The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 96, July 1992 - April, 1993 Page: 446
681 p. : ill. (some col.), maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Southwestern Hzstorzcal Quarterly
northern Mississippi, and for that matter throughout the South, the Ku Klux
Klan used threats, violence, and murder to subjugate the black minority,
thereby making a mockery of the democratic processes of government. In the
Arizona Territory the same conditions were true in regard to Indians, Chinese,
and Mexican Americans. In eastern Tennessee the poverty-ridden populace
placed every possible deterrent before law enforcement officers who attempted
to modify or prevent the "ancient practices" (p. 180) of moonshining. And in
Utah the Mormons were determined to continue the practice of polygamy until
the U.S Congress and Supreme Court threatened to dispossess the Mormon
church of its property.
Mormons and Cowboys, Moonshiners and Klansmen is a worthy addition to aca-
demic Investigation. Although not dealing specifically with Texas, it surely par-
allels what happened to blacks and Mexican Americans who suffered similar
fates in this state prior to the civil rights legislation of the 196os. And despite
the author's organization, which allows for repetition and repeated previous
references, it is a creditable work and one which any serious historian of this
period must consider.
Texas Chiistian Universty BEN PROCTER
Warm Weather and Bad Whiskey: The i886 Laredo Election Rzot. By Jerry D.
Thompson. (El Paso: University of Texas at El Paso, 1991. Pp. vi+218.
Foreword, introduction, notes, appendix, index, maps, photographs.
$40.00oo.)
Despite the subtitle of his book, Jerry D. Thompson actually presents a sur-
vey of local politics in Laredo and Webb County throughout the second half of
the nineteenth century. Only one chapter, admittedly the best-written and the
most interesting, deals with the terrible gun battle that erupted in the imme-
diate aftermath of the municipal election of 1886. By the time the competing
Democratic factions, the Botas and the Guaraches, stopped firing at each other
and unfortunate bystanders, at least thirty people lay dead or dying. Thomp-
son skillfully explains the pattern of mounting political tensions in the mid-
188os, and draws on a variety of sources to piece together a convincing account
of the deadly and confusing events of April 7, 1886.
Although the interpretative framework of the book is minimal, a number of
insights into the operation of boss rule in South Texas do emerge. The political
machine of Raymond Martin readily adapted to an economic boom brought
about by the arrival of the railroads, the opening of coal mines, and the spec-
tacular rise of sheep ranching. Rather than threatening the political status quo,
economic growth simply created expanding sources of patronage and profit as
politicians and their business associates took command of public franchises and
building projects. Class and ethnic differences did not account for local political
divisions. Leaders of both the Martin machine, or the Botas, and the rival Re-
form Club, or the Guaraches, consisted of well-to-do Mexican Americans, An-
glos, and European immigrants. The rival factions drew their support from all
sectors of society but depended heavily on the mobilization of impoverished44b
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 96, July 1992 - April, 1993, periodical, 1993; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101215/m1/504/?rotate=90: accessed April 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.