Wires That Bind: Nation, Region, and Technology in the Southwestern United States, 1854-1920

by Torsten Kathke

Overview

The arrival of telegraphy and railroads changed power relations throughout the world in the nineteenth century. In the Mesilla region of the American Southwest, it contributed to two distinct and rapid shifts in political and economic power from the 1850s to the 1920s. Torsten Kathke illustrates how the changes these technologies wrought everywhere could be seen at a much accelerated pace here. A local Hispano elite was replaced first by a Hispano-Anglo one, and finally a nationally oriented Anglo elite. As various groups tried to gain, hold, and defend power, the region became bound ever closer to the US economy and to the federal government.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9783837637908
Publication date:	11/28/2017
Series:	American Culture Studies
Pages:	292
Product dimensions:	5.83(w) x 8.86(h) x (d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Torsten Kathke is a lecturer at the Obama Institute for Transnational American Studies at Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz and an adjunct lecturer in the department of history at the University of Cologne. He is an associated member of the research group "Economization of the Social" at the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter 1
Contents 5
Acknowledgments 7
Introduction 11
1. Into the Fray 23
2. The Perennial Periphery 51
3. Communication Nation 83
4. Transitions 131
5. Places 161
6. Laws of the Land 209
Conclusion 247
Bibliography & Sources 257

Editorial Reviews

Kathke’s focus on issues of cultural amalgamation, law, and government action in the Mesilla makes for a highly useful study.

Technology and Culture