This book is appropriate for Mexican History, 19th Century Mexican History, and 20th Century Mexican History courses. Based on the belief that people—not institutions—make history, this narrative of the history of Mexican people examines the challenges they have faced since independence, telling the story of their resiliency and creative character during the years of political and economic change. It examines national boundaries not as barriers, but as the setting of complex interactions resulting in the convergence of cultures; and, in so doing, reveals the Mexican experience not only in Mexico, but in what is today the southwestern United States.