The Fascinating Story of the Texas Archives War of 1842
Far from consequential, the battle over where the papers of the Republic of Texas should reside reminds us of the politics of historical memory
By Sheila McClear
October 9, 2018
The French philosopher Jacques Derrida once declared, “There is no political power without control of the archive, if not of memory.â€
Though he wasn’t writing about the Texas Archives War of the mid-1800s—and why would he considering its obscurity—he very well could have been. In the summer of 1839, when the nascent Republic of Texas faced a threat from the Mexican army to the south, a bitter dispute over the young nation’s archives brought to light how closely power and history are connected.
The conflict, in which state politicians used the archives as a means of bestowing legitimacy upon their preferred capital cities, is a fascinating moment in history. According to many Texas historians, it played a major part in why Austin is today the capital of Texas.
Read more:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/fascinating-story-texas-archives-war-1842-180970470/#fLYV78XKEWggPg0g.99
