Searching for the Republic of the Rio Grande: Northern Mexico and Texas, 1838–1840

Scholars of Texas borderlands history readily recognize the Texas Revolt of 1835 to 1836 and the US-Mexico War of 1846 to 1848 as crucial events to understanding Mexican, Tejano, and Texian relationships in the mid-to late nineteenth century. But what happened in the borderlands between these two major periods? In Searching for the Republic of the Rio Grande, historian Paul D. Lack expertly details the political conflict that continued to rumble in Mexico after the creation of the Republic of Texas, between the years 1838 and 1840.One of the many origins of the Texas Revolution lay in the feuding federalist and centralist parties of Mexico, especially after the centralist government established control. Once Tejanos and Texians created the Republic of Texas, however, conflict between the two leading Mexican parties remained. Lack points out that Northern Mexican states advocated for republicanism and federalism, while the Supreme Government of Mexico followed centralist ideals. At the root of the federalist movement, members of this party advocated for the reinstatement of the 1824 Constitution of Mexico, in which states retained independence and sovereignty in lieu of a centralized national power in Mexico City.Lack provides an extremely detailed history of conflicts between federalist rebels and governing centralists, which formally lasted until between 1838 and 1840. Within Searching for the Republic of the Rio Grande, readers of military and diplomatic history will be pleased to find an apparent play-by-play of the battles and political episodes of this two-year-long conflict. This book will also appeal to scholars interested in the years preceding Texas's annexation into the United States, especially as Lack also covers the involvement of Tejanos such as Juan Seguín and José A. Navarro, and Anglo Texians such as Republic of Texas presidents Samuel Houston and Mirabeau Lamar.As the federalist movement faltered in Mexico and the centralist government gained additional funding, manpower, and organization, federalist leaders sought support elsewhere: the Republic of Texas. Still unrecognized as an independent nation by the Supreme Government of Mexico, Mexican federalists promised to recognize and build a relationship with the Republic of Texas—if Tejanos and Texians assisted in the development of a separate nation for Northern Mexican federalists. While the rebels did not initially desire secession from the Republic of Mexico, Lack argues that this shift of purpose initiated a history of relations between Mexicans, Tejanos, and Texians, even if informally. Republic of Texas President Mirabeau Lamar refused to publicly declare an alliance, but nonetheless permitted federalists to continually organize movements, participate in arms trades, and recruit Anglo Texians as volunteer troops in Texas.The eventual fallout of the failed federalist movement, as narrated by Lack, provides significant insight into the development of racial and ethnic understandings and biases between Mexicans and Anglo Texians of the borderlands. As such, historians interested in Anglo-Mexican racial and ethnic tensions will find Lack's discussion compelling. According to Lack, many of the depredations conducted by Texas Rangers in the Mexican interior during the US-Mexico War derived from feelings of betrayal (along with racial tension) rooted in the failed Republic of the Rio Grande. As Mexican federalist rebels realized their imminent political demise, many abandoned Anglo American volunteers in the frontier.Significantly, Lack contends that this period of federalist revolt was a window in which both Mexicans and Anglo Texians sought “liberty, opportunity, and justice” together (p. 151). This brief moment between the Texas Revolution and the US-Mexico War quickly gave way to a new era of “open displays of ethnic prejudice and virulent hated” from both sides of the river (p. 152). Since many scholars of Texas and Chicanx history have heavily studied the race and ethnic tensions in the borderlands after the US-Mexico War, Lack's pre-war contextualization of relations, allyship, and enemy-making in North Mexico and South Texas is both illuminating and persuasive.Lastly and significantly, Lack brings each historical actor to life and gives readers an investigation into the personalities and complicated decisions made by each major federalist and centralist involved. The highs and lows for each movement are critically examined and most paragraphs are embedded with the voices of those involved through their personal and political letters. At times, the narration can slow due to heavy detailing, but Lack's dedication to presenting the historical actors as real and complex individuals makes for a compelling read. Lack's “cast of characters,” serving as an appendix for the historical actors, also helps the reader follow along.Overall, Paul Lack's Searching for the Republic of the Rio Grande is an important addition to borderlands historiography as scholars seek to understand political history and transnational relationships in nineteenth-century South Texas and Northern Mexico. Furthermore, this book adds significant contextualization to patterns of rebellion and regional mobilizations in the Texas-Mexico borderlands in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.