El Paso History - an American History?

David Romo's book, Ringside Seat to a Revolution, paints a vivid and at times disturbing portrait of the state of affairs of El Paso and Ciudad Juarez between the late 19^th century and early 20^th century. While there is no doubt from looking at a map of the United States that El Paso is definitely part of this country, studying American history shows no true mentions of history of the El Paso area as part of that history. Romo himself wonders if "Maybe the history of the border has never been considered a truly American history. Some might even need to be reminded that El Paso is..in the United States" (Romo, 11). If that mindset is indeed true, then a certain blindness pervades the study of history. The stamp of the United States is written all over the history of El Paso, whether it is for better or worse.

The stamp of Americana is definitely everywhere in El Paso if one chooses to look for it. Take for example, "..El Paso Mayor Joseph Sweeney..had given the keys to the city to U.S. President Howard Taft and Mexican President Porfirio Diaz during their visit in 1909" (Romo, 96). The location of El Paso seems to be a prime spot in which American presidents could conduct business with Mexican leaders and could also survey the conditions of American citizens along the U.S./Mexico border. If El Paso, were not an American city, why then would there be Ft. Bliss with all of its soldiers? In 1916 there were "40,000 American soldiers stationed at Fort Bliss for the Punitive Expedition" (Romo, 162). These soldiers were an integral part of life on the border and played a part both in the life of El Pasoans and in the Mexican Revolution as well. During the final battle in Juarez, reports were given that Pancho Villa's snipers were shooting at American soldiers, and so "American troops poured into Juarez" (Romo, 256). The response of the American soldiers during the battle seems to imply a deep importance of this area in American affairs, especially with the presence of such a large force here.

One area the in itself might show why the history of El Paso has been neglected in the study of American history at large is the treatment of Mexicans during the early 20^th century. One very vivid example is this:

"..beginning in the 1920's, U.S. officials at the Santa Fe Bridge deloused and sprayed the clothes of Mexican crossing into the U.S. with Zyklon B. The fumigation was carried out in an area of the building that American officials called.."the gas chambers". I discovered an article written in a German scientific journal written in 1938, which specifically praised the El Paso method" (Romo, 223).

This example is one of the most important in understanding why the history of El Paso is omitted from the study of U.S. history as a whole. Studying this topic further reveals that the Nazis did eventually use this same basic technique to construct the gas chambers that would be used in concentration camps to exterminate Jews, Gypsies, and other "minority groups" to further Hitler's plan for a superior race. If this fact were talked about more often in history, then the view of American's towards their own nation's history might be very different.

These two examples seem to reveal, if not racism, then a sense that Americans at the turn of the century viewed themselves as superior to all others. The policies of the United States at this time focused on "protecting" the interests of the nation, as seen in places such as Puerto Rico and Cuba. This protection was in fact just an attempt exert influence in the affairs of other nations. In 1914, U.S. President Wilson had "marines attack and occupy Vera Cruz" (Romo, 661). This was part of a policy that began with arms sales to Venustiano Carranza, and after the occupation of Vera Cruz, the support of Pancho Villa. While the United State's support did shift back to Carranza, Wilson's decision to order "troops under General John J. Pershing to pursue Villa into Mexico" (Romo, 661) reflects the idea that America was still interested in influencing Mexico.

There are many reasons why El Paso history is not viewed as American history in textbooks, film, etc. Racism seems to be a major player, but that only scratches the surface. Studying the history of El Paso reveals "baths" where immigrants were forced to expose themselves to harmful chemicals. These instances would later be praised by the Nazis and perhaps in part inspire their execution of the "Final Solution". Americans as a whole don't like to face the demons of their past, and this is a very large demon. Interference in the affairs of another country that is our neighbor is another area that many turn a blind eye too. Perhaps this is because of the current global climate. Whatever reason there is for people not considering El Paso history as American history, there can be no doubt that the history of this city and this region are distinctly intertwined with it.

Sources:
Ringside Seat to a Revolution by David Romo