David B. Edward moved to Texas in 1830 and recorded detailed observations and descriptions of Texas in one of the classic early histories of the state.

The Texas Legation Papers, 1836-1844 is a volume of lost letters and documents from the early turbulent years of the Republic of Texas. Editors Ken Stevens and Gregg Cantrell have compiled these papers to reveal the untold stories surrounding the birth of the state of Texas. For nine years, between its war for independence from Mexico until its annexation to the United States, Texas existed as an independent republic. During those years, Texas’s diplomatic representatives communicated with the officials of the United States; their job was to inform Texas leaders about the United States’ views on critical issues concerning recognition of Texas and eventual annexation, relations with Mexico, boundary issues, and troubles with Native Americans. As part of their duty as communicators with the United States, Texas diplomats were also tasked with raising funds for the financially strapped republic and overseeing the purchase and construction of vessels for the navy, as well as fielding questions from many quarters inquiring about everything from opportunities in the lone star republic to asking about long-lost relatives. The Texas diplomats were their government’s eyes, ears, and mouth in Washington; they were responsible for administering the successful transition of the Republic of Texas into the twenty-eighth member of the United States. The Texas Legation papers contain the detailed accounts of this time period. When Texas became a state in 1845, the Texas Legation in Washington was shut down and its papers were put away. When Sam Houston, one of the new state’s first senators, returned to Texas after completing two terms in the Senate, the papers came back with him. Most papers were delivered to the state archives, but somehow the letters and documents published in this collection were delivered to Houston’s home, where they remained out of sight for the next 160 years. In 2004, the papers in this volume returned to the possession of the Texas State Library and Archives, thanks to the efforts of The Center for Texas Studies at TCU and the generous support of Mary Ralph Lowe (TCU '65), the Lowe Foundation, and J.P. Bryan, of Houston, a Texana collector and past president of the Texas State Historical Association. Many letters in this volume are being published for the first time. As they round out the diplomatic story of the Texas republic, they offer a unique and fascinating perspective on the history of Texas.

Through its wide focus on a diverse array of American political practices and ideologies, Breakaway Americas will appeal to anyone interested in the Jacksonian United States, US politics, American identity, and the unpredictable nature of history.

A surprising history of explorers, pirates, priests, artists, and more: “The best overall study of the French experience in Texas ever assembled.” —Jack Jackson, editor of Texas by Terán The flag of France is one of the six flags that have flown over Texas, but all that many people know about the French presence in Texas is the ill-fated explorer Cavelier de La Salle, fabled pirate Jean Lafitte, or Cajun music and food. Yet the French have made lasting contributions to Texas history and culture that deserve to be widely known and appreciated. In this book, François Lagarde and thirteen other experts present original articles that explore the French presence and influence on Texas history, arts, education, religion, and business from the arrival of La Salle in 1685 to the dawn of the twenty-first century. Each article covers an important figure or event in the France-Texas story. The historical articles thoroughly investigate early French colonists and explorers; the French pirates and privateers; the Bonapartists of Champ-d’Asile; the French at the Alamo; Dubois de Saligny and French recognition of the Republic of Texas; the nineteenth-century utopists of Icaria and Reunion; and the French Catholic missions. Other articles deal with French immigration in Texas, including the founding of Castroville; Cajuns in Texas; and the French economic presence in Texas today—the first such study ever published. The remaining articles look at painters Théodore and Marie Gentilz; sculptor Raoul Josset; French architecture in Texas; French travelers from Théodore Pavie to Simone de Beauvoir who have written on Texas; and the French heritage in Texas education. Includes more than seventy photos and illustrations

A historical overview of Mexican Americans' social and economic experiences in Texas For hundreds of years, Mexican Americans in Texas have fought against political oppression and exclusion—in courtrooms, in schools, at the ballot box, and beyond. Through a detailed exploration of this long battle for equality, this book illuminates critical moments of both struggle and triumph in the Mexican American experience. Martha Menchaca begins with the Spanish settlement of Texas, exploring how Mexican Americans’ racial heritage limited their incorporation into society after the territory’s annexation. She then illustrates their political struggles in the nineteenth century as they tried to assert their legal rights of citizenship and retain possession of their land, and goes on to explore their fight, in the twentieth century, against educational segregation, jury exclusion, and housing covenants. It was only in 1967, she shows, that the collective pressure placed on the state government by Mexican American and African American activists led to the beginning of desegregation. Menchaca concludes with a look at the crucial roles that Mexican Americans have played in national politics, education, philanthropy, and culture, while acknowledging the important work remaining to be done in the struggle for equality.

"Traces the efforts the Texans made to build the Republic into a nation of importance. The chief underlying forces which shaped the relations of Texas with the United States, England, France, Mexico, Belgium, Spain, The Netherlands, the Hanseatic cities, etc. are clearly given." Dust jacket.