The Squatter and the Don by María Ruiz de Burton, Mexican-American Author

This unit focuses on examining culture and identity within events following the Mexican-American War and the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. Students will read selections from an adapted Core Knowledge version of The Squatter and the Don by María Ruiz de Burton, the first Mexican-American woman to publish novels in the English language. Born in 1832 to an elite Mexican family living in Baja California, Maria married an American general, Henry S. Burton. They settled on a ranch outside San Diego, California but then moved to the East Coast. After Henry died, Maria returned to her ranch to find that it was occupied by squatters who first came during the Gold Rush around 1849. These experiences provide the basis for Ruiz de Burton’s 1885 book, The Squatter and the Don.

During this unit, students will write an informative essay and  work on grammar skills involving verb moods. Students will also study the morphology of words using the Greek and Latin roots totus, tractum, usus, vacuus, verto, and via.