Heritage, Winter 2004 Page: 6
39 p. : ill. ; 28 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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m p A~~~~~~~~~
From the beginning, the land needed Texans, and Texans needed the land.
By Marshall J. Doke Jr.The Texas General Land Office was
established, over the veto of President
Sam Houston, on December 22, 1836.
This was only nine days after the Texas
Congress specified the duties of the heads
of departments of the government. This
timing evidenced the importance of the
office to the Republic.
The importance of the office, however,
resulted totally from the subject of its
functions-Texas land. Texas was independent,
but broke, and its only resource
was land. The land excited the lust of
potential immigrants. It impacted the psyche
of pioneers and had a profound influence
over the very spirit of Texas.
When Napoleon broke his promise to
Spain and sold Louisiana to the United
States in 1803, the vast lands bordering
Texas became almost irresistible to the
land-hungry Americans. Spain sought to
colonize Texas with settlers loyal to Spain
believing that even illegal AngloAmerican
immigrants would not be
threatening if given an incentiveland-to
support Spain's stable government.Mexico later continued using land to
attract settlers under the empresario contracts.
Stephen F Austin's grant provided
the well-known league (4,428 acres) and
labor (177 acres) of land to heads of families.
Of the 26 empresarios in Texas, all but
Austin were basically land agents. Austin
was developing a colony and culture that
became Anglo-Texas.
The liberal land policy was continued by
the Republic of Texas. This use of the
Texas public lands was quite different from
the United States, where public lands were
sold strictly for revenue. Under the terms
of annexation, Texas retained ownershipof her public lands, which permitted the
State of Texas to continue the liberal land
policy.
Settlers came to Texas for land, they
obtained land, and they worked the land,
which seldom could support more than
basic living requirements. The dog-run
houses provided little more than a roof,
and pioneers spent long, exhausting days
clearing fields, erecting fences, pulling tree
stumps, hauling rocks, and defending
against Indian attacks. This way of life was
made possible by the hope of success, and
the work and purpose bonded men with
the land.
The hard work and commitment led to
slow, but steady improvement of their condition.
Even those who ultimately became
rich seldom changed their modest lifestyle.
Those without strength, commitment, and
luck did not last.
The Texas pioneers were building a new
civilization, even culture, on the land.
The land gave them the great Texas character
trait of independence. Freedom from
burdensome government and the securityof land bred and sustained this independence.
As Susanne Starling said in Land Is
the Cry, "Land was the symbol of status
and wealth for every independent man of
the era."
The government both gave and protected
the land. Texas created the first homestead
legislation in America in 1838 preventing
homesteads from being seized for
debt. Another law provided that "squatters"
possessing land long enough could
acquire title by operation of law even from
the legal owner.
The land changed the Texas pioneers,
and they gave Texas a heritage unique in
America. Even urban Texans today, at
some point in life, long for a country
home, farm, lake house, or possibly a
ranch. These provide a sense of place
important to Texans.
The almost mystical attachment of
Texans to the land is illustrated by the
recently published story about President
Lyndon Johnson's daughter, Lynda Bird
Johnson Robb, and her first child. She had
a jar of dirt flown up to Virginia from the
family ranch in Texas and put under the
bed so that the baby could be born over
Texas soil. Only Texans would understand
how important that was to Mrs. Robb.
From the beginning, the land needed
Texans, and Texans needed the land.
Texans love the land and what it has
meant, and now means, to our heritage.
The land is in our blood.
Doke is a lawyer in the Dallas office of
Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP. He welcomes
your comments or suggestions regarding the
Texas Historical Foundation at his e-mail
address-mdoke@gardere . com.HERITAGE WINTER 2004
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Texas Historical Foundation. Heritage, Winter 2004, periodical, Winter 2004; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth45372/m1/6/: accessed April 23, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas Historical Foundation.