The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 76, July 1972 - April, 1973 Page: 125
539 p. : ill. (some col.), maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Early Texas Statehood
to the popular 1929 biography by Marquis James which devoted less
than one-fourth of the narrative to the post-Republic years." A more
recent major biography of Houston by M. K. Wisehart devotes approx-
imately a quarter of the study to the post-Republic years."
That the Houston theme has not been completely exhausted is evi-
denced by recent works describing family and personal life during
early statehood. One, by William Seale, entitled Sam Houston's Wife,
deals with the entire period of Houston's marriage with Margaret Lea,
whereas the other, by R. Henderson Shuffler, is limited to the Hous-
tons' activities while living in Independence in the 1850's."
Houston's colleague in the Senate, Thomas J. Rusk, has been the
subject of two recent biographies, both by individuals with journalis-
tic backgrounds. Neither of these biographies, Thomas J. Rusk by
Mary Whately Clarke and Towering Texan by Cleburne Huston," is
totally satisfactory. Although each has some merit, both are excessively
laudatory in their praise for Rusk and are lacking in critical analysis.
There are biographies of several contemporaries of Houston and
Rusk. Claude Elliott has described the activities of a leading Texas
nationalist and confidant of Sam Houston, James W. Throckmorton;
John L. Waller has surveyed the efforts of A. J. Hamilton, Texas con-
gressman and future Reconstruction governor; and Ben Procter has
discussed the role of Congressman John H. Reagan in the 185o's. A
IsMarquis James, The Raven: A Biography of Sam Houston (New York, 1929.) Another
study emphasizing Houston's activities during early statehood is Robert Lee Jones, "The
Life and Works of Sam Houston, 1845-1863" (M.A. thesis, University of Texas, Austin,
1920).
20M. K. Wisehart, Sam Houston: American Giant (Washington, 1962). Although Wise-
hart's book has some commendable features, the treatment of politics during the state-
hood period is weak.
21William Seale, Sam Houston's Wife: A Biography of Margaret Lea Houston (Norman,
1970); R. Henderson Shuffler, The Houstons at Independence (Waco, 1966). Seale's use of
a number of family manuscripts hitherto unavailable led Llerena B. Friend to emphasize
"the need for a new editing of Houston correspondence to include all known and avail-
able Houston writings with the addition of correspondence addressed to Houston to give
illumination and interpretation to his own letters." Review of Sam Houston's Wife, in
Southwestern Historical Quarterly, LXXIV (April, 1971), 575-
9"Mary Whatley Clarke, Thomas J. Rush: Soldier, Statesman, Jurist (Austin, 1971); Cle.
burne Huston, Towering Texan: A Biography of Thomas J. Rusk (Waco, 1971). Lois
Foster Blount, "A Brief Study of Thomas J. Rusk Based on His Letters to His Brother,
David, 1835-1856," Southwestern Historical Quarterly, XXXIV (January, 1931), 181-20o2,
(April, 1931), 271-292, is sound but most of the material relates to Rusk's career prior to
statehood. A fourth study of Rusk is Carrie Belle Sterrett, "The Life of Thomas Jeffer-
son Rusk" (M.A. thesis, University of Texas, Austin, 1922).
"Claude Elliott, Leathercoat: The Life History of a Texas Patriot (San Antonio, 1938);
John L. Waller, Colossal Hamilton of Texas: A Biography of Andrew Jackson Hamilton,125,
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 76, July 1972 - April, 1973, periodical, 1973; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101202/m1/155/: accessed April 27, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.