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Zusammenfassung von Forget the Alamo

Name: Forget the Alamo
Rating: 4 (123 reviews)
Author: Bryan Burrough, Chris Tomlinson and Jason Stanford

Bryan Burrough, Chris Tomlinson and Jason Stanford

The Rise and Fall of an American Myth

4 (123 Bewertungen)

34 Min.

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Forget the Alamo by Bryan Burrough, Chris Tomlinson and Jason Stanford is a historical retelling of the battle of the Alamo, debunking the myths and exploring the complex realities of the conflict that shaped Texas history.

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What’s in it for me? Learn how the truth about the Alamo conflicts with its mythology.

Many of us think we’re familiar with the story of the Alamo. Maybe you sat with your parents and watched the 1960 film starring John Wayne. Or maybe you were taught the story in history class and figure you got the gist. Well, there’s a good chance that what you’ve seen or heard is actually far from the truth.

For well over a century, the story many of us heard about the Alamo was little more than a tall tale. A myth that was made to serve a purpose and has lingered on in the public consciousness for far too long. While we’ve been told those who fought in the Alamo were heroes, the reality is a far darker truth about the origins of Texas statehood.

In these blinks, you’ll learn

how the cotton business set the stage for a Texian-Mexican conflict;
why we may not want to celebrate the likes of Jim Bowie; and
how Phil Collins may play a role in the Alamo’s future.

The conflict at the Alamo can be traced back to cotton and slavery.

If you’re a Texan, you know about the Alamo. Or, at least, you know a version of the events that took place back on March 6, 1836. It is, after all, a required subject that’s been taught to seventh graders for generations. But what you may not know, is that teachers are mandated by Texas law to teach kids a “heroic” version of events. This is a version that’s been championed by conservative voices, from John Wayne to Lyndon B. Johnson.

But were there heroes at the Alamo? Let’s look at the events that led up to the legendary clash between the Mexican Army and a group of rebels.

The key message here is: The conflict at the Alamo can be traced back to cotton and slavery.

One of the more questionable aspects of the Alamo legend is what the rebels were fighting for. Those who favor popular mythology would have you believe that Anglo-Americans such as James Bowie, William Travis, and Davy Crockett were fighting for freedom and liberty. But this doesn’t quite track with the real situation that led to the birth of an independent Texas.

At the start of the 1800s, a different kind of revolution was already underway. Eli Whitney had just invented the cotton gin in 1794. This revolutionized cotton production, allowing for a massive increase in output and new fortunes to be made. The American South offered the perfect conditions: vast cotton fields and plenty of avenues for exporting the product. The ugly catch was that these fortunes were dependent upon slave labor. This was a huge booming business through the first half of the century. It’s why the number of enslaved people in the US jumped from 900,000 in 1800 to around 4 million in 1860.

In the first couple decades of the 1800s, people were already looking for new land to farm. The search led them to Texas where land was cheap. While Texas was under Mexican control at the time, for a while, this wasn’t a problem. The border was extremely porous and Mexico was ruled by Spain, which didn’t object to free people owning enslaved people. Even some of the wealthy Tejanos, the Mexican inhabitants of the Texas region, owned enslaved people.

Mexican independence changed the rules for Anglo settlers.

Believe it or not, there was a time when Spain welcomed American settlers into Texas. The Anglo colonies actually helped Spain push back against the Native Americans that they viewed as troublemakers. Of course, US presidents like James Madison and James Monroe were eager to keep a toehold in the region in case an opportunity arose to redraw territorial boundaries. It was no secret that the Americans were hoping to add Texas to their growing list of territories.

The Mexicans also had their reason for inviting Americans to cross the border. They needed help throwing off the yoke of their Spanish oppressors and winning their independence. However, when Mexicans put out the call, there were a large number of smugglers, pirates, and soldiers of fortune who answered.

Some of the Alamo rebels weren’t so morally upstanding.

By its nature, Texas was a place for rebirth. If you’d struck out in the US territories, Texas offered a second chance with a clean slate. This was a good option for honest, hardworking families who needed a break, but it was also a tempting opportunity for scoundrels, con men, and grifters who’d reached the end of their rope in the US.

Two of the best-known scoundrels were Pierre and Jean Lafitte. Through their base on Galveston Island, off the coast of Texas, they sold stolen goods and flaunted the rules of slave trading, selling people for a dollar a pound. For cotton farmers looking to get started, it was an enticing bargain.

Between 1832 and 1835, Texians and Mexico inched closer to war.

For a while, the Texas settlements thrived. But their future was uncertain. It was proving increasingly difficult to attract new settlers so long as Mexico held to its abolitionist stance. The sentiment was, as Stephen Austin wrote to a friend, “Texas must be a slave country.” In his view, it was a necessity of circumstances.

So, it wasn’t long before talks of rebellion were brewing among the Texians, as well as the Tejanos. It all led up to a series of events that culminated in the bloodbath at the Battle of the Alamo. But it needn’t have happened at all.

The end of 1835 left a ragtag group of militiamen in a vulnerable position at the Alamo.

In 1835, things began to seriously escalate. That year, Santa Anna officially abolished federalism in favor of a centralist approach. For Texians, it was as if all hope was lost. Tejanos were also up in arms over Santa Anna’s increasingly authoritarian style of government.

Then, on August 1, 1835, Mexican Army General Martín Perfecto de Cos was handed an arrest warrant for William Travis, following Travis’s unprovoked attack on a few dozen Mexican troops in Anahuac. At the time, Texians were aghast at Travis’s behavior, but when news of General Cos’s impending arrival reached them, they rallied behind the claims that a Mexican invasion was underway.

The Battle of the Alamo was a military disaster that could have been avoided.

Some folks will try to tell you that no one knows what really happened at the Alamo since everyone died. But that’s not really the case. Sure, just about everyone who was trying to defend the Alamo from the attacking Mexican Army, led by Santa Anna himself, did die a violent death. But over the years, a clearer picture of what happened has emerged, thanks in part to accounts written by Mexican soldiers that have only come to light in recent decades, as well as the initial accounts from the sole survivors.

The key message here is: The Battle of the Alamo was a military disaster that could have been avoided.

The Battle of the Alamo was a decisive victory for Santa Anna’s army.

On March 5, 1836, the siege was on its 12th day. Every day, cannon fire and bullets had been steadily chipping away and ripping holes in the outside walls, which on their own stood only 12 feet tall. Those inside the Alamo compound could see the Mexican Army building ladders to scale the Alamo’s poor defenses.

On this day, according to two separate accounts from men in Santa Anna’s army, Travis recognized the certain doom they were facing. He sent out a Tejano woman to negotiate a surrender with Santa Anna. Travis’s terms were that they’d surrender, as long as no lives were taken. But Santa Anna wouldn’t have it. The time for negotiations had long passed. The only terms he’d accept now was unconditional surrender.

The myth of the Alamo began not long after the battle ended.

Both Joe and Susana Dickinson reached Sam Houston’s camp in Gonzales around March 11, 1836, having been found on the road by scouts on their way to San Antonio. Their stories confirmed the worst rumors General Houston had already heard about what happened at the Alamo.

It was hard to see it as anything but utterly demoralizing. Houston retreated, burned Gonzales to the ground and came up with another idea. He set up camp in a safe area and began running drills, training the volunteers that were now streaming into the army’s ranks. Fourteen hundred men were now ready to fight, all they needed was inspiration, and this is where the myth of the Alamo was born.

Only recently has factual history caught up with the enduring myth.

Upon Santa Anna’s defeat, Texas became an independent state for ten years before joining the US. Naturally, the mythology surrounding the Alamo became a vital part of the Texas origin story. It also continued to serve leaders as a go-to analogy for drumming up motivation. President Lyndon B. Johnson, a Texas native, used it frequently when referring to the early days of the Vietnam war. George W. Bush wasn’t afraid to invoke the Alamo, either.

Over the years, however, this popular myth meant that contributions of the Tejanos who were there fighting alongside the Anglo “heroes” got lost. Not only that, but in the late 1800s and early 1900s, non-white rebels were lumped in with the enemy. Derisive terms like “greasers” began to be used to describe all Mexicans, along with broad degrading attacks on their characters. All of this can be found in the early literature that helped solidify the Alamo myth.

Although a more accurate story is being told, the fight over the Alamo’s meaning continues.

Despite the pushback from those committed to the Alamo mythology they grew up with, progress has been made. While teachers are still mandated by state law to tell a “heroic” version of events, it’s one that now includes Tejano representation. Books challenging the myth have continued to be published and a historical consensus is being reached that debunks the idea that it was all about nobility and bravery. In general, Texas is indeed reckoning with the fact that the revolt had more to do with preserving the business of slavery than with stemming Mexican oppression.

Even the historical site of the Alamo, which used to be a shrine to the myth, has begun to tell a more accurate version of the tale. Though, once again, the Alamo has found itself becoming the focal point of a heated battle.

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Worum geht es in Forget the Alamo?

Forget the Alamo (2021) charts the history of the Alamo, both real and imagined. It looks at how a popular, heroic mythology sprung from the events of 1836 and came to represent both a noble version of Texas independence and a metaphor for American valor. Find out how the Alamo became a touchstone in American culture wars, and discover how the real story paints a not-so-virtuous picture of American history.

Wer Forget the Alamo lesen sollte

History buffs
People who enjoy Wild West stories
Anyone who thinks they’re familiar with the story of the Alamo

Über den Autor

Bryan Burrough lives in Texas and was a former award-winning reporter for the Wall Street Journal. He’s the author of many books including The Big Rich and the best seller Barbarians at the Gate.

Chris Tomlinson is a former war correspondent for the Associated Press, having covered nine wars in over 30 different countries. He currently works as a columnist for the San Antonio Express-News and the Houston Chronicle. His previous books include Tomlinson Hill.

Jason Stanford is a former writer for Texas Monthly and the Texas Tribune. He also works as a political consultant and a contributor to the Austin American-Statesman.

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