ABSTRACT
Claiming that Mexicans and Puerto Ricans were culturally and racially inferior, the U.S. invaded and conquered Mexican and Puerto Rican lands. As it had with Native Americans, the U.S. government instituted deculturalization programs to ensure that these conquered populations would not rise up against their new government. The stakes were high. The lands taken from Mexico included California and what is now the southwestern United States. Puerto Rico was considered a key to U.S. entry into the Caribbean. The educational process of deculturalization was considered vital to retaining these lands.
