Final answer:
2) Mexican Americans were the largest group to settle in the Mexican Cession area in the 1800s, making up a significant population in the Southwest after the Mexican-American War, with the majority accepting U.S. citizenship and trying to maintain their cultural heritage.
Step-by-step explanation:
The group that made up the largest settlement in the Mexican Cession area in the 1800s was 2) Mexican Americans. Following the end of the Mexican-American War and the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848, about seventy-five thousand Hispanics were living in the American Southwest, with 90 percent accepting U.S. citizenship.
This area included states like California, New Mexico, and Texas. Despite the influx of settlers during the Gold Rush and subsequently, Mexican Americans still comprised the majority in the region.
They were, however, often relegated to second-class status and faced challenges in maintaining their property rights and cultural integrity.
The Treaty guaranteed Hispanics citizenship, the right to maintain their language, religion, and culture, and property rights.
However, due to rapid settlement and displacement by White settlers, as well as institutional racism, these rights were often not upheld in practice.
Over time, as the region's demographics shifted, Mexican Americans formed homogeneous communities in an effort to preserve their heritage and traditions.