What do you think?
Rate this book
Unsettled Land: From Revolution to Republic, the Struggle for Texas
The Texas Revolution has long been cast as an epic episode in the origins of the American West. As the story goes, larger-than-life figures like Sam Houston, David Crockett, and William Barret Travis fought to free Texas from repressive Mexican rule. In Unsettled Land, historian Sam Haynes reveals the reality beneath this powerful creation myth. He shows how the lives of ordinary people-white Americans, Mexicans, Native Americans, and those of African descent-were upended by extraordinary events over twenty-five years. After the battle of San Jacinto, racial lines snapped taut as a new nation, the Lone Star republic, sought to expel Indians, marginalize Mexicans, and tighten its grip on the enslaved.
This is a revelatory and essential new narrative of a major turning point in the history of North America.
This is a revelatory and essential new narrative of a major turning point in the history of North America.
446 pages, Hardcover
First published July 25, 2022
26 people are currently reading
301 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
September 2, 2022
It didn't surprise me that this book is getting mixed reviews.
Traditionalists don't like it because it challenges long held beliefs that Texas history is pure and virtuous.
Progressives don't like it because it isn't an outright condemnation of traditionalist views.
I liked this book because it was a great overview of Texas history but tried to steer the middle ground.
Is it a perfect history? No.
But this is a great introductory overview of Texas history.
If you are looking for a good introduction to the subject, this is it.
Traditionalists don't like it because it challenges long held beliefs that Texas history is pure and virtuous.
Progressives don't like it because it isn't an outright condemnation of traditionalist views.
I liked this book because it was a great overview of Texas history but tried to steer the middle ground.
Is it a perfect history? No.
But this is a great introductory overview of Texas history.
If you are looking for a good introduction to the subject, this is it.
May 5, 2022
This is indeed an important new narrative of a major turning point in the history of North America. The Texas Revolution is not so widely known event outside the region and this book is a very good start for explaining the history and the consequences.
November 26, 2023
Glad I read this. Turns out I lacked even the most basic knowledge of Texas history. The few things I thought I knew were dead wrong.
January 24, 2024
I confess that before reading Haynes' Unsettled Land, my thinking about Texas history was romanticized. Davey Crockett and Jim Bowie were the "good guys" at the Alamo, and Santa Anna was the villain. They died as martyrs in the Texas version of 1776. Sam Houston was a brilliant military leader who defeated the grand army of Santa Anna at San Jacinto, a veritable forerunner of Stonewall Jackson at Chancellorsville. When they were not fighting the Mexican army, this hardscrabble group of pioneers was fending off marauding bands of Native Americans, hellbent on stealing their livestock and raping their women. Haynes argued that all of this had elements of truth but that a more authentic history of Texas independence involved many more factions and byzantine complexity.
Haynes' goal was to set the historiographic record straight by puncturing the "Texas creation myth." (372) He asserted that "the struggle for independence was as much a Mexican story as an American one." (372) To these ends, he added the complex political dynamics in Mexico between the federalists, who adhered to the Constitution of 1826, and the centralists, who consolidated power in Mexico City. Hispano-Texans divided along these lines, most of them federalists. Key actors changing sides complicated matters. Anglo-Texans allied with Hispano federalists when the Mexican government was their shared enemy. However, most Hispano federalists sought reform of the Mexican government, not Texas independence.
Haynes excelled in dimensionalizing the groups of people who encroached upon or were trespassed by others beginning in the early nineteenth century. By introducing these groups chronologically, he presented the characteristics that differentiated one from another and described the complexities that developed when they began interacting. He made distinctions between the different Native American tribes to pinpoint their disagreements and highlight the different types of conflict that arose between the tribes and Anglo and Hispano-Texans. As the narrative progressed and a cotton economy took root, planters brought vast numbers of enslaved people to East Texas. This new, large cohort added new complexities to the region's social fabric. By weaving together the overlapping stories of Anglo and Hispano-Texans, Federalist and Centralist Mexicans, Native American tribes, and enslaved Africans, Haynes effectively supported his diversity argument.
His narrative was sometimes challenging to follow because of the unfamiliar geographical references essential to the history. He provided a map in the beginning and toward the end of the book (xiii, 196, 250), but flipping back and forth took much work. Adding phrases like "near present-day Austin" would have been helpful. The book does not contain a bibliography, so a critical analysis of sources is cumbersome. Manuel de Mier y Teran's diary was the primary source for the first five chapters. He used letters between husbands and wives, general correspondences, memoirs, official government records, other diaries, newspaper articles, and transcripts of public speeches for an impressive list of primary sources. His secondary sources relied heavily on biographies.
An aspect of Haynes' argument was that the conventional historiography obscured, glamorized, or misconstrued critical historical actors. For example, he presented the accomplishments of Stephen F. Austin while also revealing his defeats and frailties. He chronicled the largely overlooked leadership role of William Wharton and introduced the Cherokee chief Bowls. He slayed sacred cows in his rendition of the Battle of the Alamo. Haynes seemed to have his favorites, however. He treated Teran, Zavala, and Seguin sentimentally. Teran foresaw the existential threat posed by unchecked American immigration. He was an earnest Mexican patriot so distraught over the Mexican defeat at Fort Velasco that he committed suicide. His story is tragic; however, Haynes romanticized his overwrought nationalism.
An overarching theme of the book was the dismal tide of Anglo-American settlers who migrated to East Texas in search of wealth or just a better life through land speculation and agriculture, particularly cotton planters using bonded labor. At first, the Mexican government encouraged immigration by giving empresarios massive land grants to lure settlers. It begs the question, "Why did the Mexican government not incentivize their citizenry to settle in Texas?" Moreover, "were the Mexican people less entrepreneurial than the Americans?" Haynes did not address these issues.
The book's strengths are that it is accessible and entertaining to read. It utilizes a wide range of primary sources effectively to advance the arguments. Moreover, it contributes to the historiography by refuting myths, adding texture and complexity to a history that is often simplified, and bringing significant historical actors back into prominence.
Haynes revealed one tenant of his argument in the introduction: the Texas Revolution was more than a war to free Texas from Mexican rule. "For a large segment of the population, independence from Mexico meant the loss of freedom. (7)" He did not enumerate the other aspects of his argument until the chapter. It was an ingenious literary technique to support the arguments throughout the narrative without revealing them until the end. I want to incorporate this style into my writing. I also aspire to write in as compelling a manner as Haynes. This book was a fun read, and I learned a lot about the history of Texas that I did not already know.
Haynes' goal was to set the historiographic record straight by puncturing the "Texas creation myth." (372) He asserted that "the struggle for independence was as much a Mexican story as an American one." (372) To these ends, he added the complex political dynamics in Mexico between the federalists, who adhered to the Constitution of 1826, and the centralists, who consolidated power in Mexico City. Hispano-Texans divided along these lines, most of them federalists. Key actors changing sides complicated matters. Anglo-Texans allied with Hispano federalists when the Mexican government was their shared enemy. However, most Hispano federalists sought reform of the Mexican government, not Texas independence.
Haynes excelled in dimensionalizing the groups of people who encroached upon or were trespassed by others beginning in the early nineteenth century. By introducing these groups chronologically, he presented the characteristics that differentiated one from another and described the complexities that developed when they began interacting. He made distinctions between the different Native American tribes to pinpoint their disagreements and highlight the different types of conflict that arose between the tribes and Anglo and Hispano-Texans. As the narrative progressed and a cotton economy took root, planters brought vast numbers of enslaved people to East Texas. This new, large cohort added new complexities to the region's social fabric. By weaving together the overlapping stories of Anglo and Hispano-Texans, Federalist and Centralist Mexicans, Native American tribes, and enslaved Africans, Haynes effectively supported his diversity argument.
His narrative was sometimes challenging to follow because of the unfamiliar geographical references essential to the history. He provided a map in the beginning and toward the end of the book (xiii, 196, 250), but flipping back and forth took much work. Adding phrases like "near present-day Austin" would have been helpful. The book does not contain a bibliography, so a critical analysis of sources is cumbersome. Manuel de Mier y Teran's diary was the primary source for the first five chapters. He used letters between husbands and wives, general correspondences, memoirs, official government records, other diaries, newspaper articles, and transcripts of public speeches for an impressive list of primary sources. His secondary sources relied heavily on biographies.
An aspect of Haynes' argument was that the conventional historiography obscured, glamorized, or misconstrued critical historical actors. For example, he presented the accomplishments of Stephen F. Austin while also revealing his defeats and frailties. He chronicled the largely overlooked leadership role of William Wharton and introduced the Cherokee chief Bowls. He slayed sacred cows in his rendition of the Battle of the Alamo. Haynes seemed to have his favorites, however. He treated Teran, Zavala, and Seguin sentimentally. Teran foresaw the existential threat posed by unchecked American immigration. He was an earnest Mexican patriot so distraught over the Mexican defeat at Fort Velasco that he committed suicide. His story is tragic; however, Haynes romanticized his overwrought nationalism.
An overarching theme of the book was the dismal tide of Anglo-American settlers who migrated to East Texas in search of wealth or just a better life through land speculation and agriculture, particularly cotton planters using bonded labor. At first, the Mexican government encouraged immigration by giving empresarios massive land grants to lure settlers. It begs the question, "Why did the Mexican government not incentivize their citizenry to settle in Texas?" Moreover, "were the Mexican people less entrepreneurial than the Americans?" Haynes did not address these issues.
The book's strengths are that it is accessible and entertaining to read. It utilizes a wide range of primary sources effectively to advance the arguments. Moreover, it contributes to the historiography by refuting myths, adding texture and complexity to a history that is often simplified, and bringing significant historical actors back into prominence.
Haynes revealed one tenant of his argument in the introduction: the Texas Revolution was more than a war to free Texas from Mexican rule. "For a large segment of the population, independence from Mexico meant the loss of freedom. (7)" He did not enumerate the other aspects of his argument until the chapter. It was an ingenious literary technique to support the arguments throughout the narrative without revealing them until the end. I want to incorporate this style into my writing. I also aspire to write in as compelling a manner as Haynes. This book was a fun read, and I learned a lot about the history of Texas that I did not already know.
October 9, 2022
Ridiculously bad book.
This is typical leftist rewriting of history with an agenda to force everything into his racial prism whether it fit or not.
This is typical leftist rewriting of history with an agenda to force everything into his racial prism whether it fit or not.
July 26, 2022
Slavery - Texicans rebelled from Mexico over slavery. The white Americans that came to Texas wanted to keep people enslaved and that is why they stole Texas from Mexico
June 22, 2023
A very readable work this discusses the key stretch in the 19th century that made Texas so unique in North American history, from the 1820s to the end of the Mexican-American War. It covers Mexico's independence and the uneasy relationship between Mexico and the settlers that would eventually blow up into the Texas War for Independence. Yes, there is the Alamo, but there is so much more to the fighting. The Texans nearly lost it due to internal squabbling, but Santa Anna's forces certainly helped out. However, the book also covers those chaotic years of Texas as an actual nation, barely able to hold off Mexico and deal with the various Native American Tribes. Ultimately, the goal was for Texas to join the Union, which it did, triggering the Mexican-American War.
Haynes does a good job of accounting for all the key players in this time period of Texas history. While the Alamo and San Jacinto get most of the headlines, there was so much going on between the Mexicans and American settlers, the Texas government and the Native American tribes, and the internal political and economic struggles between the Texans...can be difficult to keep track, but Hayes does a great job of that. Definitely worth the read for the reader who didn't grow up in Texas, or maybe the Texan who forgot or needs an update to their history.
Haynes does a good job of accounting for all the key players in this time period of Texas history. While the Alamo and San Jacinto get most of the headlines, there was so much going on between the Mexicans and American settlers, the Texas government and the Native American tribes, and the internal political and economic struggles between the Texans...can be difficult to keep track, but Hayes does a great job of that. Definitely worth the read for the reader who didn't grow up in Texas, or maybe the Texan who forgot or needs an update to their history.
December 29, 2022
As a former Texas history teacher, I found this book to be a remarkably fresh (but long overdue) reappraisal of the state in the early nineteenth century. There have been literally hundreds of books written about this period--and all of them are about a small group of white men who fought at the Alamo, San Jacinto, etc. In Unsettled Land, Haynes shows that Texas was one of the most diverse regions of North America, and gives voice to the many people of color--Mexicans, Native Americans, and people of African descent--who lived there. This is not a book for someone who is looking for just another retelling of the heroic exploits of a few alpha males. Instead, it is a book that tries to capture the full complexity and chaos of the region, and its transition from a multiethnic society (Mexico) to white rule (the Texas Republic). A lot of history books written for a general audience these days fail to shed new light on their subjects. This one offers a wholly new way of looking at a very familiar story, and in the process makes the reader realize just how flawed the traditional narrative of the struggle for Texas independence has been. It is still a dramatic story, but far richer than the one we've been telling Texas history students for decades.
February 19, 2025
I spent a decent chunk of my childhood in Texas and took Texas History in both 4th and 6th grade in lieu of world history and geography, as most Texas school children do. I grew up dazzled by tales of heroism at the Alamo and harrowing depictions of Mexican overlords fighting to shackle the Lone Star Republic.
I read this book because I wanted to see this story without the nationalistic dressings. While there are certainly still great stories of heroism and monstrosity, there’s so much more to this than the black and white distinctions Texas claims so boldly.
This book does a really great and uncomfortable job of digging beneath that to the grit of the Native American and Mexican realities that exist beneath the Texas story. There’s a lot of bigotry and greed beneath the Lone Star and while noble blood was shed it wasn’t all on one side. This book’s final chapter is an incredibly biting examination of the American fantasy of Texas and what that mythological state was created to both defend and expand.
I read this book because I wanted to see this story without the nationalistic dressings. While there are certainly still great stories of heroism and monstrosity, there’s so much more to this than the black and white distinctions Texas claims so boldly.
This book does a really great and uncomfortable job of digging beneath that to the grit of the Native American and Mexican realities that exist beneath the Texas story. There’s a lot of bigotry and greed beneath the Lone Star and while noble blood was shed it wasn’t all on one side. This book’s final chapter is an incredibly biting examination of the American fantasy of Texas and what that mythological state was created to both defend and expand.
August 1, 2023
I enjoyed this. As a Texan with lineage to the earliest pioneers there, I discovered a lot of information about the statehood process that I hadn't known, and a new perspective on the different peoples, cultures, and challenges in overcoming slavery and the inevitable cultural collisions that evolved into the State we have today.
I noted a review or two that disliked the author's interpretations about racism against African Americans, as well as the mistreatment of various Indian tribes that were pushed into reservations in Oklahoma. I cringe against everything that is politically correct, and I can see how a reader could view this as such. However, I believe the author merely related the facts as we know them today, which are pretty uncontested, and without staking a liberal flag in the ground.
Worth the read for anyone interested in early Texas and the early characters who played major parts in its history.
I noted a review or two that disliked the author's interpretations about racism against African Americans, as well as the mistreatment of various Indian tribes that were pushed into reservations in Oklahoma. I cringe against everything that is politically correct, and I can see how a reader could view this as such. However, I believe the author merely related the facts as we know them today, which are pretty uncontested, and without staking a liberal flag in the ground.
Worth the read for anyone interested in early Texas and the early characters who played major parts in its history.
September 28, 2022
This book explores the History of Texas through the lens of the people of Mexico and the native peoples pushed into Texas from the East Coast as European expansion moved steadily West. The Texas Republic was formed from the successful Battle of San Jacinto when the Texas Army triumphed over the tin-pot dictator, Santa Anna, who was the leader of Mexico at the time.
The book explores the settlement of Texas, when owned by Mexico, and the Texanos that were the early settlers under Mexican Empassarios like Stephen F Austin. The book shows that early Texas was on the fringes of settlement for both Mexico and the United States.
This book does a good job of showing the internal political struggles in Texas both when a part of Mexico and as a Texas Republic. I recommend it.
The book explores the settlement of Texas, when owned by Mexico, and the Texanos that were the early settlers under Mexican Empassarios like Stephen F Austin. The book shows that early Texas was on the fringes of settlement for both Mexico and the United States.
This book does a good job of showing the internal political struggles in Texas both when a part of Mexico and as a Texas Republic. I recommend it.
August 29, 2024
This book shook me. I am shook. Growing up in Texas, I got the watered-down, whitewashed version about how Texas came to be. When I left after college, I started to learn more about the truth, how the area was robbed from Mexico, and one of the issues (of so many) was that these white immigrants from the U.S. wouldn't abide by Mexican law that made slavery illegal. But reading this book took me even deeper into the history of Texas, from native land to U.S. state, and all I can think is that my home state was "created" by a bunch of white immigrant thieves with no care for laws or humanity, who were all too happy to torment anyone with darker skin. And we named towns after them and called them heroes! What a joke!
September 28, 2022
Professor Sam Haynes of the University of Texas at Arlington tells the story of the foundation of the history of the Texas Republic from the Battle of San Jacinto and the brief history of the Republic of Texas until the outbreak of the U.S. Civil War in 1861. Texas is a complex mix of people and places all trying to survive in a harsh land. This is an excellent history of Texas and also the age of expansion.
September 13, 2023
Great Texas history book that covers a lot more ground than other books I’ve read which usually spend a good chunk of energy on the Alamo and the famous guys who were there. Haynes addresses them all but gets through the Alamo quickly and respectfully without overdoing it. Sam Houston and Stephen F. Austin come out looking good here and the history of Texas gets a lot more in depth coverage, especially in relation to the native tribes that were here before Anglos moved in.
July 17, 2024
Absolutely engaging overview of the Texas Revolution, the Republic of Texas era, and the Mexican -American War. Haynes offers both a bird's eye view of the multi-cultural relations of the various peoples of Texas, occasionally zooming in to micro stories of individuals. Definitely not a triumphalist narrative of the history of Texas, Haynes's work offers a much more complex narrative that emphasizes relationships both positive and negative. Highly recommend.
August 24, 2022
I began this book shortly before a trip to San Antonio. I definitely think that helped some of the names and places come alive. I think the author did a great job providing detail but at the same time keeping the book readable. The book did not shy away from the truth regarding the Texan treatment of Blacks, Native Americans, and Mexicans.
June 13, 2024
Great narrative of Texas becoming an American state from the perspective of White Texans, Hispanos, and Native Americans. Each side has agency and flaws. A great book for understanding how Texas went from a Mexican state to an American state of eccentric Southerners.
If interested in the subject for further reading, I highly recommend Torget’s Seeds of Empire.
If interested in the subject for further reading, I highly recommend Torget’s Seeds of Empire.
July 29, 2023
An outstanding telling, through individuals and overall history, of the struggle to create Texas. The author is very even-handed and has done a ton of research. A great read and highly recommended for those interested in Texas history. Only wish it were longer!
December 28, 2024
I love this book it gave me a whole new perspective on the Texas revolution. Growing up I was fascinated by the Alamo but I didn’t know that much about the revolution as a whole along with the effects it had on the local native populations.
July 27, 2022
Now I know why Texas is the way it is!
April 15, 2023
Of the many, many books written about the history of the Republic of Texas, this is easily the best one I’ve read--though I still wish it went further in countering the dominant narrative.
Read
October 23, 2024I never write reviews, and I'm torn on rating this because the audiobook version is the issue. The content was good and a valuable contribution as far as the differing interpretations of this historical period. However, I almost had to stop listening to the audiobook multiple times due to the constant mispronunciations. A Texan 7th grader taking the required Texas history could have provided a short list of commonly mispronounced Texas words and solved a lot of the issues. I still don't understand how presidio and San Saba can be mangled? I enjoyed the content but recommend reading versus listening.
August 31, 2024
A bit dry at times, but I guess that might be my bias from other HNF books I've read recently with strong narrative personalities (which might not be the best for a book trying to give the most neutral view it can).
Overall a great book and a strong counter argument to the mythologized anglo American history of Texas. My main experience with Texas history was through the lens of my super conservative Civil War re-enactor teacher, so to say my knowledge was biased is an understatement. It's funny to see how we've always been "like that," a group of self entitled folk who storm in and get upset when (unsurprisingly) cultures are different from their own. I'm also unsurprised to see how the original war with Mexico was largely based on the anglo American "freedom" to own slaves, irony certainly not missed. It was surprising to me though (which is more telling of my lack of knowledge on Mexican history) how the hispano side fought against slavery, even so far as the border being its own path to freedom. I have a few books I want to read after this that I hope will explore more of that topic as well.
It's interesting to see how much more complex the mythical heroes were, both as people and the public's opinions of them at the time. I knew the core players and most of their roles, but hearing more about who they were as people definitely humanized them more.
It also felt at times like watching a train crash in slow motion, know what happened to the indigenous people and how it ended up. I sympathize with a lot of their struggle, especially with how many broken promises were given even by the people most in their corner. It's also interesting to hear how each tribe reacted differently to every event, helping break down the image of the monolithic Indian culture. After reading Fifth Sun and this, it's been a strong reminder of how those cultural differences can be used against a group by the larger oppressor, dissolving any chance of unification to fight back. I look forward to reading more about the indigenous tribes of Texas through more books later, as well as trying to learn more about modern indigenous societies.
Overall a great book and a strong counter argument to the mythologized anglo American history of Texas. My main experience with Texas history was through the lens of my super conservative Civil War re-enactor teacher, so to say my knowledge was biased is an understatement. It's funny to see how we've always been "like that," a group of self entitled folk who storm in and get upset when (unsurprisingly) cultures are different from their own. I'm also unsurprised to see how the original war with Mexico was largely based on the anglo American "freedom" to own slaves, irony certainly not missed. It was surprising to me though (which is more telling of my lack of knowledge on Mexican history) how the hispano side fought against slavery, even so far as the border being its own path to freedom. I have a few books I want to read after this that I hope will explore more of that topic as well.
It's interesting to see how much more complex the mythical heroes were, both as people and the public's opinions of them at the time. I knew the core players and most of their roles, but hearing more about who they were as people definitely humanized them more.
It also felt at times like watching a train crash in slow motion, know what happened to the indigenous people and how it ended up. I sympathize with a lot of their struggle, especially with how many broken promises were given even by the people most in their corner. It's also interesting to hear how each tribe reacted differently to every event, helping break down the image of the monolithic Indian culture. After reading Fifth Sun and this, it's been a strong reminder of how those cultural differences can be used against a group by the larger oppressor, dissolving any chance of unification to fight back. I look forward to reading more about the indigenous tribes of Texas through more books later, as well as trying to learn more about modern indigenous societies.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews