The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 18, July 1914 - April, 1915 Page: 111
438 p. : ill. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Book Reviews and Notices
of genuine indignation "than as part of a complicated plot." (2)
Texas was the real issue in the election of 1844, and Polk's election
was due "to the Western spirit of expansion, which was unwilling
to put bounds to the growth of the nation, and therefore wel-
comed annexation." (3) Neither Polk nor the South in 1846
desired to force a war on Mexico, and the order which carried
General Taylor to the Rio Grande was merely a measure of rea-
sonable precaution. Certain inaccurate minutiae will reward the
critical eye: it is now pretty well established that both Coronado
and De Soto entered Texas (I, 3). The powers of Albert Galla-
tin were unequal to the task of convincing the British government
that the Florida treaty gave us a clear title "even to the Pacific,"
though Mr. Rives makes the assertion without argument (I, 25).
General Mier y Terin seems to have been responsible for the idea
and the substance of the law of April 6, 1830, closing Texas to
Anglo-American immigration (I, 195), though Alaman forced it
through Congress. The population of Texas in 1830 was nearer
ten than twenty thousand (I, 182), and a number of other un-
important inaccuracies in local Texas history could be catalogued.
Butler probably deceived himself as well as Jackson in the hope
of ultimately purchasing Texas (I, 247). He had all the pro-
moter's optimism-and all the promoter's interest in the stake.
The "abundance" of money which the Texan commissioners ob-
tained in the United States in 1836 (I, 365) was less than one
hundred thousand dollars. And one should like some citations
for the assertion that in 1844 the Whigs were not severely op-
posed to annexation (I, 691). More serious is the feeling that
Mr. Rives has confined his study too closely to the relations of
governments and has considered too little the people. One finds
it hard to realize, of course, that there is a Mexican people, but
it is perfectly true, nevertheless, that popular opinion, skillfully
manipulated, has generally exercised a considerable influence over
the government. Except for a few references to the Diario del
Gobierno and one to El Sol, Mexican newspapers have been entirely
neglected, and the draft on such sources in the United States has
not been heavy. One suspects, too, that the War Department
archives at Washington and Mexico would have repaid inspection.
In particular, one feels that those of Mexico might help to settle
the question of Santa Anna's motives in marching to Buena111
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 18, July 1914 - April, 1915, periodical, 1915; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101064/m1/117/: accessed May 1, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.