TEXAS: A POLITICAL HISTORY

by LIGHT CUMMINS
1st edition, 538 pages, $24.95
ISBN 978-0-89641-188-3 

This book of readings has been especially prepared for use in a college level Texas History course. This book provides an understanding of the history of Texas from pre-European contact to the present. It stresses the political, economic, and social development of Texas as a colony, republic, and state. It as well analyzes the role which Texas has played in the development of the United States and the state's impact on the international arena.

The book begins with an assessment of the major events in the exploration and settlement of Texas. It provides a consideration of the native populations of various Texas regions, major figures and events in the exploration and settlement of Texas, the geographical regions of early Texas and their influences on settlement, and the characteristics of Texas as part of New Spain and Mexico. The course then moves to an analysis of the Texas Revolution, the formation of the Republic, and the establishment of statehood. Within this context, there is a survey of the major figures and events of the period, the causes and results of the Texas Revolution, and of relations between the Republic, and later the state, of Texas and the United States.

The Civil War and era of Reconstruction also receive emphasis. There is an analysis of the political issues which led to secession, the political and economic aspects of Texas's role in the War, and the effects of the conflict on Texas. As well, the course presents the political, social, and cultural issues of Reconstruction, notes the problems of economic growth and development, and examines the effects of the Constitution of 1876 on the development of the state.

The book thereafter offers a consideration of the major developments in the growth of Texas from the 1880's to the period of World War One. It also introduces the major leaders and movements in business, industry, and labor; surveys the causes and effects of ethnic immigration and social reform; enumerates factors involved in and results of economic growth; and notes the relationship of regional, geographic factors, and economic resources to settlement patterns and growth. This is followed by a similar presentation for the period from World War One to World War Two, including analysis of significant events and individuals in the social and political development of Texas, and the roles of Texans in international conflicts.
The final stages of this book note trends in Texas from the period from World War Two to the present. This permits an analysis of significant events and individuals in the social, political, and economic development of Texas; major industries in the state; the economic interdependence of Texas with other states and nations; and the causes of continuing urbanization in Texas. In addition, throughout the above chronological periods, this book considers the experiences and contributions of multicultural groups in Texas. This includes Mexican-American and Black Texans, along with a survey of cultural and ethnic pluralism in the state.

This book, as well, seeks to improve the student's understanding of the heritage of Texas government. It provides an introduction to the historical reasons for the structure and functioning of state government in Texas, along with a consideration of the role which education has played in the development of the state.

 

Contents

• Chapter 1: SPANISH TEXAS, 1519-1810

  First Expeditions
  The Approach from the West
  LaSalle and French Threat
  Early Spanish Settlements
  Stabilization and Continued French Threats
  New Defensive Settlements
  Indian Menace
  End of an Era
  Reorganization of the Frontier
  Military and Civil Administration
  Missionaries
  Economic and Social Life
  Suggestions for Further Reading

• Chapter 2: THE ANGLO-AMERICAN ADVANCE INTO TEXAS, 1810-1830
  

  Spanish Texas in 1810
  Filibusters and Revolutionaries
  Empresarios and Colonists
  Mexico's Anglo Province
  Mexico and Her Northern Neighbor
  Mexican Efforts to Save Texas
  

• Chapter 3: THE TRAIL TO SAN JACINTO
  

  The Trail Begins
  Houston Organizes
  Santa Anna Takes Command
  Decision at the Fork of the Road
  Showdown at San Jacinto
  Bibliography
  

• Chapter 4: THE REPUBLIC OF TEXAS
  

Finance
Land Policy
Indians
The Army and the Navy
Beginnings i n Education
International Relations
Annexation


• Chapter 5: THE TWENTY-EIGHTH STAR: TEXAS DURING THE EARLY STATEHOOD, 1846-1861
  

  Setting up the Government
  Administration of J. Pinckney Henderson and the Mexican War
  Administration of George T. Wood and the Return of Peace
  Administration of Peter H. Bell and the Compromise of 1850
  Administration of Elisha M Pease and the Development of Political Parties
  Congressional Succession
  Texas Society in the 1850's
  Administration of Hardin R. Runnels and the Calm before the Storm
  Administration of Sam Houston and the Secession Crisis
  Appendices
  Candidates for Governor and Lieutenant Governor
  Congressional Succession
  

• Chapter 6: TEXAS IN GRAY: THE CIVIL WAR YEARS, 1861-1865

Secession
The Removal of Governor Sam Houston
Surrender of Federal Troops
Importance of Texas to the Confederacy
Indians and the Frontier Regiment
Sibley's New Mexico Campaign
Confederate Military Command in Texas
Red River Campaign
Texans in Gray
Leaders and Units
Texans in Richmond
Camp Ford
State Politics
Life in Confederate Texas

• Chapter 7: RECONSTRUCTION IN TEXAS
  

  Texas in 1865
  A.J. Hamilton: The Unionists in Power
  James W. Throckmorton: Conservatives in Power
  Military Rule Returns to Texas
  Edmund J. Davis: The Radicals in Power
  

• Chapter 8: TEXAS POLITICS IN THE GUILDED AGE, 1873-1890
  

  Introduction
  Richard Coke and the Emrgence of Conservative Deomcratic Coalition
  Agrarian Dissent: Greenbackers, The Grange, and the Democratic Party
  Wash Jones and the Independent Challenge to the Democratic Party
  Democratic Unity under Stress: Land Policy, Prohibition, and Railroad Regulation
  Collapse of the Conservative Democratic Coalition
  

• Chapter 9: A LIBERAL VIEW OF TEXAS POLITICS, 1890s-1930s
  

  Reform and Retreat, Jim Hogg, the Populist Insurgency, and Colonel Edward M. House
  Progressive Reforms
  Baileyism
  Demon- Rum
  "Pa" Ferguson
  Texans in Washington
  Turmoil of the War Years and After
  Ku Klux Klan and Return of Fergusonism
  Oil and Politics
  Fergusons Again
  Texas New Dealers and Anti-New Dealers
  Republicans, Minorities, and Localities
  Southern Heritage
  What it all Means
  

• Chapter 10: LIBERAL VIEW OF TEXAS POLITICS SINCE THE 1930s
  

  The New Deal in Texas
  The O'Daniel Phenomenon
  The Establishment Concept
  Establishment in the Cities
  Establishment in the Counties
  Establishment Lobbies
  "Pappy" O'Daniel Rampages
  "Calculatin Coke" and the University of Texas
  Controversies of 1947-1948
  The Shivers Era
  Establishment Hi-Jinks in Elections
  The Heyday of John Connally
  Establishment Muddles through – Smith, Sharpstown, Briscoe and Constitution Revision
  Labor and Liberal Approaches
  Rise of Bill Clements
  Case of Ralph Yarborough
  Other Texans in Congress
  Triumphant Establishment
  Biographic Essay