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This past week, Texas State Historical Association chief historian Walter Buenger made two controversial assertions regarding the Alamo in a story published by
Although the battle has become a symbol of patriotism and freedom for many Texans and Americans, like the Confederate monuments erected after the Civil War, the myth of the Alamo has been used to “commemorate whiteness,” according to Walter L Buenger, Texas State Historical Association chair.
The battle itself was relatively insignificant tactically speaking, but it gained recognition decades later in the 1890s as backlash to African Americans gaining more political power and Mexican immigration increasing, Buenger said. In 1915, “Birth of a Nation” director D.W. Griffith produced “Martyrs of the Alamo,” which solidified the myth further by pitting white virtuous Texans against racist caricatures of Mexicans on screen.
How did Houston lose out to Austin as the Capital of Texas?
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General Samuel Houston (1793-1863). Undated. One of Texas most well known political figures, Sam Houston led the forces that defeated Mexican General Antonio López de Santa Anna at the battle of San Jacinto on April 21, 1836. He later served Texas as a president of the republic, a U.S. Senator and a governor. Show MoreShow Less
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A bronze statue depicts innkeeper Angelina Belle Peyton Eberly across Congress Avenue in Austin. Show MoreShow Less
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A bronze statue depicts innkeeper Angelina Belle Peyton Eberly across Congress Avenue in Austin. Show MoreShow Less