Imperial Metropolis

Los Angeles, Mexico, and the Borderlands of American Empire, 1865–1941

By Jessica M. Kim | Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press

About the book

In this compelling narrative of capitalist development and revolutionary response, Jessica M. Kim reexamines the rise of Los Angeles from a small town to a global city against the backdrop of the U.S.-Mexico borderlands, Gilded Age economics, and American empire. It is a far-reaching transnational history, chronicling how Los Angeles boosters transformed the borderlands through urban and imperial capitalism at the end of the nineteenth century and how the Mexican Revolution redefined those same capitalist networks into the twentieth.

Kim draws on archives in the United States and Mexico to argue that financial networks emerging from Los Angeles drove economic transformations in the borderlands, reshaped social relations across wide swaths of territory, and deployed racial hierarchies to advance investment projects across the border. However, the Mexican Revolution, with its implicit critique of imperialism, disrupted the networks of investment and exploitation that had structured the borderlands for sixty years, and reconfigured transnational systems of infrastructure and trade. Kim provides the first history to connect Los Angeles’s urban expansionism with more continental and global currents, and what results is a rich account of real and imagined geographies of city, race, and empire.

Editions of Imperial Metropolis

Hardcover
ISBN 9781469651347
Paperback
ISBN 9781469666242
EBook
ISBN 9781469651361
EBook
ISBN 9798890856418
EBook
ISBN 9781469651354
PDF
ISBN 9798890856401

Read an Excerpt

In this compelling narrative of capitalist development and revolutionary response, Jessica M. Kim reexamines the rise of Los Angeles from a small town to a global city against the backdrop of the U.S.-Mexico borderlands, Gilded Age economics, and American empire. It is a far-reaching transnational history, chronicling how Los Angeles boosters transformed the borderlands through urban and imperial capitalism at the end of the nineteenth century and how the Mexican Revolution redefined those same capitalist networks into the twentieth.

Kim draws on archives in the United States and Mexico to argue that financial networks emerging from Los Angeles drove economic transformations in the borderlands, reshaped social relations across wide swaths of territory, and deployed racial hierarchies to advance investment projects across the border. However, the Mexican Revolution, with its implicit critique of imperialism, disrupted the networks of investment and exploitation that had structured the borderlands for sixty years, and reconfigured transnational systems of infrastructure and trade. Kim provides the first history to connect Los Angeles’s urban expansionism with more continental and global currents, and what results is a rich account of real and imagined geographies of city, race, and empire.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Imperial Metropolis about?

In this compelling narrative of capitalist development and revolutionary response, Jessica M. Kim reexamines the rise of Los Angeles from a small town to a global city against the backdrop of the U.S.-Mexico borderlands, Gilded Age economics, and American empire. It is a far-reaching transnational history, chronicling how Los Angeles boosters transformed the borderlands through urban and imperial capitalism at the end of the nineteenth century and how the Mexican Revolution redefined those same capitalist networks into the twentieth.

Kim draws on archives in the United States and Mexico to argue that financial networks emerging from Los Angeles drove economic transformations in the borderlands, reshaped social relations across wide swaths of territory, and deployed racial hierarchies to advance investment projects across the border. However, the Mexican Revolution, with its implicit critique of imperialism, disrupted the networks of investment and exploitation that had structured the borderlands for sixty years, and reconfigured transnational systems of infrastructure and trade. Kim provides the first history to connect Los Angeles’s urban expansionism with more continental and global currents, and what results is a rich account of real and imagined geographies of city, race, and empire.

What core themes, tropes, or subjects are explored in Imperial Metropolis?

Lifestyle, Hobbies and Leisure > Local and family history, nostalgia > Local history

Where can I read a sample of Imperial Metropolis?

You can read an official preview of the few pages here https://www.book2look.com/book/9781469651347

How long is Imperial Metropolis and how many pages does it have?

Imperial Metropolis has 304 page(s)

Is Imperial Metropolis part of a series, and can it be read as a standalone?

Yes it is a part of series The David J. Weber Series in the New Borderlands History

Who is/are the Author/s of the book Imperial Metropolis?

Jessica M. Kim

Who is the Publisher of the book Imperial Metropolis?

The University of North Carolina Press

What are the ISBN numbers for the physical and digital editions?

Imperial Metropolis is available as hardcover(ISBN 9781469651347) and paperback(ISBN 9781469666242) and ebook(ISBN 9781469651361) and ebook(ISBN 9798890856418) and ebook(ISBN 9781469651354) and pdf(ISBN 9798890856401)

Where can I buy Imperial Metropolis online or support local independent bookshops?

You can buy Imperial Metropolis from below

Where can I buy Imperial Metropolis?