Introduction
Texas has had a colorful history since the beginning of time. It then became a nation, and then a state. Traditional history writers have often taken the path of romanticizing the events in history and rationalizing on why they had to occur. Oftentimes, the premise was always the proclamation of the superiority of the Anglo-American over the Native American and Mexican occupants of the land. Modern historians like Fehrenbach, Crisp and others have endeavored to write history in the context of how the events really happened, coming to their own conclusions as to how these events occurred, and avoiding the romanticized versions of their stories altogether.
Fehrenbach and the Anglo Conquerors of Texas
The first role of myth, politics and prejudice in writing the history of Texas lies in the fact that the Anglo-American settler/conqueror of Texas has always been presented as the superior individual as compared to his Native American and Mexican counterparts. Fehrenbach (2014) states that most of the material written on the history of Texas has always been about whitewashing the roles of the other racial groups and communities involved. The Anglo settler of Texas has always been at the heart of documentation, and the more painful episodes of this colorful history have not been emphasized at all. He states that the Anglo American was always presented as the more morally upright “discoverer” and “developer” of the Lone Star state, and that they were superior to the Native Americans and Mexicans who also played a substantial role in the formation of the state. It is this bias that the majority of written history on Texas would present the Native American and the Mexican as the villainous murderer desiring to eradicate the intelligent and educated Anglo conquerors of the state. He counters this by writing in his famous book “Lone Star: A History of Texas and Texans” how the Anglo-American decimated the Comanches, but also how the Comanches almost eradicated the Apaches, and prior to all of this, how the Apaches also took over the Pueblo Indians throughout the American southwest (Elbein, 2012).
Fehrenback further describes the rationalization by these historians. To write history, he states, there should be no rationalization, because one rationalization takes place, the biases and prejudices come in. He proclaims the premise of previous historians that the Anglo American is superior to the Native American and the Mexican as being a myth, and that this premise should be eradicated from all those writing history. History ought to be presented at its own face value – the facts as they actually happened must be detailed, without any rationalization as to why they happened in the first place. One could also write about understanding these particular events (Elbein, 2012). Stating that the Anglo American conqueror of Texas was justified in his actions as he was the superior being is not acceptable as a treatise on the history of the state.
Debunking the Old Myths
Another myth that has influenced the traditional history documents on Texas is also an offshoot of the premise of the Anglo-American being superior to the rest of mankind in all aspects. This premise resulted in the Mexican-American being a passive individual when it came to politics. The Mexican-American was thus content to take on the traditional role of a thief and criminal. Slavery also played a large role in the documentation of traditional history. Texas was known as a slave state just prior to the Civil War, and thus the superiority of the Anglo-American over his slaves is once more highlighted. The story of the Wild West in Texas about the cowboys driving away the primitive Indians who pillaged their villages and towns is a highly romanticized tale. However, this myth was also presented in stories and in films, thus perpetuating it in the minds of the rest of the world (Nathan, 1998). Therefore, another myth rooted in politics and prejudice is that the Mexican American and the Native American were the villains in the settlement of the state of Texas by the White Anglo conqueror. There is also the impression that premise of race supremacy as being influential in writing history is also tied to economics. As the slave-owners and ranch-owners were mostly Anglo-Americans, history had to be written from their own point of view.
A myth that had to be ironed out by the modern historians is the story about the death of Davy Crockett, the famous American naturalist who was caught by Mexican troops at the height of the Battle of Alamo. Crisp (2005) mentions a document written by a traditional historian stating that General Santa Anna knew the identity of Davy Crockett, and yet had ordered his execution. This then made Davy Crockett a hero of the Alamo, one of the Anglo-Americans who had his life terminated because of this battle. This would have the effect of declaring Crockett a hero. However, this is not what Spanish texts analyzed by Crisp declare. The Spanish texts declare that General Santa Anna simply ordered the execution of the prisoners, not knowing their individual identities. Again, in this instance, traditional history makes use of the supremacy of the Anglo-American lineage, making Davy Crockett a hero in the eyes of the Anglo-Americans (Crisp, 2005).
Crisp also likens the work of the traditionalist historians to a creation myth that accompanied the birth of the Republic of, and eventually, the state of Texas. The necessity of the creation of the myth of the “Yellow Rose of Texas” is such an example (Crisp, 2005). A female heroine was absolutely necessary for this myth to prosper and be perpetuated in American history. No one at the time bothered to verify her real existence as tales of her having liaisons with General Santa Anna would have the effect of spreading the perception of the Mexican general as a weak man who easily was tempted by the charms of any woman. Hence, this myth was perpetuated via its integration into the traditional historical annals of Texas.
Conclusion
Culture in the form of myths, politics and prejudice have all shaped the traditional history of the state of Texas. In these, the basic premise is the presence of the better-educated, more intelligent Anglo-American who successfully drove away the savage Native Americans and Mexicans from the state. Myth-creation had evolved into history, as these myths served to create and perpetuate the Anglo-American superiority over the other peoples. It is quite rewarding to take note of the modern historians who have sought to make changes or edit the historical records using primary evidence in order to present history or the events of history as they actually happened without any bias or rancor.
References
Crisp, J. 2005. Sleuthing the Alamo: New York City, NY: Oxford University Press.
Elbein, S. 2012. Fehrenbach’s Texas. Retrieved from: https://www.texasobserver.org/fehrenbachs-texas/
Fehrenbach, T.R. 2014. Lone Star: A History of Texas and the Texans. New York City, NY: Open Road Media.
Nathan, D. 1998. Forget the Alamo. Retrieved from: http://www.texasmonthly.com/articles/forget-the-alamo/
