Author examines well-known Texan
by Nick Nance, managing editor

    Last week students and faculty were led through the trail of history getting a more in-depth view of Texas legend Sam Houston.

   Texas author James L. Haley spoke about his book Sam Houston. Haley, a native Texan, is originally from the mid-cities area and a graduate of L.D. Bell High School.

   Haley has since made Austin his home. He travels across the state talking about history and his books.

   “The prospect of getting up at 6 a.m. and driving across the city to be nice to people I didn’t like horrified me,” he said. “Now I drive across the state and have to be nice to a bunch of people I don’t even know.”

   Sam Houston, his most recent book, is unlike any other biography of Sam Houston to ever be released, Haley said.

   During Haley’s 15 years of research for this book, he uncovered never before seen personal journals and letters written by or about Houston.

   Haley said he is not surprised by the number of biographies about Houston.

   “His story is a remarkable one,” he said.

   After three years with the Indians as a young man, Houston left and joined the army. Houston began his political career early in life. He soon served as the governor of Tennessee for a term.

   Throughout much of his political career, Houston did things in a nontraditional fashion, Haley said.

   After two terms as president of the Republic of Texas, he served two terms in the Senate where he was the only southern senator who did not support secession.

   “Think about this, here is a man running as a pro-union candidate on the eve of the Civil War and winning,” Haley said. “Imagine what kind of persuasive speaker he must have been.”

   Houston was the only governor to be forcibly removed from office prior to the Civil War. He was removed because he did not support the secession of Texas.

   As governor of Texas, Houston tried to keep Texas part of the union, Haley said.

   Haley described one of Houston’s greater achievements as getting the United States to make Texas part of the union of states. He did this in a tricky fashion.

   At the time, the United States was concerned about the British and French holdings being near and worried that neither would leave so the United States could expand west.

   Houston capitalized on that fear by signing treaties with both. Haley said Houston’s only intent in these treaties was to get the United States to make Texas a state, which happened soon after.

   “The only reason Texas had not been admitted to the union in the mid 1800s was the issue of slavery,” he said. “Houston knew early in his career something had to be done about slavery.”

   “One of his biggest influences was meeting Thomas Jefferson,” he said. “Jefferson told him ‘If you get in politics you must do something with slavery and not wreck the country. You must not let anything happen to wreck the union.’”

   Eleven years before the Civil War, Houston wrote letters to friends and colleagues detailing the death and destruction that would occur if the nation became divided, Haley said.