Analytical Critique Assignent

Analytical critique assignment

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Analytical Critique Assignment

Beyond the Alamo:

BIBLIOGRAPHY Ramos, R. A. (2008). Beyond the Alamo: Forging Mexican Ethnicity in San Antonio, 1821-1861.North Carolina Scholarship Online.

Introduction:

The book “Beyond the Alamo” CITATION Rau08 \l 1033 (Ramos, 2008) is written by Raul A. Ramos. He discussed the Mexican Americans for the creation of the Texas story. The author mainly focused on the Mexican-Texan society during the time of political changes. It was the year of Mexican independence. The strength of the book varies on the storyline without slanting political view. In the book, there is no standard concept of hero and villain; instead of people and their lives are described in a realistic manner. He discussed the factors that were helpful for reshaping the identity of the Tejano population ethically and also about the cultural diversity between the indigenous groups, Anglo-American and Bexarenos.

Discussion:

Raul A. Ramos, the writer of the book, works in the University of Houston as an assistant professor. The book was published in 2018 by the University of North Carolina. He used government documents for the statistics along with other primary and secondary data for evidence. The book is free of bias as the author wrote it free of any political or personal views. All facts are cleared and supported by evidence. Also all the facts and conclusion is well defined explicitly.

The book starts from the historical period when Mexico got independence from Spain. The book did not provide information about criminal mercenaries or any other bloodshed information. The main theme of the book is to find out the root of war. Also, the aspects that show the context related to the question about, why most of the Mexican-Americans did not reverse the Alamo heroes. In past, the city was known as Bexar and got the name San Antonio after taxes gained independence in 1836. The Spanish census of 1820 showed that Bexar had about sixteen hundred residents. It was the most populated city in Texas. In the entire city, two thousand residents were counted by the Spanish government. They allowed Anglo-American for migration as the government was unable to move a large number of the Mexican population. The book covered an interesting historical event as Mexico decided to provide land grants to the people settled in Texas.

The author shared statistical data from primary sources, and government data is added, according to which population consists of 15 percent Indians, 58 percent Spanish, 20 percent mestizo, and 6 percent others. About 300 settlers were granted the land grand after they agreed to learn Spanish and became Roman Catholics. During 1821-28, many Anglo-Americans migrated to Texas which increased their population. During 1828 to 1834, government of Texas got concerns about the increase in the population of Anglo-Americans, and issued immigration restrictions. It became prohibited to bring more and more slaves, and because of this restriction many immigrants were termed as illegal immigrants, but the government did not implement on the restriction to a significant extent.

The war between Texas and Mexico started in 1830 when Texas refused to accept Anna's suspension in 1824 of the Mexican constitution. During 1835, the most crucial aspect of the war was the siege of Bexar. At this time, the Texas army pushed the Mexican Army out of Texas. The author provided information about the steps taken by the Texas army. He failed to highlight the Defender's composition of the Alamo. The only aspect he noted that after the siege of the Alamo was a composition shifting of Texas residency length. Five Tejanos died while defending the siege of Alamo.

The Texas army had about thirteen hundred troops in 1835. Pension records of troops indicate that eighty percent of the entire troops were from Texas before the initiation of hostilities. Approximately ten percent of troops were Tejanos, and fifty percent were from the Brazos area. About thirty percent of troops had to migrate to Texas which might make them illegal immigrants. End of the book focused on the time period between Texas independence and civil war. The reason for the civil war noted by the author was the behavior of Anglosand disturbance created by military. Anglos raised question over the loyalty of Tejanos, which later turned into a war. The author concluded that not all people from any of the community were responsible for the war. For instance, if many Tejanos were antiwar, then there were many Anglos as well who wanted peace. “Over the course of secession, a maximum of 3,685 out of about 40,000 Anglo-American immigrants fought in any battles.”

Conclusion:

The author concluded the historical event as the Bexar’s initial occupation developed readjusting to life after the siege of Alamos. Leadership was the main cause of the disturbance. Immigration caused the strained relations of Texas between Bexarenos and Anglo-Americans. During 1828 to 1834, government of Texas got concerned about the increase in the population of Anglo-Americans, and issued immigration restrictions. Restrictions over immigration system, negative stereotypical views, and concern about the loyalty for the Tejanos were the main factors of war. My point of view of the book is positive. I think the author writes the book with excellence. The evidence, statistics, and bias-free information is the strength of the book. The author has not shared the point of view of defenders, but the information he added is efficient and accurate. It gives an excellent knowledge for the history scholars. It is one of the excellent books that provide us a clear and detailed perspective of the Anglo take-over.References

BIBLIOGRAPHY Ramos, R. A. (2008). Beyond the Alamo: Forging Mexican Ethnicity in San Antonio, 1821-1861.North Carolina Scholarship Online.

http://northcarolina.universitypressscholarship.com/view/10.5149/9780807888933_ramos/upso-9780807832073