James Webb Throckmorton: the life and career of a southern frontier politician, 1825-1894
| Title: | James Webb Throckmorton: the life and career of a southern frontier politician, 1825-1894 |
| Author: | Howell, Kenneth Wayne, 1967- |
| Abstract: | Many scholars of the Reconstruction era have examined James Webb Throckmorton ? ?s political career between 1860 and 1867 and have revealed that his racist views helped hasten the end of Radical Reconstruction in Texas . However , these scholars have not explained the motivations behind Throckmorton ? ?s political ideology , nor have they explained adequately the origins of the North Texan ? ?s racism . This dissertation focuses on these critical issues by examining the development of Throckmorton ? ?s personal and political beliefs between 1850 and 1874 . It shows that Throckmorton ? ?s political ideology was influenced by four primary factors : his early experiences on the North Texas frontier , his desire to create a community on the frontier that was primarily designed to be a haven for white settlers , his commitment to political conservatism which evolved from his early affiliation with Whig political ideology , and his quest to bring economic improvement to the North Texas region . In contrast to other scholarly works on Throckmorton which claim that the North Texan ? ?s political views were contradictory and inconsistent , this study demonstrates that Throckmorton ? ?s ideological beliefs remained constant and changed little over time . His commitment to preserving the whiteness of the frontier , to protecting the settlers of his home region , to conservative political ideology , and to internal improvements , especially railroads , never wavered during one of the most turbulent periods in Texas politics . This study also reinforces several important conclusions about the South in the nineteenth century : The region was never a homogeneous society ; southern racism was multifaceted ; and southern settlers migrating westward , especially those from the Upper South , viewed the frontier as a potential escape from the political and social dominance of large slaveholders . |
| URI: |
http : / /handle .tamu .edu /1969 .1 /2350
http : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /2350 |
| Date: | 2005-08-29 |
Citation
(May 2005).
James Webb Throckmorton: the life and career of a southern frontier politician, 1825-1894.
Doctoral dissertation,
Texas A&M University. Available electronically from
http : / /handle .tamu .edu /1969 .1 /2350
.
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