The Texas Senate: Republic to Civil War, 1836-1861

The first Congress of the Republic of Texas met October 3, 1836, in Columbia in a large dog-trot house "meager in every respect." The fourteen senators who convened there must have been amazed at the circumstances that brought them together and fearful of the impermanence of their offices. Only a year earlier the representative body of their territory had been a provincial government of the Republic of Mexico, and not too long before that, residents of the region had sworn fealty to a Spanish king. On this autumn day, however, the inhabitants of the lands north of the Rio Grande were calling themselves Texans, creators and citizens of a country recognized only by themselves as the Republic of Texas. So begins The Texas Senate, which charts events, both grand and small, that have marked the legislative history of the republic and the state. This volume, the first of five, is written by members of the Senate Engrossing and Enrolling Department and edited by Enrolling Clerk Patsy McDonald Spaw. Leading off the volume, which covers the period up to secession, is a foreword by Lieutenant Governor William P. Hobby. Sources for the history include the Senate journals, the letters and private papers of senators, newspapers of the era, committee reports, and other primary sources, as well as general and specialized histories of the topics. More than fifty illustrations and eighteen appendices listing members of the legislative bodies (ten compiled by Thomas Phillips, chief justice of the Texas Supreme Court) add significant details. The professionally researched text tells the story of the young republic and state with forthrightness, drama, and humor. It presents information on who the members of the Senate were, vignettes of the more colorful members, issues of the day and their resolution, and interesting Senate proceedings and controversies. From the details emerges a realistic and intriguing picture of our forebears that includes rowdy drunkards, buffoons, criminals, and ne'er-do-wells, but also men and women of great courage and determination-educated, intelligent, self-sacrificing people who served Texas at great cost to themselves.