Sam W. Haynes

From Revolution to Republic, the Struggle for Texas

Unsettled Land

Gerald D. Saxon

To a large degree, the story of Texas’ secession from Mexico has been undertaken by scholars of the state. Early twentieth century historians of the revolutionary period, most notably Eugene Barker and William Binkley, characterized the conflict as a clash of two opposing cultures, yet their exclusive focus on the region served to reinforce popular notions of a unique Texas past. Disconnected from a broader historiography, scholars have been left to ponder the most arcane details of the revolutionary narrative—such as the circumstances of David Crockett’s death and whether William Barret Travis really did draw a line in the sand. In Contested Empire: Rethinking the Texas Revolution, five distinguished scholars take a broader, transnational approach to the 1835–36 conflict. The result of the 48th Annual Walter Prescott Webb Memorial Lectures, held at the University of Texas at Arlington in March, 2013, these essays explore the origins and consequences of the events that gave birth to the Texas Republic in ways that extend beyond the borders of the Lone Star State.

Rethinking the Texas Revolution

Contested Empire

The Somervell and Mier Expeditions of 1842, culminating in the famous "black bean episode" in which Texas prisoners drew white or black beans to determine who would be executed by their Mexican captors, still capture the public imagination in Texas. But were the Texans really martyrs in a glorious cause, or undisciplined soldiers defying their own government? How did the Mier Expedition affect the border disputes between the Texas Republic and Mexico? What role did Texas President Sam Houston play? These are the questions that Sam Haynes addresses in this very readable book, which includes many dramatic excerpts from the diaries and letters of expedition participants.

The Somervell and Mier Expeditions

Soldiers of Misfortune

John M. Belohlavek

Thomas R. Hietala

Robert Walter Johannsen

Christopher M. Morris

Six scholars consider important aspects of American antebellum expansion in these studies based on talks originally prepared for the Walter Prescott Webb Memorial Lectures. Robert W. Johannsen of the University of Illinois at Urbana offers fresh insight into the meaning of the term "manifest destiny," arguing for a broader definition. John M. Belohlavek of the University of South Florida takes a close look at the expansionist attitudes of Caleb Cushing, a Massachusetts politician, diplomat, reformer, and intellectual. Cushing's life and controversial career, Belohlavek argues, mirror a young republic as it began to transform itself from "union" to "nation." Thomas R. Hietala of Grinnell College examines the complicated clash of culturesthe result of Manifest Destinyand how it was viewed by observant individuals such as George Catlin, a painter who traveled and lived among Native Americans just prior to the expansionist surge of the 1840s and who opposed the destruction of Native Americans in the wake of the Anglo westward movement. Winner of the Webb essay competition for 1996, Samuel J. Watson of Rice University studies U.S. Army officers' responses to territorial expansionism between 1815 and 1846. He argues that officers' views on Manifest Destiny were far more nuanced than conventional models of romantic nationalism suggest. Sam W. Haynes uncovers the social and political complexities, including a widespread fear of Great Britain, that made Texas' annexation the most divisive issue of its day. Robert E. May of Purdue University offers a compelling examination of American filibustering during the Manifest Destiny era.

American Antebellum Expansionism

Manifest Destiny and Empire

Sam W. Haynes

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