The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 76, July 1972 - April, 1973 Page: 160
539 p. : ill. (some col.), maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Southwestern Historical Quarterly
As far as mid-nineteenth-century Texas political development is
concerned, Democratic party discipline proved to be very weak during
this period, at least in East Texas. Certainly, the influence of the party
press was not as strong as its editors wished. Also, contrary to what re-
cent scholarship has had to say about the relative power of the office
of governor in the 1850's, most contemporary Texans evidently be-
lieved that their chief executives were very influential in the making
of state policy."' It should be noted as well that intrastate sectional-
ism played a leading role in delaying the effective organization of the
Democratic party in Texas. Only after another challenge to Demo-
cratic rule in 1855 would the struggle to organize, which had been
going on since annexation, meet with success. Finally, the study lends
some credence, at least for the period with which it dealt, to the oft-
repeated claim, that because of the immense size and economic diver-
sity of Texas, it could be governed more efficiently and more to the
advantage of its citizens if it were divided into two or more different
states."
"'Ralph A. Wooster, The People in Power: Courthouse and Statehouse in the Lower
South, z85o-z86o (Knoxville, 1969), 25, 48-50.
"sWinkler, Platforms of Political Parties in Texas, 43-44; Richardson et al., Texas: The
Lone Star State, 145. The most comprehensive general study of intrastate sectionalism
throughout Texas history is Weston Joseph McConnell's Social Cleavages in Texas: A
Study of the Proposed Division of the State (New York, 1925). For a detailed discussion
of the relationship between sectionalism and railroads during the period 1853-1857, see
the study of Roger A. Griffin, "Governor E. M. Pease and Texas Railroad Development in
the 185o's," East Texas Historical Journal, X (October, 1972) .16o
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 76, July 1972 - April, 1973, periodical, 1973; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101202/m1/190/: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.