only persons of Spanish-speaking ancestry, but also more generally includes persons "from -- or whose ancestors were from -- . . . Latin America." The Stylebook specifically lists "Brazilian" as an example of a group which can be considered Latino.

Other federal and local government agencies and non-profit organizations also include Brazilians and Portuguese in their definition of Hispanic. The U.S. Department of Transportation defines Hispanic as, "persons of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Dominican, Central or South American, or other Spanish or Portuguese culture or origin, regardless of race." This definition has been adopted by the Small Business Administration as well as by many federal, state, and municipal agencies for the purposes of awarding government contracts to minority owned businesses.

The Congressional Hispanic Caucus and the Congressional Hispanic Conference include representatives of Spanish and Portuguese descent. The Hispanic Society of America is dedicated to the study of the arts and cultures of Spain, Portugal, and Latin America. The Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, which proclaims itself the champion of Hispanic success in higher education, has member institutions in the U.S., Puerto Rico, Latin America, Spain, and Portugal. Even though the term 'Hispanic' is related to 'Spanish', many Hispanic Americans do not speak Spanish.

Look at the map at the top of the blog. The darker you go in green in the US, 
the more Hispanics and Latino you will find.

As of 2011, Hispanics accounted for 16.7% of the national population, or around 52 million people. The Hispanic growth rate over the April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2007 period was 28.7% — about four times the rate of the nation's total population (at 7.2%). The growth rate from July 1, 2005 to July 1, 2006 alone was 3.4% — about three and a half times the rate of the nation's total population (at 1.0%). Based on the 2010 census, Hispanics are now the largest minority group in 191 out of 366 metropolitan areas in the US. The projected Hispanic population of the United States for July 1, 2050 is 132.8 million people, or 30.2% of the nation's total projected population on that date.

Of the nation's total Hispanic or Latino population, 49% (21.5 million) lives in California or Texas. Not countingPuerto Rico — which is a Commonwealth of the United States — New Mexico is the state with the highest ratio of Hispanics, 44.7%. Next are California and Texas, with 35.9% and 35.6%, respectively.
The overwhelming majority of Mexican Americans are concentrated in the Southwest and the West Coast/West, primarily in California, Texas, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah. The majority of the Hispanic population in the Southeast and Great Plains (Plains States), concentrated in Florida, are ofCuban origin; However, the Mexican, Dominican and Puerto Rican populations have risen significantly in this region since the mid-1990s.

The Hispanic population in the Northeast, concentrated in New York, New Jersey, and Eastern Pennsylvania, is composed mostly of Hispanics of Dominican and Puerto Rican origin. The remainder of Hispanics and Latinos may be found throughout the country, though South Americans tend to concentrate on the East Coastand Central Americans on the West Coast. Nevertheless, since the 1990s, several cities on the East Coast have seen often impressive increases in their Mexican population, namely Miami and Philadelphia.

The Hispanic population of Los Angeles County, California, numbering 4.7 million, is the largest of any county in the nation, comprising 47 percent of the county's ten million residents.

As of 2000, the ten most populous places with Hispanic majorities were East Los Angeles (97% Hispanic),Laredo, Texas (94%), Brownsville, Texas (91%) Hialeah, Florida (90%), McAllen, Texas (80%), El Paso, Texas (77%), Santa Ana, California (76%), El Monte, California (72%) Oxnard, California (66%), and Miami(66%).

Some 64% of the nation's Hispanic population are of Mexican origin (see table). Another 9% are of Puerto Rican origin, with about 3% each of Cuban, Salvadoran and Dominican origins. The remainder are of other Central American or South American origin, or of origin directly from Spain. About 7% are of unspecified national origins. It should be noted that these figures pertain to ethnic self-identification; the same dataset (abstracted from the 2007 American Community Survey) indicates that 60.2% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans were born in the United States.

There are few recent immigrants directly from Spain. In the 2000 Census, 299,948 Americans, of whom 83% were native-born, specifically reported their ancestry as Spaniard.

In northern New Mexico and southern Colorado live peoples who trace their ancestry to Spanish settlers of the late 16th century through the 17th century. People from this background often self-identify as "Hispanos", "Spanish", or "Hispanic". Many of these settlers also intermarried with local Amerindians, creating a Mestizo population. Likewise, southern Louisiana is home to communities of people of Canary Islands descent, known as Isleños, in addition to other people of Spanish ancestry.

Hispanics are almost uniformly Christian, with Catholicism the majority confession and an increasing Protestant community.

Keep in mind, the controlling group of people on this planet determine the creation of categories of people called races.   The largest number of White Hispanics come from within the Mexican community, the highest percentage of White Hispanics among major Hispanic groups come from the Cuban community also high percentages of White Hispanics from Hispanic groups come from within the Argentine and also Spanishcommunities. The largest number of Black Hispanics come from within the Puerto Rican community, while the highest percentage of Black Hispanics among major Hispanic groups come from the Panamaniancommunity and the highest percentage of Black Hispanics.

The largest number of Asian Hispanics come from within the Mexican community, while the highest percentage of Asian Hispanics among major Hispanic groups come from within the Puerto Rican community and the highest percentage of Asian Hispanics among all Hispanic groups come from the Peruviancommunity. The largest population of Native American Hispanic come from within the Mexican community and the highest percentage of Native American Hispanics among major Hispanic groups come from within theGuatemalan community.
Most of the Multiracial population in the Mexican, Salvadoran, and Guatemalan communities are of Mestizodescent (European and Native American), while most of the multiracial population in the Dominican, Puerto Rican and Cuban communities are of Mulatto descent (European and African).

Hispanic or Latino origin is independent of race and is termed "ethnicity" by the United States Census Bureau. The racial categories are: American Indian and Alaska Native, White, Black or African American,Asian, Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, Some other race, and Two or more races. The distinction made by government agencies for those within the population of each race category is between those ofHispanic or Latino origin, and all others of Non-Hispanic or Latino origin.

The majority of Hispanic and Latino Americans are white, in both sets of government estimates: 54% are white per the American Community Survey,"B03002. Hispanic or Latino origin by race". 2007 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates. United States Census Bureau.  while the ratio rises to 92% in the Population Estimates Program, which are the official estimates."T4-2007. Hispanic or Latino By Race [15]".2007 Population Estimates. United States Census Bureau. 

The much larger official figure is due to the absence of the Some other race category from these estimates, which instead reallocate that category among the five standard, minimum, single-race categories, mostly the white category."Technical Documentation for the Census 2000 Modified Race Data Summary File". United States Census Bureau.  The complete 2007 Hispanic or Latino racial breakdown is as follows: White 92% (official) or 54% (ACS); Black or African American 3.8% (official) or 1.5% (ACS); American Indian and Alaska Native 1.4% (official) or 0.8% (ACS); Asian 0.6% (official) or 0.3% (ACS); Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 0.3% (official) or 0.07% (ACS); Some other race 40% (ACS only; not an official race); Two or more races 0.6% (official) or 3.8% (ACS).

Though comprising very small percentages of the Hispanic and Latino American population, and even smaller percentages of the total U.S. population, some of the preceding racial subgroups make up large minorities among the respective racial groups, overall. For instance, Hispanics and Latinos who are American Indian or Alaska Native compose 15% of all American Indians and Alaska Natives (per the ACS estimates). Meanwhile, the 120,000 Hispanics and Latinos who are of Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander race compose 22% of this entire race nationally (per the Population Estimates). Again, nearly a third of the overall 'Two or more race' population is Hispanic or Latino (ACS).

Racism or Hispanophobia

Hispanophobia has existed in various degrees throughout U.S. history, based largely on ethnicity, race, culture, Anti-Catholicism, economic and social conditions in Latin America, 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 (albeit from a low level). In California, the state with the largest Latino population, the number of hate crimes against Latinos almost doubled.
For the year 2009, the FBI reported that 483 of the 6,604 hate crimes committed in the United States were anti-Hispanic comprising 7.3% of all hate crimes. This compares to 34.6% of hate crimes being anti-Black, 17.9% being anti-Homosexual, 14.1% being anti-Jewish, and 8.3% being anti-White.

As a result of the rapid growth of the Hispanic population, there has been some tension with other minority populations, especially the African American population, as Hispanics have increasingly moved into once exclusively Black areas. There has also been increasing cooperation between minority groups to work together to attain political influence.
  • A UCLA study reported that 51% of Blacks felt that Hispanics were taking jobs and political power from them and 44% of Hispanics said they feared African-Americans identifying them with high crime rates. That said, large majorities of Hispanics credited American blacks and the civil rights movement with making life easier for them in the US.
  • A Pew Research Center poll from 2006 showed that Blacks overwhelmingly felt that Hispanic immigrants were hard working (78%) and had strong family values (81%) but also that they believed that immigrants took jobs from Americans (34%) with a significant minority of Blacks (22%) believing that they had directly lost a job to an immigrant and 34% of Blacks wanting immigration to be curtailed. The report also surveyed three cities: Chicago (with its well-established Latino community);Washington DC (with a less-established but quickly growing Hispanic community); and Raleigh-Durham (with a very new but rapidly growing Hispanic community). The results showed that a significant proportion of Blacks in those cities wanted immigration to be curtailed: Chicago (46%), Raleigh-Durham (57%), and Washington DC (48%).
  • Per a 2008 University of California, Berkeley Law School research brief, a recurring theme to Black / Hispanic tensions is the growth in "contingent, flexible, or contractor labor" which is increasingly replacing long term steady employment for jobs on the lower-rung of the pay scale (which had been disproportionately filled by Blacks). The transition to this employment arrangement corresponds directly with the growth in the Latino immigrant population. The perception is that this new labor arrangement has driven down wages, removed benefits, and rendered temporary, jobs that once were stable (but also benefiting consumers who receive lower-cost services) while passing the costs of labor (healthcare and indirectly education) onto the community at large.
  • A 2008 Gallup poll indicated that 60% of Hispanics and 67% of blacks believe that good relations exist between U.S. blacks and Hispanics while only 29% of blacks, 36% of Hispanics, and 43% of whites, say Black - Hispanic relations are bad.
According to the ACS, the poverty rate among Hispanic groups is highest among Dominican Americans (28.1 percent), Honduran Americans and Puerto Ricans (23.7 percent both), and Mexican Americans (23.6 percent). It is lowest among South Americans, such as Colombian Americans (10.6 percent) and Peruvian Americans (13.6 percent), and relatively low poverty rates are also found among Salvadoran Americans (15.0 percent) and Cuban Americans (15.2 percent).

In comparison, the average poverty rates for non-Hispanic White Americans (8.8 percent) and Asian Americans (7.1 percent) were lower than those of any Hispanic group. African Americans (21.3 percent) had a higher poverty rate than Cuban Americans and Central and South Americans, but had a lower poverty rate than Mexican Americans, Puerto Ricans, and Dominican Americans.

Intermarriage

Hispanic Americans, like immigrant groups before them, are out-marrying at very high rates comprising 17.4% of all existing Hispanic marriages. The rate is higher for newlyweds (which excludes already married immigrants): Among all newlyweds in 2008, 26% of all Hispanics married a non-Hispanic (this compares to out-marriage rates of 9% for non-Hispanic Whites, 16% for non-Hispanic Blacks, and 31% for non-Hispanic Asians). The rate was even more profound for native-born Hispanics with 41.3% of Native-Born Hispanic men out-marrying (compared to 11.3% of Foreign-Born Hispanic men) and 37.4% of Native-Born Hispanic women out-marrying (compared to 12.2% of Foreign-Born Hispanic women). The difference is attributed to the fact that recent immigrants tend to marry within their immediate immigrant community due to commonality of language, proximity, familial connections, and familiarity (see Interracial marriage in the United States for further discussion).

81% of Hispanics who intermarried married non-Hispanic Whites, 9% married non-Hispanic Blacks, 5% non-Hispanic Asians, and the remainder married non-Hispanic, multi-racial partners.
Attitudes amongst non-Hispanics toward intermarriage with Hispanics are mostly favorable with 81% of Whites, 76% of Asians, and 73% of Blacks "being fine" with a member of their family marrying a Hispanic and an additional 13% of Whites, 19% of Asians, and 16% of Blacks "being bothered but accepting of the marriage." Only 2% of Whites, 4% of Asians, and 5% of Blacks would not accept a marriage of their family member to a Hispanic.

Hispanic attitudes toward intermarriage with non-Hispanics are likewise favorable with 71% "being fine" with marriages to Whites and 81% "being fine" with marriages to Blacks. A further 22% admitted to "being bothered but accepting" of a marriage of a family member to a White and 16% admitted to "being bothered but accepting" of a marriage of a family member to a Black. Only 3% of Hispanics objected outright marriage of a family member to a non-Hispanic Black and 3% to a non-Hispanic White.

The Average Income

In 2002, the average individual income among Hispanic and Latino Americans was highest for Cuban Americans ($38,733), and lowest for Dominican Americans ($26,467) and Puerto Rican Americans ($27,877). For Mexican Americans it was $33,927, and $30,444 for Central and South Americans. In comparison, the income of the average Hispanic American is lower than the national average.

Among Hispanics, Cuban Americans (28.5 percent) had the highest percentage in professional–managerial occupations. The percentage for Mexican Americans was 20.7, Central and South Americans' was 8.8 percent, and Puerto Ricans was 7.2 percent. All these are lower than the average for non-Hispanics (36.2 percent).

Education


Florida International University in Miami, Florida produced the most bachelors and Masters degrees to Hispanic students in the country.

The high school graduation rate for Hispanics, according to the 2010, is 62.2 percent. It is highest among Cuban Americans (68.7 percent) and lowest among Mexican Americans (48.7 percent). The Puerto Rican rate is 63.2 percent, Central and South American Americans' is 60.4 percent, and the Dominican American is 51.7 percent.

According to the 2010 census, South Americans had the highest college graduation rates, from 49.7 percent of Venezuelan-Americans compared to 7.8 percent for Salvadoran-Americans 25 years and older. On the other hand, only 9.1 percent of Mexican Americans, 15.9 percent of Puerto Ricans and 15.2 percent of Dominican Americans had achieved a 4-year degree. Over 21% of all second-generation Dominican Americans have college degrees, slightly below the national average (27.9%) but significantly higher than U.S.-born Mexican Americans (13%) and U.S.-born Puerto Rican Americans (12%).

In comparison non-Hispanic Asian Americans (50.2 percent) and non-Hispanic White Americans (30.9 percent) had higher rates than any Hispanic American group. Non-Hispanic Black Americans (17.7 percent) had a lower graduation rate than Cuban Americans and Central and South Americans, but had a higher rate than Mexican Americans, Puerto Ricans, and Dominican Americans.

Health

Hispanic and Latino Americans are the longest-living Americans, according to official data. Their life expectancy is more than two years longer than for non-Hispanic whites and almost eight years longer than for African Americans.

Culture

With 40% of Hispanic and Latino Americans being immigrants, and with many of the 60% who are U.S.-born being the children or grandchildren of immigrants, bilingualism is the norm in the community at large: at home, at least 69% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans over age five are bilingual in English and Spanish, whereas up to 22% are monolingual English-speakers, and 9% are monolingual Spanish-speakers; another 0.4% speak a language other than English and Spanish at home.

In all, a full 90% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans speak English, and at least 78% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans speak Spanish. Spanish is the oldest European language in the United States, spoken uninterruptedly for four and a half centuries, since the foundation of St. Augustine.

The usual pattern is monolingual Spanish use among new migrants or older foreign-born Hispanics, complete bilingualism among long-settled immigrants and the children of immigrants, and the sole use of English, or both English and either Spanglish or colloquial Spanish by the third generation and beyond.

Religion



José Horacio Gómez, Archbishop of Los Angeles. Hispanics are overwhelmingly Roman Catholic.
The most methodologically rigorous study of Hispanic or Latino religious affiliation to date was the Hispanic Churches in American Public Life (HCAPL) National Survey, conducted between August and October 2000. This survey found that 70% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans are Catholic, 20% are Protestant, 3% are "alternative Christians" (such as Mormon or Jehovah's Witnesses), 1% identify with a non-Christian religion (including Muslims), and 6% have no religious preference (with only .37% claiming to be atheist or agnostic). This suggests that Hispanics/Latinos are not only a highly religious, but also a highly Christian constituency.

It also suggests that Hispanic/Latino Protestants are a more sizable minority than sometimes realized. Catholic affiliation is much higher among first-generation than second- or third-generation Hispanic or Latino immigrants, who exhibit a fairly high rate of defection to Protestantism. Also Hispanics and Latinos in theBible Belt, which is mostly located in the South, are more likely to defect to Protestantism than those in other regions. Hispanic or Latino Catholics are also increasingly working to enhance member retention through youth and social programs and through the spread of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal.

Media


Univisión is the country's largest Spanish language network, followed by Telemundo. It is the country's fourth-largest network overall.

This group of people have a longuage of their own but also control their own media. To some extent, they do not rely on English Western control media for information. The United States is home to thousands of Spanish-language media outlets, which range in size from giant commercial and some non-commercialbroadcasting networks and major magazines with circulations numbering in the millions, to low-power AM radio stations with listeners numbering in the hundreds. There are hundreds of Internet media outlets targeting U.S. Hispanic consumers. Some of the outlets are online versions of their printed counterparts and some online exclusively.
Among the most noteworthy Hispanic/Latino-oriented media outlets are:
  • Telemundo, the second-largest Spanish-language television network in the United States, with affiliates in nearly every major U.S. market, and numerous affiliates internationally;
  • Azteca América, a Spanish-language television network in the United States, with affiliates in nearly every major U.S. market, and numerous affiliates internationally;
  • La Opinión, a Spanish-language daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California and distributed throughout the six counties of Southern California. It is the largest Spanish-language newspaper in the United States;
  • mun2, a cable network that produces content for U.S.-born Hispanic and Latino audiences;
  • ConSentido TV, a television, radio, and newspaper network in North Texas;
  • V-me, a Spanish-language television network, a sister network of PBS;
Business

Hispanic and Latino Americans have made distinguished contributions to the United States in all major fields, such as politics, the military, music, literature, philosophy, sports, business and economy, and science.

The total number of Hispanic-owned businesses in 2002 was 1.6 million, having grown at triple the national rate for the preceding five years.


U.S. Century Bank is one of the largest Hispanic-owned banks in the United States.

Hispanic and Latino business leaders include Cuban immigrant Roberto Goizueta, who rose to head of The Coca-Cola Company. Advertising magnate Arte Moreno became the first Hispanic to own a major league team in the United States when he purchased the Los Angeles Angels baseball club. Also a major sports team owner is Linda G. Alvarado, president and CEO of Alvarado Construction, Inc and co-owner of the Colorado Rockies baseball team.

The largest Hispanic-owned food company in the U.S. is Goya Foods, which position it attained under World War II hero Joseph A. Unanue, the son of the company's founders.[134] Angel Ramos was the founder ofTelemundo, Puerto Rico's first television station and now the second largest Spanish-language television network in the United States, with an average viewership over one million in primetime. Samuel A. Ramirez, Sr. made Wall Street history by becoming the first Hispanic to launch a successful investment banking firm, Ramirez & Co. Nina Tassler is president of CBS Entertainment since September 2004. She is the highest-profile Latina in network television and one of the few executives who has the power to approve the airing or renewal of series.

Military and intelligence

See also: Spain in the American Revolutionary War, Hispanics in the American Civil War, Hispanics in the United States Marine Corps, and Hispanic Americans in World War II

Admiral Farragut2.jpg

Admiral David G Farragut, first Hispanic Admiral

 Other Hispanic high profile people such as;

1. Captain Marion Frederic Ramírez de Arellano the first Hispanic submarine commander.

2. Major General Luis R. Esteves, the first Hispanic to graduate from the United States Military Academy ("West Point").


3. Richard E. Cavazos, the Army's first Hispanic four-star general

4. Antonia Novello is the first woman and first Hispanic to serve as Surgeon General.


5. Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez at a press conference in Baghdad, Iraq

6. Rear Admiral Ronald J. Rábago, the first Hispanic to be promoted to Rear Admiral (lower half) in the United States Coast Guard. 

Hispanics and Latinos have participated in the military of the United States and in every major military conflictfrom the American Revolution onward. Tens of thousands of Latinos are deployed in the Iraq War, theAfghanistan War, and U.S. military missions and bases elsewhere. Hispanics and Latinos have not only distinguished themselves in the battlefields, but have also reached the high echelons of the military, serving their country in sensitive leadership positions on domestic and foreign posts. As of date, 43 Hispanics and Latinos have been awarded the nation's highest military distinction, the Medal of Honor (also known as theCongressional Medal of Honor). The following is a list of some notable Hispanics/Latinos in the military:

American Revolution
  • Lieutenant Jorge Farragut Mesquida (1755–1817)-Participated in the American Revolution as a lieutenant in the South Carolina Navy.
American Civil War
Main article: Hispanics in the American Civil War
  • Admiral David Farragut- Farragut was promoted to vice admiral on December 21, 1864, and to full admiral on July 25, 1866, after the war, thereby becoming the first person to be named full admiral in the Navy's history.
  • Colonel Ambrosio José Gonzales - Gonzales was active during the bombardment of Fort Sumter and because of his actions was appointed Colonel of artillery and assigned to duty as Chief of Artillery in the department of South Carolina, Georgia and Florida.
  • Brigadier General Diego Archuleta (1814–1884) - was a member of the Mexican Army who fought against the United States in the Mexican American War. During the American Civil War he joined the Union Army (US Army) and became the first Hispanic to reach the military rank of Brigadier General. He commanded The First New Mexico Volunteer Infantry in the Battle of Valverde.He was later appointed an Indian (Native Americans) Agent by Abraham Lincoln.
  • Colonel Carlos de la Mesa - Grandfather of Major General Terry de la Mesa Allen, Sr. commanding general of the First Infantry Division in North Africa and Sicily, and later the commander of the 104th Infantry Division during World War II. Colonel Carlos de la Mesa was a Spanish national who fought atGettysburg for the Union Army in the Spanish Company of the "Garibaldi Guard" of the 39th New York State Volunteers.
  • Colonel Federico Fernández Cavada - Commanded the 114th Pennsylvania Volunteer infantry regiment when it took the field in the Peach Orchard at Gettysburg.
  • Colonel Miguel E. Pino - Commanded the 2nd Regiment of New Mexico Volunteers, which fought at the Battle of Valverde in February and the Battle of Glorieta Pass and helped defeat the attempted invasion of New Mexico by the Confederate Army.
  • Colonel Santos Benavides - Commanded his own regiment, the "Benavides Regiment." He was the highest ranking Mexican-American in the Confederate Army.
  • Major Salvador Vallejo- Officer in one of the California units which served with the Union Army in the West.
  • Captain Adolfo Fernández Cavada - Cavada served in the 114th Pennsylvania Volunteers at Gettysburg with his brother, Colonel Federico Fernandez Cavada. He served with distinction in the Army of the Potomac from Fredericksburg to Gettysburg and was a "special aide-de-camp" to General Andrew A. Humphreys.
  • Captain Roman Anthony Baca - Member of the Union forces in the New Mexico Volunteers. He also served as a spy for the Union Army in Texas.
  • Lieutenant Augusto Rodriguez - A Puerto Rican native who served as an officer in the 15th Connecticut Regiment, Connecticut Volunteer Infantry, of the Union Army. Rodríguez served in the defenses of Washington, D.C. and led his men in the Battles of Fredericksburg and Wyse Fork.
  • Lola Sánchez - Sánchez was a Cuban born woman who became a Confederate spy who helped the Confederates obtain a victory against the Union Forces in the "Battle of Horse Landing".
  • Loreta Janeta Velazquez a.k.a. "Lieutenant Harry Buford"- She was a Cuban woman who donned Confederate garb and served as a Confederate officer and spy during the American Civil War.
World War I
World War II
Korean War
Cuban Missile Crisis
Vietnam War
Post-Vietnam

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