LBJ and Mexican Americans

Masterfully researched.... There is no book like this either in the field of LBJ literature or in the field of Chicano history. Mario T. Garca author of Mexican Americans: Leadership Ideology and Identity 19301960 As he worked to build his Great Society Lyndon Johnson often harkened back to his teaching days in the segregated Mexican school at Cotulla Texas. Recalling the poverty and prejudice that blighted his students lives Johnson declared It never occurred to me in my fondest dreams that I might have the chance to help the sons and daughters of those students and to help people like them all over this country. But now I do have that chanceand Ill let you in on a secretI mean to use it. This book explores the complex and sometimes contradictory relations between LBJ and Mexican Americans. Julie Pycior shows that Johnsons genuine desire to help Mexican Americansand reap the political dividendsdid not prevent him from allying himself with individuals and groups intent on thwarting Mexican Americans organizing efforts. Not surprisingly these actions elicited a wide range of response from grateful loyalty to in some cases outright opposition. Mexican Americans complicated relationship with LBJ influenced both their political development and his careerwith consequences that reverberated in society at large.