This acclaimed book explores popular politics during Mexico's tumultuous post-independence decades. Focusing on Mexico City during the chaotic early years of the nineteenth century, Richard A. Warren offers a compelling narrative of the defining period from King Ferdinand VII's abdication of the Spanish crown in 1808 to the end of Mexico's first federal republic in 1836. Clearly written and meticulously researched, this book is the first to demonstrate that the relationship between elites and the urban masses was central to Mexico's political evolution during the fight for independence and after. Mexico City, capital of both the old viceroyalty and the new nation, often witnessed the first wave of "public opinion" to respond to competing political proposals in both traditional and new forms that ranged from riots to electoral campaigns. Warren explains the direct effects of these actions on political outcomes, as well as their influence on elite perceptions of the new nation's problems and potential solutions. Vagrants and Citizens explores the impact of urban mass mobilization on crucial issues of the era, such as the evolution of electoral practices, the conflict between federalists and centralists, and social control programs. Shedding new light on a poorly understood era, Warren demonstrates the importance of the urban masses both as actors in their own right and as objects of elite discourse and programs. His compelling narrative offers an ideal supplement for courses on Mexican and Latin American history.

"Warren makes a solid and original contribution to an understudied period and neglected subject. Scholars and students who desire to learn more about comparative electoral politics, social control, state formation, nationalism, and social and cultural history will profit handsomely from reading Vagrants and Citizens." - The Historian

"This clear, carefully researched monograph shows how the elites and lower classes shaped the early Mexican nation through electoral politics. Highly recommended for advanced undergraduates and above." - CHOICE

"This book is well written, with creative insights interspersed through a clear political narrative. Warren adds order to Mexico's seemingly tumultuous post-independence politics and offers a demonstration and reminder of its impact on the generation that follows." - American Historical Review

"A particularly fluid and well-written narrative that neatly synthesizes the main events and issues that affected Mexico City from 1808 to 1837. . . . An extremely valuable contribution to the historiography. . . . Essential reading for anybody concerned with tackling the issues of popular politics in Mexico c. 1810 to c. 1837." - The Americas: A Quarterly Review of Latin American History

"Richard Warren's Vagrants and Citizens is an important addition to the small but growing body of literature on Mexico's immediate post-independence decades. . . . [It] is carefully researched, gracefully written, and a suitable length for use in an upper-level undergraduate class. It clearly establishes the centrality of the relationship between elites and urban masses to Mexico's early political evolution and makes a very important contribution to our understanding of the early republican Mexico." - Journal of Iberian and Latin American Studies

"Crisply, even elegantly written and well-documented. . . . [A] book of compelling interest." - Journal of Latin American Studies