Mexican Americans in Texas

This third edition of our ground-breaking publication, the first survey of Tejanos, has been completely updated to present a concise political, cultural, and social history of Mexican Americans in Texas from the Spanish colonial era to the present day, a time when people of Mexican descent are poised to become the demographic majority in the Lone Star. Writing specifically for the college-level student and careful to include a consensus of the latest literature in this strong and continually growing field, Professor De León portrays Tejanos as active subjects, not merely objects, in the ongoing Texas story. Complemented by a stunning photographic essay and a helpful glossary, and featuring new biographical vignettes that now introduce and set the context for each chapter, this third edition of our well-loved text is certain to be even more engaging and relevant to readers of all levels. And while the book targets a wide reading audience, it is ideally fit for classroom use. Professors teaching courses in Texas, western, and borderlands history will find it an ideal complement to their class lectures and other outside reading assignments. Of particular interest to students will be discussions describing the survival techniques Tejanos developed to withstand poverty and disadvantage, the process of assimilation over many generations, the changes engendered by the Chicano Movement of the 1960s, the role of political figures such as José Antonio Navarro, J. T. Canales, Alonso Perales, Héctor P. García, or Irma Rangel, or the impact of court cases like which Hernández v. Texas or Plyler v. Doe that changed the direction of Mexican American history.

Preface 1 Chapter One. Texas: A Spanish Outpost, 1716-1790s 7 Chapter Two. Under Three Nations: Spain, Mexico, and the Texas Republic, 1790s-1836 22 Chapter Three. A New Citizenship: Life in Anglo Texas, 1836-1880 38 Chapter Four. Mexican Americans and Inmigrantes in a Modernizing Society, 1880-1910 55 Chapter Five. Corridors North, 1900-1930 71 Chapter Six. The World Was I Years and the 1920s 85 Chapter Seven. To the U.S. Born, 1930-1945 Chapter Eight. “Latin Americans” in the Postwar Era, 1945-1960 120 Chapter Nine. The Sixties and El Movimiento, 1960-1976 135 Chapter Ten. Hispanic Texans in the Late Twentieth Century 153 Chapter Eleven. The Charge Forward 167 Glossary 176 Notes 181 Index 207 Maps 12, 41, 88-89 Photoessay follows page 119