The El Paso Salt war illustrates two main cultural differences between Mexicans and americans: 1- The first inference I make is that Mexicans were willing to make some goods public goods. Americans, on the other hand, valued private ownership of goods. 2- Mexicans were willing to give the public rights to access certain goods. Americans, on the other hand, passed laws stating that individuals should claim their rights to access those goods.
Explanation:
The El Paso Salt War illustrates some important differences between Mexican and American cultures.
In first place, Mexicans used salt as a commodity useful for mining, preserving meats, amongst other things. furthermore, the Mexicans main form of subsistence was farming and grazing livestock, while collecting salt, accessible to the public in salt deposits, supplemented their income. Since salt was useful for a wide variety of purposes, and a source of supplemental income, it was a public good. Americans, on the other hand, were more covetous of salt, and wanted to claim it as their own. Consider Charles Howard, a Texan who claimed that the salt belonged to him, and was a leader of the El Paso war against Mexico. This is one example of Americans claiming private ownership of goods.
In second place, Mexicans claimed that everybody had the right to access salt. They were more culturally disposed, as I infer, to share goods that were available in a common space with others. Americans, on the other hand, valued individual rights and private ownership. Consequently, Texas passed a Law that individuals had to claim their salt rights. At the end of the war, Mexicans had to pay taxes for acquiring salt.
