Author Archives: John
John Nance Garner and the Paradox of Loyalty
“I have always done what I thought was best for my country, never varying unless I was advised that two-thirds of the Democrats were for a bill and then I voted for it.”–John Nance Garner The man that FDR called …
Remembering Sam Houston and San Jacinto
Post-San Jacinto: Gratification, ire for Houston Revolution’s leader saw Texas’ statehood, then disaster. By John Willingham / Special to the Express-News Published 12:02 a.m., Thursday, April 21, 2011 Gen. Sam Houston’s (1793-1863) defeat of Mexico’s army in Texas in 1836 led …
Waco–The City Where “Waco” Didn’t Happen
Note: This article originally appeared on April 19, 2013, on the History News Network HNN.us, under the title: Waco–The City Where the “Waco” Siege Didn’t Actually Happen April 19, 2013, is the twentieth anniversary of the bloody end to the …
The Cowboy Strike of 1883 and the Demise of Old Tascosa
A cowboy strike, in Texas? In a state now known for its right to work laws and general hostility toward unions? And cowboys–well, let’s just say that they are not often associated with the words “collective” and “bargaining.” Yet these …
“Mr. Sam” Rayburn Sworn in 100 Years Ago This Month
On April 7, 1913, Sam Rayburn officially began his congressional career that would not end until more than 48 years later. Following the summary immediately below, there is a longer post on Mr. Sam. Here is the Texas State Historical …
The Complex Legacy of the Texas Revolution
Not so long ago, the great British historian J.H. Plumb, in his famous book The Death of the Past, not only described the distinction between the past and history, but predicted that the increasingly rationalistic west would soon throw off …
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Tagged Goliad, john willingham, lessons of the alamo and goliad, texas history, Texas Revolution, The Alamo, the complex legacy of the texas revolution, the edge of freedom
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Gail Collins Almost Remembers the Alamo
This essay by John Willingham was published by the History News Network on June 25, 2012. Excerpts and link to the full article are below. The first chapter of New York Times columnist Gail Collins’ new book about Texas is …
The Alamo, Goliad, and the Age of Romanticism–Essay
My novel THE EDGE OF FREEDOM, A Fact-Based Novel of the Texas Revolution, is mostly about the Goliad campaign in the Revolution—but the more I have thought about it, the more I realize that the book is really about the …