The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 51, July 1947 - April, 1948 Page: 183
406 p. : ill., ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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book Reviews
RUDOLPH L. BIESELE, Editor
The Texas Republic: A Social and Economic History. By William
Ransom Hogan. Norman (University of Oklahoma Press),
1946. Pp. 338. $3.00.
Most Texans like a juicy beefsteak. All Texans and other inter-
ested people will feel that they have sunk their teeth into flavor-
ful literary meat upon reading The Texas Republic. All they
could ask for, in the way of sauce, is a spicier title for this full-
bodied account of the social and economic history of the infant
Republic. The book is mildly seasoned with photographs and
reproductions of historical papers and documents. Some are rare
and all are interesting enough to make the reader wish for more.
Chapter headings are simple but have the saltiness of that decade.
The make-up of the book is in itself ornamental. Upon digesting
this meal of Texiana, using an exhaustive bibliography for des-
sert, the reader feels that the author has dished up the Texas
Republic in a completely satisfactory manner.
Dr. Hogan suggests the purpose of his book in the preface. In
the minds of Texans, their state is marked as a region apart, with
natives who have a special quality all their own. To the question
whether the Texas reputation has a historical basis, this study of
the life of the people during their decade of independence is
offered as a partial answer. The volume is focused upon the
everyday existence of frontier democracy. Devout circuit riders,
pioneer physicians and schoolteachers, gamblers, unruly young
lawyers, gun-bearing rowdies and duelists, town builders and
land pirates, planters and farmers-here is a part of the record
they made at work and at play. Recreating the life of these
people and describing the kind of houses that sheltered them
and their families, the clothes they wore, what they ate and
drank, the bodily afflictions that beset them, and how formal
religion affected their lives may provide the reason for the spirit
that is still Texan-the stamina, individualism, "go-ahead" ini-
tiative, and ebullient pride in everything Texan.
In his last chapter, "Final Inspection," the author concludes
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 51, July 1947 - April, 1948, periodical, 1948; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101119/m1/225/?rotate=90: accessed March 28, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.