According to census projections; by 2050 nearly one in three U.S. residents will be Latino; and the overwhelming majority of these will be of Mexican descent. This dramatic demographic shift is reshaping politics; culture; and fundamental ideas about American identity. Neil Foley; a leading Mexican American historian; offers a sweeping view of the evolution of Mexican America; from a colonial outpost on Mexico’s northern frontier to a twenty-first-century people integral to the nation they have helped build.Mexicans have lived in and migrated to the American West and Southwest for centuries. When the United States annexed those territories following the Mexican-American War in 1848; the unequal destinies of the two nations were sealed. Despite their well-established presence in farm fields; workshops; and military service; Mexicans in America have long been regarded as aliens and outsiders. Xenophobic fantasies of a tidal wave of Mexicans overrunning the borders and transforming “real America†beyond recognition have inspired measures ranging from Operation Wetback in the 1950s to Arizona’s draconian SB 1070 anti-immigration law and the 700-mile security fence under construction along the U.S.-Mexican border today. Yet the cultural; linguistic; and economic ties that bind Mexico to the United States continue to grow.Mexicans in the Making of America demonstrates that America has always been a composite of racially blended peoples; never a purely white Anglo-Protestant nation. The struggle of Latinos to gain full citizenship bears witness to the continual remaking of American culture into something more democratic; egalitarian; and truer to its multiracial and multiethnic origins.
#2321738 in Books Harvard University Asia Center 2009-10-30 2009-11-29Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.02 x 1.38 x 5.98l; 2.08 #File Name: 0674033329450 pages
Review
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. A fascinating and well-written book !By BoutonnetThis work; clear and precise; is important for at least two reasons. On the one hand; it demonstrates the interest of so-called "Buddho-Daoist Studies" which revolve around the complex interactions between these two traditions. It would be actually pointless to address these two issues separately in a diachronic approach. On the other hand; this book reveals the relevance of regional studies (here on the Hengshan) for drawing the history of thought in a more concrete way than simply normative framework does. Anyone wishing to learn about the history of religions in medieval China must read this book.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. you have enlightened many on the amazing aspects of Buddhism and Asian studiesBy Jacqueline M.Dr. Robson; you have enlightened many on the amazing aspects of Buddhism and Asian studies. Another wonderful book...thank you!
