Written by Randolph B. Campbell and edited by Mark C. Carnes, Sam Houston and the American Southwest tells the story of the life of Sam Houston. Sam Houston, born in 1793 in Tennessee, was a soldier, lawyer, and also one of the founding fathers of the state of Texas. This biography of Sam Houston goes on to describe the life of Sam Houston in topics such as presidential elections he ran in, wars he has fought, friends and rivals of Houston, his personal life, marriages, wins, defeats, and changes he brought upon the United States of America. Sam Houston was liked by the majority of people, he looked up to Andrew Jackson who was his general when Sam Houston joined the army in his 20’s. This book goes into depth to portray to the reader of the type of person Sam Houston was including his strengths, weaknesses, and the fact that he was an alcoholic and despite all that, he was a very intelligent and noble man of U.S. history as we now know.
Randolph B. Campbell is currently a history professor at the University of North Texas. In the years of 1993-1994 Campbell was the president of the Texas State Historical Association, he was a man fascinated by the history of how the United States came to be where it is today. Campbell graduated with his doctorate’s early 19th century American History from the University of Virginia which is the state he was also born in. Campbell has also written and published several other books some of which including Gone to Texas: A History of the Lone Star State, and Grass Roots Reconstruction in Texas, showing that Campbell was interested mostly in Texas history after he had left Virginia to find a state with a lot of history behind it.
In this biography Campbell attempts to convince us of Houston's true ...
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...is own. In an overall assessment of this book, Martin comes to the conclusion that “Campbell has succeeded in providing a thoughtful, very readable, and eminently useful survey of a fluid, exciting, and fascinating period of United States and Texas history through the lens of the life of the greatest Texas hero of them all” showing that Martin as well as Campbell seemed to be very fascinated by the heroism of Sam Houston (The Journal of Southern History, 60, November 1994, 796).
In conclusion, the biography of Sam Houston was a very interesting and informative read. Campbell did a great job of informing the reader of Houston’s achievements. This book is definitely an easy read to follow thanks to the style that Campbell approached in writing this book. This biography gave an insight on Houston’s life that not many people had known from their past history classes.
The battalion’s arrival to Texas was met with great hostility from the white residents. “So opposed were whites to the very sight of black men in uniform that it was not unusual for trains carrying black troops to be fired on as they passed through Southern towns.” (Dorau, 1988) Houston patrolmen harassed and arrested soldiers for minor infractions and perceived slights that further increased racial tensions in the
When we see Texas, we remember today mainly for its BBQ, Football and Black Gold, Texas tea. However, there is much more than just the usual itineraries that we find in most other states as well. Molly Ivins in her essay “Is Texas America” categorically states that, “Here's the deal on Texas. It's big. So big there's about five distinct and different places here, separated from one another geologically, topographically, botanically, ethnically, culturally and climatically” (Ivins). This is a true belief from Molly Ivins of how huge Texas was and how the demographics changed in each geographical location in Texas. The population of Texas and the demographics are two essential factors that include many important parameters in deciding the history of any state. The presence of many ethnic groups further adds to the diversification of
The books “Fertile Ground, Narrow Choices” by Rebecca Sharpless and “The Path to a Modern South” by Walter L. Buenger paint a picture of what life was like from the late 1800’s to the 1930’s. Though written with their own style and from different views these two books describe the modernization of Texas through economics, politics, lifestyles and gender roles, specifically the roles of women during this era.
Juan Seguin was born into a politically prominent family in 1806 to Juan Jose Maria Erasmo de Jesus and Maria Josefa Becerra. From an early age Seguin was entrusted by his father to handle certain business and political affairs. “During the time his father served as Texas deputy of the Constituent Congress, Juan handled the postmaster’s duties, helped his mother tend to the fields, and to some degree acted as intermediary between Erasmo and Austin.” Seguin’s father, Erasmo, worked with St...
Calvert, Robert A., Arnoldo De Leon and Gregg Cantrell. The History of Texas. 4th. Wheeling: Harlan Davidson, Inc., 2007. Print.
In the afternoon of February 23, 1836, Santa Anna’s army arrived in San Antonio. The Texan defenders retreated to the well-fortified Alamo. Santa Anna had given the defenders time to escape if they wanted, but the Texans stayed, confident with their weaponry. With the few soldiers he had, Colonel Travis sent requests to Colonel James Fannin for reinforcements, but received none. Fannin thought that the 300 men he had wouldn’t make a difference and may not arrive in time. Of the 200 defenders, there were settlers who wanted independence as well as a dozen Tejanos who joined the movement. Although they believed in ind...
America was born and survived, its rough road into a nation, through a series of events, or moments in history. The founding brother’s book is about a few important figures during and after the American Revolution. These important figures consisted of Alexander Hamilton, Aaron Burr, John Adams, George Washington, James Madison, and Thomas Jefferson. Each of these men, contributed to the building of America in one way or another. The book breaks these contributions into a few short stories, to help understand what these important figures did.
Walens, Susann. A. United States History Since 1877. Western Connecticut State University, Danbury, CT. September 2007.
History of the United Sates. Davis does not merely recount the glorious deeds of histories '
Tanner, James T.F. The Texas Legacy of Katherine Anne Porter. Denton: U North Texas P, 1990.
The Raven is a biography about Sam Houston. Marquis James is the author of The Raven. The book was first published in 1929 by the Bobbs-Merrill Company. This book goes from the time he was born all the way until he died. This book includes the adventures Houston had as a little boy to the battles he resolved as a grown man. The Raven begins in 1730 when John Houston first arrived in the colonies. The book quickly moves through to Sam Houston’s Robert Houston and grandson Samuel Houston, to the main subject Sam, born March 2, 1793. The Houston’s soon move from Virginia to Tennessee, and that is where Sam Houston stays for most of the time. Only moving to Texas much later on in the book.
The Annexation of Texas was one of the most debatable events in the history of the United States. This paper argues the different opinions about doing the annexation of Texas or not. In this case Henry Clay and John L. O’Sullivan had completely opposite opinions about this issue. The reasons of why not do it was because of the desire to prevent war, for division over slavery, and for constitutional rights. On the other hand, John L. O’ Sullivan wanted to do this because of his idea of Manifest Destiny. By 1845, the annexation of Texas went into effect.
Texas prides itself on a strong heritage and history. Events that happened when Texas fought to gain independence will forever remain preserved and idolized in the heart of every true Texan. One of the most famous events that occurred during the fight for independence happened at a place that was not well-known and did not hold much importance at the time, but because of the events that occurred there, it will forever be a place of remembrance and pride. This place is known as The Alamo. This paper focuses on the articles written by Brian C. Baur, Richard R. Flores, and Paul Andrew Hutton over The Alamo.
When that happened he was against slavery so the states that liked slavery they wanted to leave and they did and in the process they made the Confederate States Of America and they tried to get Texas to join them.Sam Houston did not want to join them but the decision was made to join them. When Texas joined the Confederate States Sam Houston refused to take the oath of loyalty to the Confederate States, therefore they kicked him out of office and that was the end of his life in office. At the time Sam Houston was governor of Texas and when the time came for Sam Houston to take the oath of loyalty to the Confederate States Of America, he refused to do that and when he did he was forced to
...neth M. Goldstein, and William G. Howell. "Chapter 20 The Social and Economic Milieu of Texas Poltics." Understanding American Politics and Government. Texas ed. New York: Longman, 2010. 690-93. Print.