Review of Not Room Enough: Mexicans, Anglos and Socioeconomic Change in Texas, 1850-1900 by Kenneth L. Stewart and Arnoldo De Leon

Authors

F. Arturo Rosales, Arizona State University, Tempe

Date of this Version

February 1995

Comments

Published in Great Plains Research 5:1 (February 1995). Copyright © 1995 The Center for Great Plains Studies, University of Nebraska–Lincoln. Used by permission. http://www.unl.edu/plains/publications/GPR/gpr.shtml

Abstract

The main conclusion of this concise work is that Mexicans had more economic parity with Anglos in 1850 than at the end of the nineteenth century. Even though both groups chased opportunities offered by Texas' entry into the capitalist world system, the fortunes of Mexicans did not keep pace. By 1900, Mexicans lagged behind Anglos in property ownership, in capital wealth, in political power retention, and in educational attainments. Such a course is predictable; the thesis has often been aired prior to the publication of this work, not just about Texas but about other areas of the Southwest.