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The complexity of Sam Houston as a man perhaps exemplifies the difficulties in arguing whether the revolution was justified. Houston has become associated with the racism of the Texan's cause, because of his effective defeat of Mexico. But Houston himself lived amongst the Cherokees early in his life and married a Cherokee woman. When he fought for Andrew Jackson as a populist, he warred against the Creeks Indians, although he eventually resigned amongst accusations for being too sympathetic to Native Americans. Finally, Texas, the state he is most associated with, ceded from the Union, but Houston resigned as governor rather than lead a Confederate state. To the death, he was a die-hard Unionist in one of the nation's most independent of states (Campbell, 1993).
Campbell argues that Houston's life embodies the contradictions of the righteousness of the Texan cause. According to Campbell, however, Houston's support of Texan independence was not because Houston believed the revolution was moral or ideologically justified but rather his actions were always calculated. "Houston never lost sight of practical realities...The personal key to Houston's...
What an irony for a man whose life was so filled with romantic adventure" (Campbell 1993, p.160).
The Texans agreed to become Mexicans, live by Mexican law, and to adopt Mexico's national religion and language, and, when this policy was not initially enforced, they abdicated this responsibility. When Mexico forced compliance, they reacted with outrage, especially when deprived of the rights to hold other people in bondage. While Houston's tactical and military prowess may have enabled his numerically smaller army to win Texan independence, the Texan's moral and legal reasons for beginning and justifying their revolution seem suspect, to put it mildly, at best.
Works Cited
Campbell, Randolph. Sam Houston and the American Southwest. New York:
HarperCollins College Publishers, 1993
Causes of the Texas Revolution." History. University of Austin. 13 Feb 2008. http://www2.austin.cc.tx.us/lpatrick/his1693/causes.html
Nostro, Rita. "Sam Houston." Hyper History. 12 Feb 2008. http://www.hyperhistory.net/apwh/bios/b4houstonsam.htm
Works Cited
Campbell, Randolph. Sam Houston and the American Southwest. New York:
HarperCollins College Publishers, 1993
Causes of the Texas Revolution." History. University of Austin. 13 Feb 2008. http://www2.austin.cc.tx.us/lpatrick/his1693/causes.html
Nostro, Rita. "Sam Houston." Hyper History. 12 Feb 2008. http://www.hyperhistory.net/apwh/bios/b4houstonsam.htm
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