In this study, Paul Lack deals in a quite untraditional way with a problem that has attracted the attention of U. S. and Mexican historians since the last century. He does not trace the growing conflict between the Mexican government and the English-speaking majority of the Texas population, as have most studies since the early 1820s. Instead, he focuses immediately on the situation in 1835 and 1836, by which time relations between a major portion of the inhabitants of this northern region of Mexico and the central government had reached a critical stage, and Mexican political leaders had concluded that the separation of Texas loomed as an imminent danger.
Lack believes that the English-speaking Texans were able to establish local self-help organizations, organized to reflect the ideas brought in by immigrants from the United States. However, as the author points out, these relatively isolated communities were divided by petty quarrels and rivalries at the very moment they came into conflict with the central authority. This threatened not only the goals of the proponents of a radical and conscious separatism, but also, ultimately, the continued existence of the Texas Anglo communities.
Thus at the beginning of this critical phase of Texas history, social chaos reigned among the Anglos. Some Texans adopted an antiwar stance, partly from opposition to the authorities, partly from concern over the eventual position of the slaves. The situation offered few prospects for forming a central governing body that could speak for the entire Anglo population on this part of the continent. Indeed, the only factor working in favor of Anglo unity was the irrational policy pursued by the Mexican government. When Santa Anna failed to exploit the Anglos’ divisions to frustrate the pressure for separation, he resorted to intimidation and military action, threatening the Texans’ lives and property. He thereby obliged the Anglos to overcome or at least temporarily bridge their differences. These, of course, resurfaced once Santa Anna suffered his decisive defeat and the Texas politicians confronted new conditions.
One possibility was the formation of a national state. Lack repeatedly points to this alternative without, however, considering whether the formative conditions actually existed. He adduces no evidence for the presence of nation-forming processes in Texas society, and he does not modify the traditional view of the Texans as generally favoring annexation to the United States. As for the views of the Spanish-speaking Texans, Lack follows the opinion of David J. Weber and Arnoldo De León that at least part of the Hispanic population supported the Anglos in their opposition to Santa Anna, although many later changed their position. Lack also deals briefly with the prospects for the slaves. He concludes that the changes of the 1830s took place so rapidly that the blacks could not seize the opportunity to break the old system, which in the following years was strengthened.
On the whole, this work represents a significant contribution, especially the chapters analyzing the changes of position by various groups of Texans during those two years. The passages dealing with trends that never became established in Texas society are suggestive, especially their consideration of the possibility of an independent state and the creation of a Texan nationality. This is a historical problem of general interest offering an opportunity for future study, and it is to his credit that Lack has posed the question, without, of course, being able to offer a complete answer.
