07/04/2026
In responding to columnist Pat Morrison’s questions for the Los Angeles Times article, Dr. Hayes-Bautista “connects the dots between Spanish and Mexican laws and traditions that stood in marked contrast with U.S. laws and traditions, but which made their way into California’s first Constitution in 1849, and influence the state to this day.”
Latino contributions to the 1849 California constitution included; the abolition of slavery; guaranteeing married women’s property rights independent of their husbands; allowing non-whites to vote; and California as a Spanish-English bilingual state.
Hayes-Bautista ended by comparing the US Constitution of 1787 to the Latino-inflected California constitution of 1849: “Which Constitution “looks more like the America we have today?”
Don’t get all cocky, you 13 original colonies. Yes, yes, 250 years, congratulations, enjoy the cake.
