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Acknowledgments In the course of writing this book, I have been assisted by many colleagues . Over the years a number of scholars were kind enough to offer feedback and encouragement on this project. Henry Flores, Sandy Magana, Michael Olivas, Luis Fraga, Melissa Michelson, David Canon, and Yoi Herrera commented on various parts of the manuscript. I especially want to thank those who read the manuscript in its entirety and offered their thought-provoking comments: Booth Fowler, Valerie Martinez , and Francisco Scarano. I am grateful for the support that I received from Graham Wilson and John Coleman. I am indebted to my students at the University of Wisconsin who worked as researchers: Sudha Rajan, Aaron Swerdlow, Bryce Nyeggen, Natasha Lewis, Kathryn Hall, and Katherine Grace Mendez. I want to thank Jack Edelson for his help with the charts and figures. I deeply appreciate the assistance of Alexander Dunn, who was a terrific editor and critic. I thank the many archivists and librarians who guided me through my research, especially those at the Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, University of Texas at Austin: Allison Beck, Amy Bowman, and Brenda Gunn. Special thanks go to Evan Hocker for his tireless assistance and good humor. Tom Kreneck and Grace Charles of the Charles Mary and Jeff Bell Library at Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi provided invaluable assistance as I researched the Dr. Hector P. Garcia Papers. I am also grateful for the assistance of Darlene Mott, Lynda Young, and Lisa Meisch of the Sam Houston Regional Library and Research Center. Thanks also to Cecilia Arnos Hunter and Sandra Rexroat of the South Texas Archives at the James C. Jernigan Library at Texas A&M University –Kingsville; Irene Gonzales at the Austin History Center; Robert Tissing at the Lyndon B. Johnson Library; Margo Gutiérrez at the Nettie x Democratizing Texas Politics Lee Benson Latin American Collection; and Sergio Velasco at the Texas State Library and Archives Commission. I am also grateful to Charles Schultz of the Cushing Library at Texas A&M University, who helped me with the William P. Clements Jr. Collection. I thank the library staff at the University of Texas at El Paso, the Houston Public Library, and Rice University. Claudia Rivers, head of Special Collections at the University of Texas–El Paso Library, gave me invaluable and timely assistance with this project. I gratefully acknowledge the financial aid that I received from the American Philosophical Society, Lyndon Baines Johnson Foundation, and University of Wisconsin Graduate School. This book would not have been brought to fruition without the support of Theresa May at the University of Texas Press. Her assistance and the aid of the anonymous reviewers have greatly improved this book. Kathy Lewis did a wonderful job with the final edit. Finally, I am most grateful to my wife, Lolita, and my children, Carlos, Carina, and Antonio, who gave me unwavering support over the time it took to complete this book. ...

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