In Beyond the Alamo, Raúl A. Ramos sets out to trace political and cultural identity in Bexareño (present-day San Antonio) from 1821 to 1861 in order to provide an alternative understanding of Texan secession and the persistence of Mexican culture in the region. Ramos argues correctly that this period of Texas history is almost always — though Andrés Reséndez’s Changing National Identities at the Frontier is an exception — approached from the point of view of the Alamo, its Anglo defenders, and other important Anglo figures such as Steven F. Austin and Sam Houston. This is partly the result of the dearth of non-Anglo sources and partly the result of the study of Texan secession by U.S. historians who place it within the context of standard periodizations of U.S. history. The previous focus on Anglo heroes turns local Mexicans (or Tejanos) into passive victims instead of the active historical...

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