At Home in Texas: Early Views of the Land

Potential immigrants to Texas in the nineteenth century were fed romantic notions about this land of land aplenty, and these notions appealed to all kinds of hardy people. To adventurous souls, promoters' and travelers' descriptions of Texas painted it a savage and exciting country. To the classically minded it seemed reminiscent of the Mediterranean region--the cradle of Western civilization. For some with strong religious convictions, Texas seemed comparable to a new Eden.

Whether conside...