Includes bibliographical references (pages 203-215) and index.
Introduction / Louis A. Pérez, Jr. -- Finance capital and economic structures of the republic -- Social formations in the republic -- The urban and rural middle classes dislocated -- Disintegration of the independent peasantry -- The industrial proletariat and the urban working class -- The rural proletariat -- The marginalization of women -- Race and social stratification -- Generations in conflict -- City versus countryside -- Social change and political transformation