Hispanic American Keywords for Chronicling America

Related Terms: Mexicano, Hispanic, Chicano 

Definitions: This term refers to a native or resident of the southwestern U.S. who descended from Spaniards that settled there before annexation.

Contextual Considerations, or "How this Term was Used": The Spanish colony in what is now New Mexico was established in 1598, and some began to link themselves culturally with the ancient province of Hispania. In the second half of the nineteenth century, the words “Hispano” and “Latino” were used by Spanish speakers in California. By the 1920s, this word had largely disappeared.

Insider / Outsider Use: Prior to the 1920s, Spanish-language newspapers used “Hispano-americano” to refer to members of the Hispanic community.

Examples from Chronicling America: 

Hispano América (San Francisco, Calif.), 15 April 1917. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.

"Hispano" in The New York Herald (New York [N.Y.]), 01 May 1855. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.

"Hispano" in La Revista de Taos (Taos, Nuevo Mexico), 17 December 1915. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.

OCR Considerations, "How the Computer Sees it": 

"Hispane" in The Washington Herald (Washington, D.C.), 23 April 1916. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.

"Hispanc" in Wheeling Sunday Register (Wheeling, W. Va.), 25 Sept. 1898. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.

Related Terms: Hispano, Latino/a, Mexicano 

Definition: This term refers to a Spanish-speaking person, particularly to someone of Latin American descent living in the United States. 

Contextual Considerations, or "How this Term was Used": In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the Census Bureau began to refer to Spanish-speaking Americans as “Hispanic,” a variation on the term “Hispano,” which was widely used at the time.

Insider / Outsider Use: For this term, the distinction between insider and outsider use does not apply, either because insiders do not use the term or because insiders and outsiders use the term in ways that are very closely aligned.

Examples from Chronicling America:

"Hispanic" in New-York Tribune (New York [N.Y.]), 29 Nov. 1911. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.

"Hispanic" in Diario las Américas (Miami, Fla.), 01 Nov. 1956. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress. 

OCR Considerations, or "How the Computer Sees it":

"Hispenie" in New-York Tribune (New York [N.Y.]), 15 Jan. 1911. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.

"Hispamc" in El Heraldo de Brownsville (Brownsville, Tex.), 20 Feb. 1935. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.

Related Terms: Hispano, Hispanic, Mexicano 

Definitions: This term denotes a native or resident of Mexico, but it can also refer to a person of Mexican descent. 

Contextual Considerations, or "How this Term was Used": The term derives from the word “Mexico,” and in the sixteenth century, it was a term used to describe the various groups of people who resided in the modern limits of Mexico. By the time of the United States’ annexation of Texas  in the mid-nineteenth century, this term was commonly used and continued to be in use until the mid-twentieth century, when “Chicano/a” took its place. 

Insider / Outsider Use: For this term, the distinction between insider and outsider use does not apply, either because insiders do not use the term or because insiders and outsiders use the term in ways that are very closely aligned.

Examples from Chronicling America: 

"Mexicano" in The Washingtonian (Washington, D.C.), 06 Sept. 1845. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.

"Mexicano" in Rock Island Argus (Rock Island, Ill.), 13 Dec. 1912. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.

OCR Considerations, or "How the Computer Sees it": 

"Mexicamo" in El Nuevo Mexicano (Santa Fe, N.M.), 11 July 1908. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.

"Mcxicano" in The Mitchell Capital (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]), 30 Sept. 1887. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.