William Hanson and the Texas-Mexico Border

John Weber is an associate professor of history at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, and the author of From South Texas to the Nation: The Exploitation of Mexican Labor in the Twentieth Century.

[This book] is not a typical biography...Weber historicizes Hanson’s actions as part of a much larger economic and political shift...this tale of one man’s life ill-lived should interest modern readers because of its echoes through the present. (Texas Observer) [This book] is an uncomfortable but necessary reminder that racism, violence, and corruption have a long and sordid history in this country. (CHOICE) Weber contributes to our growing but still incomplete understanding of the Texas Rangers and its breathtakingly violent history...while also writing an original and fascinating story of a man who embodied the worst impulses and excesses of the period...Accessible,well-written, well-organized, and effectively framed,...it is a terrific book and a welcome contribution to a subject painfully relevant in 2024. (The Journal of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era)

• List of Illustrations Introduction Part I. Fragile Dreams of Empire Chapter 1. Revenge, Impunity, and White Supremacy Chapter 2. In the Employ of Fall Part II. Gatekeeping Chapter 3. Deportation, Inconvenient Exiles, and Postrevolutionary State-Building Chapter 4. Immigration Control and the Numbers Game Epilogue Acknowledgments Notes Bibliography Index