Jesús F. de la Teja – författare

Most histories of Civil War Texas - some starring the fabled Hood's Brigade, Terry's Texas Rangers, or one or another military figure - depict the Lone Star State as having joined the Confederacy as a matter of course and as having later emerged from the war relatively unscathed. Yet as the contributors to this volume amply demonstrate, the often neglected stories of Texas Unionists and dissenters paint a far more complicated picture. Ranging in time from the late 1850s to the end of Reconstruction, Lone Star Unionism, Dissent, and Resistance restores a missing layer of complexity to the history of Civil War Texas.The authors - all noted scholars of Texas and Civil War history - show that slaves, freedmen and freedwomen, Tejanos, German immigrants, and white women all took part in the struggle, even though some never found themselves on a battlefield. Their stories depict the Civil War as a conflict not only between North and South but also between neighbors, friends, and family members. By framing their stories in the analytical context of the ""long Civil War,"" Lone Star Unionism, Dissent, and Resistance reveals how friends and neighbors became enemies and how the resulting violence, often at the hands of secessionists, crossed racial and ethnic lines. The chapters also show how ex-Confederates and their descendants, as well as former slaves, sought to give historical meaning to their experiences and find their place as citizens of the newly re-formed nation.Concluding with an account of the origins of Juneteenth - the nationally celebrated holiday marking June 19, 1865, when emancipation was announced in Texas - Lone Star Unionism, Dissent, and Resistance challenges the collective historical memory of Civil War Texas and its place in both the Confederacy and the United States. It provides material for a fresh narrative, one including people on the margins of history and dispelling the myth of a monolithically Confederate Texas.

The rich and unique history of the 'Lone Star State' is presented in this new book through the lives of a variety of Texans who put a human face on the state's history. Biographical sketches of fifteen famous and little-known men and women of different colors, religions, and economic backgrounds offer new insight into the history of the state. Starting in the sixteenth century with Alvar N__ez Cabeza de Vaca, the first European to make contact with Texas Indian tribes, and tracing Texas history to the late twentieth century with a final sketch of Gary Gaines, a high-school football coach, The Human Tradition in Texas brings the state's history to life by showing real people and the events and times in which they lived. Written by leading and rising scholars of Texas history, this book presents the major themes and periods in Texas history, including the settling of Anglo-Americans in the region, bringing an American democ-racy that supported slavery; the Civil War and Reconstruction; technologi-cal developments in the late nineteenth century, including railroads and irrigation for crops and livestock; Texas's transformation in the early twentieth century from a world of cotton and cattle to a world of paved streets, electricity and running water; the challenges to modernization faced by the state with the development of the oil industry, the growth in industrialization, and the increasing size of Texas's cities; the new age, with Texas taking leadership roles in the oil, aviation, and entertainment industries; and the expanding inclusiveness of Texas society, nowhere more complete than on the sports field-particularly the football field. A collection of accessible and entertaining essays on this vast, vibrant state, The Human Tradition in Texas is an excellent resource for courses in Texas history and the history of the American West.

Scion of one of San Antonio's leading early families, Juan Nepomuceno Seguin grew up in a Texas beset by violence and destruction. During the 1820s he matured in a household that welcomed Stephen F. Austin, and like many prominent Tejanos, the young Seguin came to see Anglo-Americans as a boon to the development of his beloved homeland. With the eruption of rebellion in Texas in October 1835, he volunteered for service in the Texas army and was involved in some of the most memorable events in the War of Independence, from the siege of Bexar to the Runaway, Scrape and the battle of San Jacinto. As the most prominent Tejano military figure during the war, and an important political figure thereafter, Seguin made enemies among the newly arriving Anglo-Americans unaware of the contributions of numerous Tejanos to the Texas cause. His opposition to landgrabbers in the San Antonio area and the machinations of political enemies while serving as mayor of San Antonio forced him to seek safety in Mexico, where he was impressed into military service. Among his controversial actions during his six-year exile were involvement in Gen. Adrian Woll's occupation of San Antonio in September 1842 and command of a Mexican cavalry company during the Mexican War. After his return to Texas in 1848, he became involved in San Antonio politics and was a founding member of the Bexar Country Democratic Party. He served as an election precinct chairman and as Wilson Country judge during Reconstruction before finally retiring in 1870 to Nuevo Laredo, where two of his sons had set up residence. He died in the Mexican border town in 1890. Jesus F. de la Teja has written the most extensive biographical study yet done on this controversial Tejano, who deserves a place among the more familiar names in the litany of the illustrious patriots of the Texas Revolution. Here is a wealth of information for serious historians but, even more, a readable and informative account for any person interested in early Texas history. This reprint edition of the out-of-print classic contains a new introduction.

San Antonio native, military veteran, merchant, and mayor pro tem JosÉ Antonio Menchaca (1800–1879) was one of only a few Tejano leaders to leave behind an extensive manuscript of recollections. Portions of the document were published in 1907, followed by a “corrected” edition in 1937, but the complete work could not be published without painstaking reconstruction. At last available in its entirety, Menchaca’s book of reminiscences captures the social life, people, and events that shaped the history of Texas’s tumultuous transformation during his lifetime. Highlighting not only Menchaca’s acclaimed military service but also his vigorous defense of Tejanos’ rights, dignity, and heritage, Recollections of a Tejano Life charts a remarkable legacy while incorporating scholarly commentary to separate fact from fiction.Revealing how Tejanos perceived themselves and the revolutionary events that defined them, this wonderfully edited volume presents Menchaca’s remembrances of such diverse figures as Antonio LÓpez de Santa Anna, Jim Bowie, Davy Crockett, Sam Houston, General AdriÁn Woll, Comanche chief “Casamiro,” and Texas Ranger Jack Hays. Menchaca and his fellow Tejanos were actively engaged in local struggles as Mexico won her independence from Spain; later many joined the fight to establish the Republic of Texas, only to see it annexed to the United States nine years after the Battle of San Jacinto. This first-person account corrects important misconceptions and brings previously unspoken truths vividly to life.

Tejanos (Texans of Mexican heritage) were instrumental leaders in the life and development of Texas during the Mexican period, the war of independence, and the Texas Republic. Jesus F. de la Teja and ten other scholars examine the lives, careers, and influence of many long-neglected but historically significant Tejano leaders who were active and influential in the formation, political and military leadership, and economic development of Texas. In "Tejano Leadership in Mexican and Revolutionary Texas", lesser-known figures such as Father Refugio de la Garza, Juan Martin Veramendi, Jose Antonio Saucedo, Raphael Manchola, and Carlos de la Garza join their better-known counterparts - Jose Antonio Navarro, Juan Seguin, and Placido Benavides, for example - on the stage of Texas and regional historical consideration. This book also features a foreword by David J. Weber, in which he discusses how Anglocentric views allowed important Tejano figures to fade from public knowledge. Students and scholars of Texas and regional history, those interested in Texana, and readers in Latino/a studies will glean important insights from "Tejano Leadership in Mexican and Revolutionary Texas".