Texas Culture, 1836-1846. In the Days of the Republic

This book is primarily a reissue of Professor Schmitz’s Thus They Lived, which came out a quarter of a century ago and has remained one of the standard works on life in the ten years of independence which Texas enjoyed after its separation from Mexico in 1836. Professor Schmitz has consulted most of the important manuscript collections of people who either lived in or traveled through Texas during this decade. The book covers the daily life of the people, assays what outside contemporaries thought of them, goes into cultural influences from lack of education to general lawlessness, and takes a close look at the economic and social problems. It is a nice book to have back in print, with its research somewhat updated.