TEXAS
HISTORY
by FRANK SMYRL
2nd edition, 474 pages, $24.95
ISBN 978-0-89641-159-3 
Since Piñeda's 1519 approach to its coasts, Texas has continually
been a focal point of tension, excitement, and significant happenings
in the history of western civilization. This collection of essays
is chosen as a text for the study of Texas history in part to
demonstrate that point. For nearly two centuries after Piñeda,
Texas was a vaguely defined place of sporadic contact —
sometimes friendly, sometimes unfriendly — between Spaniards
and native American Indians. The third competitor, the French,
joined the race for control of the region. For over a hundred
years, the two European powers struggled with each other, and
sometimes with the Indians, to gain the upper hand in Texas, with
the motivating forces of "God, gold, and glory" obvious
at every turn. Near the beginning of the fourth century after
Piñeda, Americans (loosely termed "Anglos") entered
the picture, just as the French presence was slipping away, and
the struggle for mastery intensified. Most of Europe, meanwhile,
was embroiled in the Napoleonic wars, and the shock waves of those
struggles were commonly seen and felt in distant Texas, which
to some was a frontier, to some a borderlands, and to others home.
Texas played catch-up with the rest of western civilization in
the nineteenth century in all aspects of life. Finally, in the
twentieth century, Texas has come to contribute fully its share
in a miriad of fields. Texas history thus constitutes a unique
and meaningful field of study.
American Press has developed an open-ended series of works by
writers of Texas history which seeks to relate its particularly
important aspects to a broad audience of students and scholars.
Some of these essays treat a historic period, and when taken together
they fairly cover the chronological time span of Texas. Others
are concerned with topics of importance which do not fit well
into more conventional approaches without creating serious problems
of organization. This particular collection of the essays (each
of which is also available as a separate publication) is intended
to provide the basic core of material which a student of Texas
history should learn in a college course emphasizing the pre-1876
period. Students are urged to supplement this volume with other
essays in the series to provide text material tailored to their
own needs and interests. Notice should also be made of the bibliographical
feature of each essay that will guide students to further reading
beyond the depth of these essays.
CONTENTS
Chapter 1: ENVIRONMENTAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL PERCEPTIONS IN TEXAS
Chapter 2: NATIVE AMERICAN OF TEXAS
Chapter 3: SPANISH TEXAS, 1519-1810
Chapter 4: THE ANGLO AMERICAN ADVANCE INTO TEXAS, 1810-1830
Chapter 5: THE TRAIL TO SAN JACINTO
Chapter 6: THE REPUBLIC OF TEXAS
Chapter 7: IMMIGRATION TO TEXAS
Chapter 8: THE TWENTY-EIGHTH STAR: TEXAS DURING THE PERIOD OF
EARLY STATEHOOD, 1846-1861
Chapter 9: TEXAS IN GRAY: THE CIVIL WAR YEARS, 1861-1865
Chapter 10: RECONSTRUCTION IN TEXAS