Throughout his life, Sam Houston had a special bond with Native Americans, especially the Cherokees. Discuss this relationship, giving examples from the book about his interactions with them, as well as his personal concern for their welfare.
Sam Houston was well known for having a special bond with the Native Americans especially the Cherokee. Sam lived in Tennessee where he interacted with the Cherokee. There he became close with the leader of the tribe known as Ahuludeji (Campbell). The elders’ English name or name given to him by the white people in America was John Jolly. The two were so close in that he became a mentor for Houston and thought of him as his adopted father. While in the tribe, he was able to learn the Cherokee languages fluently. He stayed in the village for a while before he returned to his hometown in Maryville.
The influence and bond that he was able to get from the Cherokee village is what has influenced some of the decision he made in life. He had major concerns for the welfare of the Native Americans because he was able to live with them and understand them and their problems. He saw in firsthand the issues that surrounded the Cherokee people who are also part of the tribes of the Native Americans. He fought hard for the rights of the Native Americans especially when he was the President of Texas. When he became the senator of the United States of America, he was also seen to always try to fight for the justice of the Native Americans in the country (Bodden).
A general theme throughout the biography is Sam Houston's wisdom and moral courage. Discuss at least three examples where Houston took the wise or morally correct public stance, in spite of the fierce criticism he was certain to face.
According to the biography, it claims how Houston had wisdom and moral courage. Sam Houston had left politics after his ex wife had caused scandals for him. He got back into the political arena when he canned one of the congressional representatives of Ohio named as William Stanbery. The reason he claimed he did that was that the man had stated something bad about him in the newspaper. This caused him to be taken to the House of the Representatives. The action that he took of canning made him to be admiration from the public people. This caused him to be put back into the limelight when it comes to politics. When taken to the civil courts he was charged and told to pay a fine of five hundred dollars to Stanbery (Bodden). Instead of paying the fine, he went to Mexico where he became an active member of the Texan society. The courage and wisdom could be seen when he had moved to Texas during a time when there was instability in the area.
At that time, the Anglo Texans are stated to have wanted to breakout from the Mexican territory. When this happened, Houston was among the people who formed the Anglo government in Texas. He was soon proclaimed as the commander in chief of Texas. According to the biography, it states how Houston used his senses and wisdom in the battle with General Anna from Mexico. The battle was named as the San Jacinto battle. In the battle, Houston and his troops were able to defeat the Mexican troops and also capture the general in charge who was General Anna. The win in this battle is one of the main achievements for Houston. After the win of this battle, he proclaimed to be the president of Texas.
While as the president in Texas, he became really unpopular by the other people (Campbell). The reason for this was because of the strong stance he had about the native Americans. He was very active in fighting for the right and wanted justice for the Native Americans. He was also very vocal about wanting for peace between the Texas people and the Mexicans. These two topics were not talked about at that time and thus many people in Texas were not in favor of Houston’s views. This showed his courageousness to the people especially to the Native Americans and the minorities.
How did Sam Houston come to marry Margaret Lea, and what did she mean to his life?
At the age of 40 years, Sam Houston married Margaret Lea when she was just 21 years. While they were married, they were able to get eight children. Margaret meant a lot to Sam Houston became not interested in the presidential candidacy because he wanted to spend more time with his wife and children. This might have caused him to lose his chance of becoming the president. She had a major influence in his personal life in that she was able to make him to stop his drinking. This was major positive influence in his life (Bodden). She was very religious and attended the Baptist church. She began to encourage him to join the church for years. He was finally able to accept it and was baptized as a member of the Baptist church. During the baptism the ceremony was conducted by Rev. Rufus C. Burleson. The baptisms took place in the Little Rocky Road. Even on his last days, he was always with his wife even when he was dying.
Reference
Bodden, Valerie. Samuel Houston: Army Leader & Historic Politician. Minnesota: ABDO Publishing Company, 2010. Print
Campbell, Randolph. Sam Houston and the American Southwest, 3rd Edition . Pearson, 2006. Print
