Black Enlisted Men in the U.S.-Mexico Borderlands: Race, Citizenship, and Military Occupation, 1866-1930

This dissertation relies on underused sources—including court martial records and black veterans’ pension files—to examine the experiences of black soldiers in the U.S.-Mexico borderlands during the post-Civil War era. It focuses on soldiers’ cross-cultural encounters with the racially and ethnically diverse communities that surrounded the posts they garrisoned, revealing how black enlisted men viewed and attempted to define their positions within the complex and fluid social order of the U.S.-Mexico borderlands. An analysis of black soldiers’ experiences enriches our understandings of race, ethnicity, gender, and settler colonialism by illuminating how these men both supported and undermined U.S. imperial projects. As agents of U.S. expansion, black troops actively transformed the West and secured the region for white settlements, but simultaneously undermined U.S. expansion by challenging the military justice system and building relationships that transcended the very boundaries they were charged with policing. This project thus not only sheds light on the experiences of black soldiers in the American West, but also enriches our understandings of the complicated processes associated with settler colonialism and claims to rights and citizenship in the post-Civil War era.

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Philosophy

Level thesis:degree_level

Doctoral

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Humanities

Grantor

Rice University

Year dc:date.issued

2020

Author dc:creator

• Valentin, Edward

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• McDaniel, William C.

• African American History
• Borderlands History
• Military History

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright is held by the author, unless otherwise indicated. Permission to reuse, publish, or reproduce the work beyond the bounds of fair use or other exemptions to copyright law must be obtained from the copyright holder.

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/1911/108363

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:repository.rice.edu:1911/108363