Kirjailijakuva
8+ teosta 222 jäsentä 4 arvostelua

Tietoja tekijästä

Sam W. Haynes is Professor in the Department of History and the Director of the Center for Greater Southwestern Studies at the University of Texas at Arlington.

Tekijän teokset

Associated Works

Desperta Ferro Historia Moderna 57 : El Álamo (2022) — Avustaja — 2 kappaletta

Merkitty avainsanalla

Yleistieto

Muut nimet
1956-08-17
Sukupuoli
male
Ammatit
historian

Jäseniä

Kirja-arvosteluja

Caveat: I was a graduate assistant at U.T.A. for Dr. Haynes, I consider him a great scholar of Texas history, and I like the guy.

But he is a university professor and the professoriate is rather liberal/progressive in their scholarship and conclusions. It is currently in vogue (almost de rigueur) to take potshots at D.W.M.s in general, and Texas history in particular. See the terrible and terribly overrated Forget the Alamo. So, I was worried.

But, I shouldn't have been. Unlike the activist/journos who wrote Forget the Alamo, he is a scholar, a good one, and grounds his writing in deep research into primary sources and a thorough reckoning with the secondary sources. There are a few missteps, one glaring, but otherwise, Dr. Haynes has written a great book and contribution to the history of Mexican Texas and the Republic of Texas.

Dr. Haynes gives a well-rounded explication and history of the settlement of Texas and the Texas Revolution through the eyes of a wide cast of characters: Tejanos, Anglos, free Blacks, enslaved Blacks, Indians, the Mexican government, etc. Well-rounded and complete, stripping down some of the mythos that has glommed on to the Texas Revolution (think John Wayne's Alamo, etc.)

Slavery was an issue, yes. But not THE issue. Otherwise, why would the non-slaveholding Tejanos fight for Texas? Haynes is complete here. Sam Houston and others wanted to deal fair with the Indians and Tejanos, but most incoming Anglos couldn't care less. It's a tragic story, and Haynes tells it. He also is sure to put the Texas Revolution into context by discussing these grandsons of 1776, the Jacksonian Era ethos of Whites, and the other revolutions going on in Mexico in the 1830s and 1840s. (It wasn't just White guys in Tejas fighting against the government of Mexico, but Zacatecas and Yucatan and so on.) He doesn't shirk talking about the atrocities committed by the Comanche, for instance, nor the slaveholders or malicious racists who attacked Tejanos. Straight talk all around.

His only misstep is an ill-considered attempt to be too fair to Santa Anna. In an attempt to make him less the cartoon villain of Hollywood (watch Martyrs of the Alamo to start), he tries too hard. From p. 131:

"Even if Santa Anna had opted for a more hands-on approach to governance, he was not a dictator, at least not in the modern sense of the term."

The whitewash continues into the next page.

What? I guess nobody that was a dictator before 1933 wasn't a dictator in the modern sense of the term? I guess Julius Caesar, whose title was DICTATOR, wasn't a dictator. I actually laughed when I read that sentence. Out loud. I can imagine Dr. Haynes brain-storming ways to say "dictator" without saying "dictator" and coming upon "a more hands-on approach to governance."

But, otherwise, it is a great book. I would recommend it to anyone interested in Texas history. I would recommend it for any upper-level undergraduate classes and grad classes on Texas history. I would recommend it for political conservatives and liberals and those who love Texas and those who hate Texas. Decent maps and pictures, though I would have recommended more and better of the latter. Index, extensive (sometimes discursive) endnotes, no bibliography.
… (lisätietoja)
½
 
Merkitty asiattomaksi
tuckerresearch | Feb 2, 2024 |
As president of the United States from 1845 until 1849 James Knox Polk had a greater impact on American history than many of his counterparts did with twice the amount of time in that office. During his four years in the White House Polk redefined the nation’s boundaries through both negotiation and conquest. Though he avoided war with Great Britain over the border with Canada in the Pacific Northwest, Polk led the country into one with Mexico that ended with the annexation of over half a million square miles of territory. Yet while this territory would soon serve as a rich source of mineral wealth and a springboard for American trade in the Pacific, it also brought renewed controversy over the expansion of slavery that would end ultimately in civil war and emancipation.

As significant as Polk’s presidency proved, however, biographies of him are surprisingly scarce. This only adds to the value of Sam Haynes’s short account of his life and career. In just two hundred pages Haynes describes Polk’s early years, recounts his time in public office, and analyzes the factors that shaped the outcomes of his policies. It’s an extraordinarily efficient study that is no less insightful for its brevity, as he explains just how Polk came to have such an outsized impact on the nation’s history.

The son of a planter, as a young boy James Polk moved with his family from his North Carolina birthplace to the new state of Tennessee. With his physical activities limited by his poor health, Polk focused instead on academics and graduated first in his class from college less than three years after he arrived. Though he trained as a lawyer his passion was for politics, and within a few years he won a seat in the state legislature. Succeeding through hard work rather than charisma, he emerged as an early supporter of Andrew Jackson, and soon after his election to the House of Representatives he made a name of himself as one of “Old Hickory’s” staunchest supporters.

While Polk became Speaker of the House at the age of 40, his sights were set higher still. It was to demonstrate his value on a national ticket that he gave up his seat in Congress in 1839 in favor of the governorship of Tennessee. Polk served just a solitary two-year term before he was defeated for reelection and again when he tried to reclaim his office. While Polk still entertained hopes that he might be selected to provide regional balance as Martin Van Buren’s running mate in 1844, Van Buren’s waffling on the issue of Texas annexation cost him the nomination of the expansionist Democratic Party, which turned to the Jackson-endorsed Polk as the nominee.

As Haynes demonstrates, the man had met the moment. Polk became president at a time a fever for westward expansion had seized the imagination of millions of Americans. Polk was elected with the promise not just to annex Texas but to expand the nation’s borders everywhere possible. Though Polk did so through different means, Haynes sees the same common course of action behind his handling of the crises with both Britain and Mexico: namely the adoption of a bellicose posture with little room for compromise. That it led to a peaceful settlement with one and war with the other reflected the differing positions of the two nations, with Mexico’s political instability denying them the luxury of being able to brush off Polk’s brinksmanship.

The result was a war that created a new set of problems for the president. Haynes portrays Polk as a micromanager attempting to direct the war from the White House. This soon led to conflict with his leading generals, whom Polk worried could become Whig presidential candidates. These concerns only grew as public opinion in many parts of the country shifted in favor of the Whigs, whose gains in Congress jeopardized his ability to continue the war. Though he attempted to recall his own peace envoy, Polk was forced to accept the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo out of a fear that further Whig electoral victories might result in a settlement without any territorial annexations. With the acquisitions secured by the Senate’s ratification of the treaty Polk left office with his goals accomplished, though at the cost of having exhausted himself to such an extent that he was left vulnerable to an outbreak of cholera just a few months after his presidency ended.

The requirements of the Library of American Biography series placed a premium on economy. This results in the case of this book is a highly efficient text that touches on all of the key details of Polk’s time in office. Though Haynes includes a short chapter that describes Polk’s economic and fiscal policies, his focus is on the expansionist program that was the most important aspect of Polk’s presidency. Yet Haynes also finds the space provide a succinct analysis of Polk’s personality, giving his readers a good sense of what he was like and how that defined his strengths and weaknesses as a public figure. The result is a fine concise study of Polk’s life that is a good place to start for anyone seeking an introduction to this president and his sometimes underappreciated significance.
… (lisätietoja)
 
Merkitty asiattomaksi
MacDad | May 29, 2021 |
Probably the best college-level textbook for Texas history out there up to 1900. After that, the text is too short and quick.
 
Merkitty asiattomaksi
tuckerresearch | May 15, 2018 |
This book tells the history of the Republic of Texas as seen through the backdrop of the Mier Expedition. There is much to this story that we aren't taught and never learn. It was a time full of turmoil with a lot of politics that molded the Republic's history.

The book starts just prior to the Somervell expedition to explain why the Mier expedition happened. The story continues to the return of all but one of the Mier prisoners, at a time when the Republic's joining the US was all but certain.

Sam Houston played a dominant roll in the book, and is portrayed as a level-headed, although very political player. He was restrained, and tried to avoid conflict with Mexico, a fight he felt Texas could not afford nor could win. Texas was in debt, and did not have a standing in the world that enabled her to borrow. Fortunately, Mexico was not in better shape, trying to keep many rebellious states in line and having its own monetary shortfall, and a Congress that did not support the military as Santa Anna desired.

Untold events that played major roles in the history include Thomas Jefferson Green, who captured Santa Anna for his own prestige and violated the peace treaty won at San Jacinto. This lead to Santa Anna's authorized raids on San Antonio, trying to provoke Texas.

Sam Houston tried to keep Texas out of the war in spite of a vast majority of Texans wanting to invade Mexico. He assigned an inexperienced politician to lead the army, then tied it up sitting, or moving in unproductive manners to encourage defections.

Texas was full of individuals and adventurers. These people could not train effectively, they could not follow orders, and were prone to acting on impulse. Sam Houston was fighting an uphill battle to keep Texas out of a war, and treated the Mier soldiers as independent, he would not work to have the prisoners released. This provided fodder to his political enemies.

Sam Houston played England, the US, and Mexico against each other, each wanted Texas as part of its territory. He skillfully manipulated each to achieve his goal of Texas becoming part of the US.

In the end, the prisoners were released, with help from an English ambassador. Although forgotten by most Texans, they were eventually rewarded with back pay as soldiers of Texas, thus being officially recognized.

This is a great book for anyone even slightly interested in Texas history or politics. The turmoil and politics of the time are portrayed well.
… (lisätietoja)
 
Merkitty asiattomaksi
Nodosaurus | Jun 17, 2013 |

Palkinnot

You May Also Like

Associated Authors

Tilastot

Teokset
8
Also by
1
Jäseniä
222
Suosituimmuussija
#100,929
Arvio (tähdet)
4.1
Kirja-arvosteluja
4
ISBN:t
22

Taulukot ja kaaviot