Texas History Minute:

from 54.33 Howe Enterprise January 2, 2017

Learn about antiques and collectibles with Dr. Georgia Caraway

of how Mexico’s own political divisions had left it in a state of near-constant civil war also fed the pragmatic desire to keep partisanship in check

Lamar, a Georgia native, hoped to establish Texas as a great, independent power though Texas did not have the means to make this happen at that point He was fiercely critical of Houston’s policies As a former newspaper publisher and Georgia legislator, for example, he had supported the expulsion of Native American tribes from the state

Pro-Houston forces faced one tragedy after another in their search for a successor to Houston Secretary of War Thomas J Rusk had attracted a lot of attention for a presidential run The South Carolina native and future U S Senator declined

Many Houston supporters looked to James Collinsworth Collinsworth was born in Tennessee in 1806 He rose to become the United States Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee before he headed to Texas He distinguished himself at the battle of San Jacinto and became the first Chief Justice of the Texas Supreme Court in 1836 He decided to run for the presidency in 1838, but his alcoholism took its toll He had gone on a long drinking binge in Galveston before leaping off the top of a steamboat to his death at the mere age of 32

The third potential candidate was Peter W Grayson He was born in Kentucky in 1788 and eventually became a state legislator However, he suffered from bouts of depression for which at that time were few remedies He helped raised troops for the Texas Revolution and became Houston’s attorney general in 1837 Grayson reluctantly agreed to run at Houston’s urging In June, he began a diplomatic trip to Washington, DC, but by July when he reached Tennessee, he shot himself in a tavern near Knoxville

Texas counties are now named for all three men, who, tragically, were unable to find relief from their personal demons and ultimately committed suicide As a result of the deaths of the two prominent Texas politicians,

Lamar was effectively the last candidate remaining Only one candidate opposed Lamar, Sen Robert Wilson Wilson was nicknamed “Honest Bob” because he always promised his constituents that he would be just as honest as the circumstances permitted Lamar won the election by a crushing margin, winning 6,995 votes to only 252 for Honest Bob