10. National Hispanic Heritage Month

National Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15–October 15) celebrates the contributions made by Hispanic and Latino Americans to the history and culture of the United States. The Gilder Lehrman Institute offers the following programs and resources for classroom or home study and enjoyment:

UnidosUS 

Explore three five-lesson units on Twentieth-Century Latino History developed in partnership with UnidosUS:

• Latino Immigration to the United States in the Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries

• Latino and Latina Civil Rights, 1930–1970

• Prominent Latinos and Latinas in the Twentieth- and Twenty-First-Century United States

UnidosUS is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that serves as the nation’s largest Latino civil rights organization. Since its founding in 1968, UnidosUS has contributed to a stronger America by creating opportunities for all Latinos through a unique combination of research, advocacy, programs, and an Affiliate network of nearly 300 community-based organizations across the United States and Puerto Rico.

Lesson Plans

• Late 19th- and Early 20th-Century Immigration: History through Art and Documents
• Latino Immigration to the United States in the Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries
• The Mexican-American War: Arguments for and against Going to War
• Spain and the American Revolution: Contributions to the Patriot Cause (with student handouts available in English and Spanish)
• War, Immigration Policies, and Dissent: Landmark Moments in Latina/o History

The Queen Sofía Spanish Insitute

In partnership with the Queen Sofía Spanish Institute, the Gilder Lehrman Institute is pleased to offer a free suite of resources to explore Spain’s strategic contributions to the American Revolution through lesson plans, primary sources, videos, scholarly essays, and more. 

Videos

Inside the Vault

• Texas Declaration of Independence

Book Breaks

• Alice Baumgartner on South to Freedom: Runaway Slaves to Mexico and the Road to the Civil War

• Ada Ferrer on Cuba: An American History

• Carrie Gibson on El Norte: The Epic and Forgotten Story of Hispanic North America
• José Manuel Guerrero Acosta on Unveiling Memories: Spain and the Hispanic Contribution to U.S. Independence
• Natalia Molina on A Place at the Nayarit: How a Mexican Restaurant Nourished a Community
• Paul Ortiz on An African American and Latinx History of the United States
• Jean Pfaelzer on California, A Slave State
• William Sturkey on The Ballad of Roy Benavidez: The Life and Times of America’s Most Famous Hispanic War Hero

Hamilton Cast Read Alongs

• Dancing Hands: How Teresa Carreňo Played the Piano for President Lincoln read by Marc delaCruz (James Reynolds/Doctor and a Principal Standby in Hamilton on Broadway). Written by Margarita Engle and illustrated by Rafael López.

• Separate Is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez and Her Family’s Fight for Desegregation read by Cherry Torres (Ensemble member in the North American tour of Hamilton). Written and illustrated by Duncan Tonatiuh.

• Soldier for Equality: José de la Luz Sáenz and the Great War read by Javier Muñoz (Alexander Hamilton in the Broadway production of Hamilton). Written and illustrated by Duncan Tonatiuh.

• The Storyteller’s Candle / La velita de los cuentos read by Nick Negron (King George in the North American Tour of Hamilton). Written by Lucía González and illustrated by Lulu Delacre.

Spotlights on Primary Sources

• Bartolomé de Las Casas debates the subjugation of the Indians, 1550

• Politics and the Texas Revolution, 1836

• Texas Declaration of Independence, 1836

Essays

• “American Sabor: A Guided Playlist of Latino Music” by Marisol Berrios-Miranda and Shannon Dudley (University of Washington), History Now 53 (Winter 2019)

• “Antonia Pantoja, a Nuyorican Builder of Institutions” by Lourdes Torres (De Paul University), History Now 66 (Spring 2023) 

• “Hispanics in the United States: Origins and Destinies” by Rubén G. Rumbaut (University of California, Irvine), History Now 53 (Winter 2019)

• “Immigration Policy, Mexican Americans, and Undocumented Immigrants, 1954 to the Present” by Eladio Bobadilla (University of Pittsburgh), History Now 52 (Fall 2018)

• “The Puerto Rican Experience in World War I” by Harry Franqui-Rivera (Bloomfield College), History Now 53 (Winter 2019)

• “Voices of Democracy: Jovita Idár, the Idár Family, and the Struggle against Juan Crow” by Gabriela González (University of Texas at San Antonio), History Now 66 (Spring 2023)

History Now Issues

• Hispanic Heroes in American History (Issue 66, Spring 2023)

  Readers are introduced to the accomplishments of distinguished leaders within the diverse Hispanic community of the United States, from the founding era to the present.

  

• The Hispanic Legacy in American History (Issue 53, Winter 2019)

  Experts in Mexican, Cuban, and Puerto Rican political and cultural history share their knowledge of a legacy too often overlooked.

• The Role of Spain in the American Revolution (Fall 2023)

  Historians discuss the roles of Spanish allies during the American Revolution. 

Digital Exhibitions

Their Full Measure

• Civil War Veteran Federico Fernández Cavada

• Iraq & Afghanistan War Veteran Jose Angel Garibay

US Immigration since 1850: A Statistical and Visual Timeline

History U: Self-Paced Courses for Students

• American Immigration History: People, Patterns, and Policy led by Professor Madeline Y. Hsu (University of Maryland, College Park)

• History of Latina and Latino People in the US led by Professor Geraldo Cadava (Northwestern University)

Self-Paced Courses 

• American Immigration History: 1820 to the Present led by Professor Vincent Cannato (University of Massachusetts, Boston)

• American Immigration History: People, Patterns, and Policy led by Professor Madeline Y. Hsu (University of Maryland, College Park)

• History of Latina and Latino People in the US led by Professor Geraldo Cadava (Northwestern University)