The need for this book, notes Andreas V. Reichstem, arises from the lack of synthesis in existing literature on the period; a complete scholarly analysis of the persons, politics, and events is not yet published. More importantly, Reichstein argues, current scholarship is deeply flawed. It suffers from weak research, uncritical emulation of authorities such as Henderson Yoakum, romantic depictions of heroes and events of the era, and nationalistic biases that skew objective interpretations.
Reichstein is interested in finding answers to a number of questions. What were the motives of the leading Anglo-Americans in Texas, and what had brought them there? Land speculation, the author finds, acted as a driving force in their migration; this was the reason for the coming of men such as Stephen F. Austin and Sam Houston. Indeed, in Reichstein‘s view, Stephen F. Austin was not the selfless, modest, and honorable founding father generally depicted, but a shrewd, networking entrepreneur interested in making big profits through land speculation.
Reichstein seeks to determine the contribution that this type of land trafficking made to the coming of the war for independence in 1836. He traces the complicated interplay of land dealings between land speculators in Texas and others in Coahuila, Mexico City, and banking centers in New York and Philadelphia and determines that “land speculation must receive a position of great importance” (p. 191) in the search for the causes of the Texas war for independence. Indeed, Stephen F. Austin’s desire to maintain opportunities in land speculation played a decisive part in his ultimate decision in 1835 to support the rebellion against Mexico. In advancing this interpretation Reichstein refutes other generally accepted causes for the events of 1835-36 such as slavery, cultural and racial conflict, and the struggle between federalism and centralism. He also argues that Freemasonry acted as a “combining force of individual strengths without which the political development of Texas would have advanced at a considerably slower pace” (p. 192).
The author sees a connection between the Texas war for independence and annexation to the United States in 1845 in the belief of U.S. speculators that Texas lands would soon belong to the United States. He does not think the war for independence meets the criteria common to theories of “revolution,” or that the concept of “manifest destiny” suffices as an interpretation, because the war effort was led by men pursuing personal, not ideological goals.
Reichstein has done a commendable job of trying to crack the tenacity of older historical interpretations and giving impetus to the revisionism already underway. He artfully combines his research in the primary sources with previously published works, often stopping to alert readers to the careless misuse of documents by colleagues. His effort to provide a synthesis of works on Texas history from 1821 to 1845 is a bit uneven, however. Almost three-fourths of the book is devoted to the era before 1836, and the content of the thirty pages that cover politics in the Texas republic is less insightful. Clearly written and free of jargon, Reichstein’s work is must reading for Texas and Southwestern U.S. historians, but too scholarly for the general public.