Sign-In
Cart
The Galveston Era: The Texas Crescent on the Eve of Secession
Paperback
ISBN13: 9780292727106
Publisher: University of Texas Press
Published: Jul 1 1976
Pages: 369
Weight: 1.19
Height: 0.82 Width: 6.00 Depth: 9.00
Language: English
The Queen City of Texas they called her-or the Octopus of the Gulf. Galveston from 1845 to 1860 was the center of culture in Texas-or the monster with an economic strangle hold on all Texas trade. It was a gracious city with wide paved streets, impressive buildings, and neat gardens; yet it was also a pestilence-ridden place where no sanitary code was ever enforced and where one in every two children died before reaching maturity. Its citizens, avid for culture and knowledge, attended concerts and plays in great numbers and exhibited an eager interest in science and history; yet they could not be brought to support the school system. Galveston was a city where no person in need was ever left uncared for, where the sick and needy-strangers or friends-were succoured; yet no free Negro was safe from legalized abduction and forced enslavement, and the city served as a center for the revived African slave trade.
Earl Fornell makes the charming, colorful, cosmopolitan, contradictory city of Galveston the focal point of his study of the Texas Gulf Coast on the eve of the Civil War. The years 1845-1860 were crucial for this area; during that period the economy became more and more dependent upon slave labor, and thus the stage was set for secession.
Dr. Fornell describes with clarity the interrelated events, the decisions, and the conflicts that went into the development of Galveston and the Texas Gulf Coast during these years. He portrays the people and their way of life. He introduces us to some of the notables who helped to shape the destiny of Texas: Sam Houston, the old general; Lorenzo Sherwood, the golden-tongued propounder of radical economic doctrines; Willard Richardson, Hamilton Stuart, Ferdinand Flake, and Edward Cushing, the newspapermen whose writing both reflected and guided the thought of their fellow citizens; Arthur Lynn, the British consul whose observing and compassionate nature brought him onto the stage of Galveston history with striking frequency and whose voluminous letters provide a rich source for historical details; and William Ballinger, a minor player on the stage but one whose conscience and interests mirrored those of many other thoughtful Galvestonians.
Always present, affecting and affected by virtually every aspect of life on the Coast, the slave-labor problem grew ever more acute as the expanding railroad system laid more and more of the land open for development. Dr. Fornell shows with keen insight how it eventually forced Texans into a position where conflict with the federal government was unavoidable and the decision to secede from the Union inevitable.
The late Earl W. Fornell, a native of Wisconsin, held B.A. and M.A. degrees in political science from the New School for Social Research, the M.A. degree in political history from Columbia University, and the Ph.D. degree in political history from Rice University. He taught at Columbia, Amarillo College, Rice, and Lamar State College of Technology.
Also in
General United States History
Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America
Kendi, Ibram X.
Paperback
Up from the Depths: Herman Melville, Lewis Mumford, and Rediscovery in Dark Times
Sachs, Aaron
Hardcover
The Agrarian Seeds of Empire: The Political Economy of Agriculture in Us State Building
Bauerly, Brad
Paperback
Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong
Loewen, James W.
Paperback
What Every American Needs to Know about the Qur'an: A History of Islam & the United States
Federer, William J.
Paperback
Live Laugh Love: The Secret History of White Christian Women and the World They Made
Kobes Du Mez, Kristin
Hardcover
American Struggle: Democracy, Dissent, and the Pursuit of a More Perfect Union: An Anthology
Meacham, Jon
Hardcover
When Trees Testify: Science, Wisdom, History, and America's Black Botanical Legacy
Montgomery, Beronda L.
Hardcover
Department of Fate: The Promise, the Power, and the Collapse of America's Most Consequential Institution
Maddow, Rachel
Hardcover
Country of Lords: Neo-Aristocrats, Social Darwinists, Tech Utopians, and the Long Fight Against Equality in America
Phillips-Fein, Kim
Hardcover
1,000 Days in America: An Illustrated History of the Moments That Defined a Nation
National Geographic
Hardcover
Miracles in American History: 32 Amazing Stories of Answered Prayer
Federer, William J.
Federer, Susie
Paperback
Freedom's Daughters: How a Generation of Black Women Resisted Oppression Through Literacy and Education
Headlee, Celeste
Hardcover
Mysteries of the National Parks: 35 Stories of Baffling Disappearances, Unexplained Phenomena, and More
Bezemek, Mike
Paperback
The Promise of a Nation: Commemorating 250 Years of Patriotism, Resilience, and Aspirations from the National Collection
Smithsonian Institution
Hardcover
The East Wing: Power, Intrigue, and the Untold Story of America's First Ladies
Moaveni, Azadeh
Hardcover
The Elections That Changed the World: Fifteen Pivotal Moments That Shaped How We Live
Bash, Dana
Hardcover
How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America
Smith, Clint
Paperback
American Reich: A Murder in Orange County, Neo-Nazis, and a New Age of Hate
Lichtblau, Eric
Hardcover
Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong
Loewen, James W.
Paperback
America in 25 Revolutions: The Story of Our Imperfect Nation's 250-Year Quest to Become a More Perfect Union
Graff, Garrett M.
Hardcover
The Price of Democracy: The Revolutionary Power of Taxation in American History
Williamson, Vanessa S.
Hardcover
Travels with Charley in Search of America: (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition)
Steinbeck, John
Paperback
We the Women: The Hidden Heroes Who Shaped America (Large Print Edition)
Andersen Brower, Kate
O'Donnell, Norah
Paperback
Aristocracy, American Style: Class Privilege and the Persistence of Elite Power
Isenberg, Nancy
Hardcover
The Lost History of Liberalism: From Ancient Rome to the Twenty-First Century
Rosenblatt, Helena
Paperback
The Girls Who Beat the Odds: Stories of Women Who Changed the Course of Sports History
Eder, Mari K.
Hardcover
Old Glory: Iconic Flags and the Stories They Tell of America's 250-Year History
Miller, Roland
Hardcover
Chosen Land: How Christianity Made America and Americans Remade Christianity
Sutton, Matthew Avery
Hardcover
Sunrise Through the Darkness: A Survivor's Account of Learning to Live Again Beyond 9/11
Jimeno, Will
Moats, Michael
Paperback
This Haunted Land: Reckoning with Ghosts and the Stories That Shape America
Quammen, Betsy Gaines
Hardcover
Princeton Review AP U.S. History Premium Prep, 26th Edition: 6 Practice Tests + Digital Practice Online + Content Review
The Princeton Review
Paperback
AP U.S. History Premium, 2027: 5 Practice Tests + Comprehensive Review + Online Practice
Resnick, Eugene V., M. a.
Paperback
Forever Stamps: 250 Years of United States History Writ Small
Anderson, Gail
Smith, Brian E.
United States Postal Service
Hardcover
American Soul: The Black History of Food in the United States - Including 40 Recipes
Malik, Anela
Wilson, Renae
Hardcover
American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America
Woodard, Colin
Paperback
Harvest of Empire: A History of Latinos in America: Second Revised and Updated Edition
Gonzalez, Juan
Paperback
Medicine River: A Story of Survival and the Legacy of Indian Boarding Schools
Pember, Mary Annette
Paperback
Rooted: The American Legacy of Land Theft and the Modern Movement for Black Land Ownership
Baker, Brea
Hardcover
1000 American History Facts and 101 True Tales: A Journey Through America's Defining Moments and Figures
Publications, Ahoy
Hardcover
Unusual Orcas Island: Ghost Stories and Other Legends from the Gem of the San Juans
Reigel, Joseph
Paperback
This Land Is Your Land: A Road Trip Through U. S. History (Large Print Edition)
Gage, Beverly
Hardcover
The Twilight War: The Secret History of America's Thirty-Year Conflict with Iran
Crist, David
Paperback
Imperialist Realism: Politics and Culture at the End of the American Century
Bessner, Daniel
Paperback
How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America
Smith, Clint
Hardcover
Strangers in the Land: Exclusion, Belonging, and the Epic Story of the Chinese in America
Luo, Michael
Hardcover
Ruin Their Crops on the Ground: The Politics of Food in the United States, from the Trail of Tears to School Lunch
Freeman, Andrea
Paperback
Ohio Curiosities: Quirky Characters, Roadside Oddities & Other Offbeat Stuff
Gurvis, Sandra
Paperback
Watching the Girls Go by: A History of Street Harassment in the United States
Brookfield, Molly M.
Paperback
Erased: True Stories about Race and Racism in America That You Probably Weren't Taught in School
Khanna, Nikki
Korgen, Kathleen
Hardcover
The Grift: The Downward Spiral of Black Republicans from the Party of Lincoln to the Cult of Trump
Cane, Clay
Paperback
The Invention of Infinite Growth: How Economists Came to Believe a Dangerous Delusion
Jones, Christopher F.
Hardcover
The Declaration Of Independence, United States Constitution, Bill Of Rights & Amendments
Fathers, Founding
Paperback
Land of Hope Young Reader's Edition: An Invitation to the Great American Story Volume 1
McClay, Wilfred M.
Paperback
The Last American President: A Broken Man, a Corrupt Party, and a World on the Brink
Hartmann, Thom
Paperback
Chicken Soup for the Soul: Celebrating the Spirit of America: 101 Stories about the Country We All Love
Newmark, Amy
Paperback
Colonial Williamsburg: The Guide: The Official Companion to the Historic Area
The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
Paperback
Confronting the Presidents: No Spin Assessments from Washington to Biden
O'Reilly, Bill
Dugard, Martin
Hardcover
Not "A Nation of Immigrants": Settler Colonialism, White Supremacy, and a History of Erasure and Exclusion
Dunbar-Ortiz, Roxanne
Paperback
250 Great American Things: A Semi-Quincentennial Celebration
Samuels, David
Kirn, Walter
Highway, County
Paperback
The Cherokees: A Captivating Guide to the History of a Native American Tribe, the Cherokee Removal, and the Trail of Tears
History, Captivating
Hardcover
Re-Inhabited: Republic for the United States of America: Volume II The Story of the Re-inhabitation
Hertler, Jean Hallahan
Paperback
Miracles in American History, Volume Two: Amazing Faith That Shaped the Nation: Adapted from William J. Federer's American Minute [With 2 Paperbacks]
Federer, William J.
Federer, Susie
Paperback
A Student Workbook for Land of Hope: An Invitation to the Great American Story
McBride, John
McClay, Wilfred M.
Paperback
Sinister Forces: A Grimoire of American Political Witchcraft: 20th Anniversary Deluxe Edition
Levenda, Peter
Hardcover