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Chicana/o Studies

How to Do Research on Mexico and its Borders with the U.S.

Mexico's history and culture are forever interconnected with the United States. This page focuses on providing access to our library and archival resources, and other online resources that will help you do research on this important country!

 

Image info: This map represents the Wars between Mexico and Texas and Mexico and the U.S. From the collection of Perry-Castañeda at the University of Texas-Austin.
If you want to find primary sources that show the United States government point of view about its relationship with Mexico, including managing the border, immigrants and wars and other related issues, you need to read the documents created by the Federal Government or States that share a border with Mexico. Below are a series of databases that you can use to find that type of primary source! 
Because the United States and Mexico share a 2,000-mile-long border, a whole field of studies exists to understand the historical, cultural, economic, and political connection between these two neighboring countries. The borderlands between Mexico and the United States encompass all the states in both side of the border. Keep that in mind when looking for archives that have primary materials on your topic. Below are some suggestions for where to find primary sources!

 

Tip: If you are looking for archival records about a town in Texas that borders a town in Mexico, then check the University of Texas, Austin or similar universities in that state for primary sources.

Online Resources:
UCSB Databases:
You can visit the tab “Finding Articles, Books and More” in this guide for an in-depth explanation of how to search the UC Library Search Box for articles, books, and films located here at the UCSB Library. The best part of this tool is that it gives you access to all the other UCs resources--which you can request to be sent here by logging into your library account! Also, the list of databases on that page is helpful to search for articles about Mexican history and culture and the borderlands!

 

Here are some resources that I think may help you in your research.