Where the West Begins

Unsure which of its legacies are true and which to embrace, Texas grapples with an identity crisis. One camp insists that the states roots in slavery, segregation, and cotton make it southern. Another argues that its Native and ranching history make it western. Outside Texas, southern and western historians who dont know what to make of the state ignore it altogether. In his innovative settling of the question, Glen Sample Ely examines the states historical DNA, making sense of Lone Star identity west of the hundredth meridian and defining Texass place in the American West. Focusing on the motives that shape how Texans appropriate their pastfrom cashing in on tourism to avoiding historical realitiesEly reveals the inner workings of a multiplicity of Texas identities.