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Article Excerpt
The Telegraph and Texas Register appeared in the worst of times and the best--the worst in that war plus the natural hazards of the pioneer press made its survival improbable, and the best in that the same war gave it, if it did survive, a rare opportunity for immortality. It not only endured but became a part of the drama of the revolution and the birth of a new nation. Indeed, the Telegraph outlasted by three decades the republic whose birth coincided with its own. (1)
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The Telegraph and Texas Register was the second permanent newspaper in Texas. Its editors and printers were witnesses to the changes throughout the years of the Texas Republic and after. The paper was a faithful mirror of the events, the thoughts, and the attitudes of people. At the same time, it was also an influential molder of public opinion. The editors of the Telegraph and Texas Register brought no practical printing experience to the enterprise. The newspaper survived thanks to the persistence of its publishers, who refused to give up in spite of the various problems of being a pioneer press. The Telegraph has become an essential source to the understanding of the early history of American Texas and the construction of the identity of the people who lived in it. It reflects the most important elements of self-definition. It provides information about the American settlers' motives, expectations, and hopes during the transitional period.
There are many works about the history of the Texas Republic. Yet some aspects of the Anglo-American identity in Texas, and how it emerged during this time, have not been researched. (2) No one has done a close analysis of how the Telegraph and Texas Register both shaped and reflected attitudes of Anglo-Texans. (3) The purpose of this study is to examine the formation of Anglo-American identity in the Texas Republic with the help of a special primary source, the press. As I intend to grasp and convey the attitudes of the Texians as closely as possible, I choose to let the editors speak at length in their own words.
The first issue was published on October 10, 1835, just nine days after the first shot of the Texas Revolution. The Borden brothers, John and Gail, had formed a partnership with Joseph Baker in February 1835 to publish a newspaper. Even though they had no previous experience in printing, they planned to run a weekly, the Telegraph and Texas Planter, at San Felipe de Austin. (4) By the time they started in late fall, however, a couple of changes had occurred. To keep up with changing circumstances, they substituted the word "Register" for "Planter" in the name of the paper. The explanation was clear: "At the time our prospectus was published, the engrossing object was the accumulation of wealth, and consequent aggrandizement of the country.... [Now] the all absorbing question is how to protect ourselves and what we already possess." (5) To serve that aim, John Borden decided to join the army, so his brother Thomas replaced him in the partnership. Luckily, Gall Borden remained the head of the journalistic venture. He was guided by one principle: "Do the best for my country, praise or no praise." (6) He endeavored "to make our paper what its title indicates, the organ by which the most important news is communicated to the people, and a faithful register of passing events." (7) His persistence was one of the key reasons for the survival and success of the newspaper.
The Telegraph and Texas Register consisted of eight pages, each divided into three columns. The first page usually carried poetry and an article borrowed from another paper. Later, reflecting a shifting emphasis, advertisements replaced these items on the front page. The second page contained miscellaneous news, and an editorial usually appeared on the third page. When official documents were published, they appeared on the first two pages. The rest of the pages were filled with advertisements, articles from other papers, local news, and practical information for immigrants.
Subscriptions cost five dollars per annum, if paid in advance, six dollars if paid at the expiration of six months (the minimum length of a subscription), and seven dollars if not paid until the end of the year. Advertisements were one dollar for up to eight lines for the first insertion and fifty cents for each subsequent insertion.
The Telegraph and Texas Register carried detailed information about the situation in Texas and tried to be as objective as possible. During Gail Borden's editorship, the paper avoided the publication of biased or partisan opinions, or presented both sides of a question, leaving it to the readers to draw conclusions and decide for themselves. (8) From its very first issue it advocated unanimity and harmony, and expressed the wish that the representatives of the citizens would adopt measures that would "unite the whole mass of the people in one common cause." It lamented the fact that "the whole [Mexican] nation with the solitary exception of Texas has already undergone an entire revolution, and yielded submission ... to the prevailing authorities." It concluded that "Texas alone stands forth in defense of her constitutional rights, and is awaiting the blow which the military is preparing to strike, to reduce her to the same state of submission." (9)
At this point, Texas was part of Mexico. The Anglo-American inhabitants of Texas were Mexican citizens, bound by the laws of that country. They were legally Mexican, but their collective mentality, culture, and language was American. Historian Mark E. Nackman has stated that during the Mexican period the Anglo-Americans who lived in Texas were neither Mexicans nor Americans. (10) I would agree, however, with the argument of another historian James E. Crisp, that they were both. (11) Carol Lea Clark approaches the question in a different way, saying that "Anglo-American Texans had a divided rhetorical identity; they were ex-Americans, but they were also something else. They were not sure what that something was, but they could define what it was not--Mexican, Indian, or even 'ordinary' American. Then gradually, in conversations and written communications, a coherent way of looking at the world, a rhetoric of Texas, began to take form." (12) I would argue that they had multiple or shifting identities. Very often they referred to their Anglo-Saxon origins. Coming from the United States, they brought with them the ideas of self-government and republicanism. In order to be accepted by Mexican authorities, however, they had to abide by Mexican rules and regulations. As they maneuvered between these two poles, their guiding principle was almost always their personal interest.
When the young Republic of Mexico introduced a generous land policy, Anglo-American emigrants had wanted to make use of the opportunity and left their homes in the United States of America. Many of them had "gone to Texas" to escape their debts or the law, and to seek economic advancement. When Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna led a centralist turn that endangered the prospects of self-government and economic prosperity for Texas, Anglo-Americans revolted against him. After declaring their independence from Mexico, they drafted a constitution and the same day they applied for statehood in the United States. It was only when the United States rejected them that they found themselves in need of self-definition along new terms. They were not Mexicans any more, but they could not be Americans either, even though in their hearts and their traditions they were. They were Anglo-Americans living in Texas, but during the nine years of the Republic of Texas they tried to describe and define themselves as a group with a separate national identity. They called themselves "Texians."
Already in the second issue of the Telegraph there appeared an article about "Texas patriotism." It described the various ways "the public spirit" manifested itself" in the service of the country." "We know one man"--wrote the editors--"who has taken the leaden pipes out of his aqueduct to furnish ammunition for the army; and a number of others who have melted up their clock weights (thus stopping, as it were 'the wheels of time') for the same purpose." After listing several other examples, the editors drew a clear conclusion: "But one spirit pervades the whole population, and that is a determined resolution to free themselves from military usurpation and tyranny, or perish in the attempt." (13) The rhetoric no doubt reflected the romantic ideals of the early nineteenth century. It characterized the general tone of the paper when it came to such vital issues.
Another recurring reference was to the example of the United States. The Texians felt that they would need to and also would probably be able to rely on the support of "our friends and brethren of the United States ... in contending for the principles for which our common ancestors have fought and bled." At the same time, they tried to justify their struggle against the Mexican government by arguing that it was for rights "guaranteed to us in the republican institutions under which we were received as citizens of this country" (i.e., Mexico). "Had we yielded our dearest rights into the hands of the military"--they stated--"we should have shown ourselves unworthy the land which gave us birth, and merited the contempt of every patriot." (14)
There was a lot to learn from the history of former times and examples. This was the case with...
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