Description
Book SynopsisOffers a stunning revisionist understanding of the early political incorporation of Mexican-origin peoples into the US body politic in the nineteenth century. Historical sociologist Phillip B. Gonzales reexamines the fundamental issue in New Mexico’s history, namely, the dramatic shift in national identities initiated by Nuevomexicanos when their province became ruled by the United States.
Trade Review"With the knowledge that this book focuses on the first thirty years of the American period of New Mexico history, historians will find
Política a detailed and valuable contribution to our understanding of
Nuevomexicanos that expands our horizons beyond the previous political histories of
Americano leaders in this same era."—Cameron L. Saffell,
Southwestern Historical Quarterly"Gonzales has produced a comprehensive discussion of politics in New Mexico and the linkages between territorial and national politics."—Evan C. Rothera,
Civil War Book Review"
Politica is an extremely valuable book and should be added to the library of any scholar who is serious about studying New Mexican history."—Michael J. Alarid, H-NewMexico
“This groundbreaking study of political activities in New Mexico during two decades before and after the Civil War reexamines the transition from Mexican to U.S. control. The result is a first-rate analysis that reinterprets colonization, reconstructs Euro-American and Nuevomexicano relations, and rewrites the prevailing historical narrative.”—David V. Holtby, author of
Forty-Seventh Star: New Mexico’s Struggle for Statehood “Gonzales offers us a fascinating glimpse into the yearnings and actions of New Mexico’s
politicos in the years following the United States’ war with Mexico. Far from being mere victims of conquest, these politicos were astute agents of power who shaped the political system and pioneered Latino politics in the United States.”—John Nieto-Phillips, author of
The Language of Blood: The Making of Spanish-American Identity in New Mexico, 1880s–1930sTable of ContentsList of Illustrations
List of Maps
List of Tables
Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Part 1. Initializing Annexation
Chapter 1. Nuevomexicano Politics and Society on the Eve of the American Conquest
Chapter 2. Bloodless and Bloody Conquests, 1846–1847
Chapter 3. Integrative Conquest, 1847–1848
Part 2. Política in the Ante Bellum
Chapter 4. A Budding Binary, 1848–1852
Chapter 5. Mexican Democratic Party, 1853–1854
Chapter 6. American Democratic Party, 1854–1859
Part 3. Party Modalities in the Time of Civil War
Chapter 7. Low Tide in the Partisan Divide, 1861
Chapter 8. Republican Toehold and the Partisan Normal, 1861–1863
Chapter 9. Bosque Redondo and the Rise of José Francisco Chávez, 1863–1865
Part 4. Political Agonism under Reconstruction
Chapter 10. Party Definitions of the Colonizer, 1865–1867
Chapter 11. Política Judaica e Literaria
Chapter 12. A Contest for the Ages, 1867–1868
Part 5. Arriving
Chapter 13. Republican Party Debut, 1867–1868
Chapter 14. Steady Republicans, Hazy Democrats, 1869
Chapter 15. Realized Political Parties, 1869–1871
Conclusions
Appendixes
Notes
Bibliography
Index
