Mexican Americans in Texas ─ A Brief History

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 Leon 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 Jose Antonio Navarro, J. T. Canales, Alonso Perales, Hector P. Garcia, or Irma Rangel, or the impact of court cases like which Hernandez v. Texas or Plyler v. Doe that changed the direction of Mexican American history.

A native of Robstown, Texas, Professor Arnoldo De Leon received his undergraduate education at Angelo State University. Upon graduation in 1970 with a B.A. in history, he went on to Texas Christian University, where he received his M.A. (1971) and his Ph.D. (1974) in history.

Since then, Professor De Leon has published widely in the field of Mexican American history, though he specializes in the history of Texas Mexicans. His major works include The Tejano Community, 1836 -1900 (1982; reprinted 1997 by Southern Methodist University Press); They Called Them Greasers: Anglo Attitude Toward Mexicans in Texas, 1821 1900 (1983); Ethnicity in the Sunbelts: A History of Mexican American in Houston, Texas (1989; new edition by Texas A&M University Press, 2001); Tejano Epic: Essays in Honor of Felix D. Almaraz, Jr. (Austin: Texas State Historical Association, 2005); and with Richard Griswold del Castillo, North to Aztlan: A History of Mexican Americans in the United States (1996; Harlan Davidson, Inc., 2006). The History of Texas, which he coauthored with Robert A. Calvert in 1990 (Fourth Edition with Robert A. Calvert and Gregg Cantrell, 2007) is used in many Texas Colleges and Universities.

Professor De Leon teaches in the Department of History at Angelo State University, where he has been since 1973, and holds the C.J. “Red” Davidson Professorship in history.