Title: 
Headings: American Latino Theme Study
American Latino Theme Study
The Making of America National Park Service

Content: The Mexican government's secularization of the missions greatly weakened the Catholic Church's role in schooling. The Mexican government withdrew subsidies for missions and ordered the return of church-controlled lands to the public domain. [ 7] The Republic of Mexico's 1824 Constitution stipulated public education, but the isolation of the far northern territories, coupled with limited finances and political instability in the new government, compromised the ability of the fledgling country to carry out its democratic educational reforms. [ 8] Some of the government's efforts, however, were successful. In 1834, for example, the Mexican government sent 20 teachers to open schools in Alta California. In addition, the Young Ladies Seminary in San Jos&eagrave;, run by The Sisters of Charity and the Church of Saint Francis School in San Francisco were also active. [ 9] Overall, an estimated one thousand children in California were being educated during the Mexican Era in a variety of Catholic, private, and public schools. [ 10]
The Republic of Texas, established in 1836 and annexed to the U.S. in 1845, also created ambitious plans for public education, condemning the Republic of Mexico for its failure to establish public schools. Economic difficulties and political instability, however, also constrained Texas from carrying out a concrete or systematic public school system. [