How the Battle of the Alamo and the Mexican-American War Forever Changed America
The border between the United States and Mexico is a contentious issue. Texas immigrants to Mexico fought in the Battle of the Alamo and then went on to defeat Mexican General Santa Anna to form their own republic in 1836. Ten years later, the Republic of Texas joined the United States, which triggered the Mexican-American War. When Mexico lost the war two years later, the new boundary between the two countries opens up California and the Great Southwest to American expansion. The resulting conflict between proslavery and antislavery forces in the new territories creates a national crisis that requires the American Civil War to resolve. The factual accounts of events in Texas and the Mexican-American War are illustrated with maps and illustrations of the major conflicts. The textbook style of presentation creates a valuable resource for students of this period of American history.
Reviews:
From Stephen W. Lowry, Austin, Texas, December 2021
“Zink’s history of Texas is developed with the perfect blend of contextual backdrop, bullet-list timelines, beautiful illustrations, and sufficient granularity to engage the senses. It is the “Cliff Notes” of Texas, and more. Sandra beautifully weaves together American and Mexican history to tell the story of Texas. Shockingly for this reader, I learned that America won the southwest U.S. from Mexico in war, and then paid Mexico as much as was paid to France for the Louisiana purchase to acquire the conquered lands. More shockingly still, the Mexican-American war resulted in Mexico losing ALL of its lands to the U.S. An American flag flew over the Mexican capital for almost six months before the conquering army returned all of Mexico’s territory south of the Rio Grande. Thank you for a great read, Sandra Zink!”
Ida J. Jeppesen, September 24, 2019
“Wow, what I didn’t know about the Texas Revolution and the Mexican American War! I came across this short book and was so glad I did. I learned so much about the History of Texas, California and Mexico I was surprised. I live in Texas and thought I knew about our history. This is a well written book and I am very glad I got to read it.”
From Matt West, a 16-year teaching veteran and previous Social Studies Coordinator at Thompson School District Loveland, Colorado.
“A very informative and readable history of Texas, chockfull of facts and poignant details.”
From Amber Greene, Teen Librarian, Loveland Public Library, Loveland, Colorado.
“A whirlwind moment in history, this text illustrates how the events of the Texas Revolution rippled out to impact the monumental issues of the time: slavery, statehood, and the future of a nation.”
From Ruth McDonald, long-time resident of Loveland, now retired, who has developed an interest in American history to share with her grandchildren.
“The book is easy to read and sums up the story in an accurate and entertaining way. Our historical figures, whose names have come down to us through time, feel very human and familiar. The personal stories of those men at the Alamo made them more real and their destiny more personal to the reader. I loved the maps and the boxes with little interesting tidbits to thread through the story, such as the Marine Hymn reference and significance of the red line on the blue uniform. I was particularly pleased to learn something of Mexico’s political history – this is a country right next to us and I’ve never bothered to find out anything about their history or government. How different things would be today if México had had the means to defend that huge expanse of country back in the 1800’s.”
From Dave Richards, Semi-retired Construction Manager
I haven’t spent a lot of time studying history. But I found this account of the Texas Revolution and the Mexican-American war very interesting and informative. I knew about the Battle of the Alamo from stories and movies, but I don’t recall the Mexican-American War ever being taught to me in much detail as a young student. I think that the tendency was to portray the United States as the hero in American History. (the pilgrims, founding fathers, revolutionary war, pioneers, WWI, WWII etc.) Sandra Zink’s book is an unbiased account of this period in our history. Through reading this book, I have come to understand that while there were certainly heroic individuals that emerged from the war, there is also the reality that for the most part, the United States was the aggressor in this conflict.
From Dmitri Nichiporov, Physicist in Radiation Oncology.
“I found this book interesting to read and packed with facts (sometimes to the point I had to go back and re-read a section). I learned a lot from reading it. I didn’t realize the sheer size of land acquisitions America made through the Louisiana Purchase and as a result of the Mexican-American War. Another fact I didn’t know was the principle of balance between the number of free and slave states which was maintained throughout the years and which itself was a factor in the Civil War. I recognize and appreciate the style which was used to present the story. The book is written in simple sentences and is laid out almost like a text book. It should be suitable for students of history.”