What a Texas-sized battle over state history means
| Galveston, Texas
Early Texas history once marched across land owned by the Pinkerton family for four generations.聽
On their way into the history books, the famous feet of Sam Houston, Davy Crockett, and other icons first tramped from the Red River down the historic road of聽Trammel鈥檚 Trace. What began as a smuggler鈥檚 route became, in the chaotic decades around Mexican independence, a primary causeway for Anglo immigrants (white, English-speaking immigrants) looking to settle beyond America鈥檚 southwest frontier.聽
The trail passed right through a pasture on Pinkerton land in Rusk County, Gary Pinkerton鈥檚 father mentioned one day. Mr. Pinkerton was hooked.聽
Why We Wrote This
A story focused onWhat is the purpose of studying the past? A lawsuit against a Texas historical organization was really, both sides say, about how the narrative arc of history will bend in the future.
鈥淚 began to feel history rather than just learn about it,鈥� says the retired human resources director.
He spent 10 years driving the back roads of East Texas and combing through historical records. What began as a family history project became a forensic historical investigation. Eventually, it became .
鈥淭he more I researched, the more I learned things that just weren鈥檛 true 鈥� myths and legends that had floated around,鈥� he says.
For J.P. Bryan, his love of Texas history was sealed with the he acquired as a boy: a Moore鈥檚 Patent Front Loading Revolver and a Sharps Patent Four-Barrel Derringer.
The antique firearms formed the basis of the private collection he displays at the Bryan Museum in Galveston. When visitors begin a tour, a framed painting comes to life with a recorded welcome from Mr. Bryan.
The museum, he says, will walk visitors through 鈥渙ne of the greatest events in history ... the settlement of the American West.鈥�
One August morning, the real Mr. Bryan sits in the museum. In a white-and-blue seersucker suit, the multimillionaire and former oil executive explains why he thinks Texas 鈥渉as the greatest history of any state in the Union.鈥� From the Texas Revolution to the cattle drive era, to oil and gas innovation, the state has been the setting of some of the world鈥檚 most compelling stories, he says. Mr. Bryan believes that history should inspire.
鈥淲e as historians should be looking for those opportunities,鈥� he says. 鈥淏ut at the same time, we don鈥檛 try to hide things, or cover it up and make it mythology or legend.鈥�
Both Texans 鈥� retirees who love their state鈥檚 history 鈥� found themselves on opposite sides this year. The line was what, exactly, history is for.
Texans revere their history, even as some of its defining features have, under scrutiny, moved closer to the realm of myth. Texas exceptionalism draws from wells of historical experience, from its nine years as an independent country to its globally powerful modern economy. So perhaps it鈥檚 no surprise that here, as in other parts of the United States, history has become a front in the political culture wars.
鈥淲e have multiple views of America. That鈥檚 not an opinion; that鈥檚 a fact,鈥� says Jonathan Zimmerman, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania who studies the culture wars and the politics of education. 鈥淏ut what do you do about that fact? That鈥檚 the question.鈥�
In Texas, controversy this summer centered on Mr. Bryan 鈥� specifically a lawsuit he filed against the leader of the Texas State Historical Association (TSHA). Mr. Pinkerton was among the historians who signed a petition opposing Mr. Bryan鈥檚 lawsuit.
The dispute goes beyond the discomfort some have with historians revisiting old heroes with a more critical eye. It goes beyond historians widening the spotlight beyond a singular focus on the great white men of history. Mr. Bryan is a lateral descendant of one of those men 鈥� Stephen F. Austin, one of the founding fathers of Texas 鈥� and he recognizes the need for state history to tell more diverse stories. But academic historians, he contends, have been going too far, seeking to vilify certain figures and victimize others.
Academic historians argue they鈥檙e not seeking to vilify anyone, and that historians also shouldn鈥檛 approach their work with rose-tinted glasses. Merely making history more diverse and inclusive, they believe, is a superficial gesture that avoids the deeper issue at the heart of the culture war.
鈥淲hat we did to solve any history war was to add a new group to the same story,鈥� says Professor Zimmerman. 鈥淓veryone gets in; everyone gets to be a hero or heroine. It鈥檚 democratic in the sense that it鈥檚 inclusive, but it鈥檚 not democratic in the sense that it鈥檚 critical.鈥�
Historians have a duty to study the uglier chapters of the past, these historians believe, even though it may make for uncomfortable reading.
鈥淔or so long, the history of Texas was the history of great white men on horseback,鈥� says Gregg Cantrell, a history professor at Texas 海角大神 University.
鈥淚t鈥檚 the job of the historian to tell the truth. If you鈥檙e inspired by the truth, great,鈥� says Professor Cantrell. 鈥淪ometimes the truth is not pleasant; sometimes the truth does not inspire you; sometimes the truth is not heroic. And if we only tell the kind of truth that is inspirational or heroic, then we鈥檙e not really telling the truth at all.鈥�
The lawsuit settled before trial in August, but the broader dispute around history and its value for the present day remains.
鈥淭he way the history of Texas is written鈥�
Formed in 1897, the historical association bills itself as the oldest learned society in the state. The main functions of the TSHA, a membership organization of academic and amateur historians, are putting on educational programming and curating the well-respected and widely read Handbook of Texas, Southwestern Historical Quarterly journal, and Texas Almanac.
For most of that 126-year history, the TSHA operated in relative anonymity. But a few years ago, some members say they noticed things changing. What had been a friendly, perhaps occasionally dull community of professional and amateur historians became more divided.
鈥淭here used to be more of a sense of community,鈥� says Michelle Haas, a member and amateur historian.
The organization became more focused on what she describes as 鈥渆soteric鈥� subjects. She says she heard from people over the past decade who stopped going to conferences, or unsubscribed from publications because 鈥渢here鈥檚 nothing I want to read.鈥�
One lightning rod moment came in 2021, when Walter Buenger, the chief historian for the TSHA, 聽that the Alamo became a 鈥渟ymbol of Anglo-Saxon preeminence鈥� that has been used as 鈥渁 defense of white privilege.鈥澛燱hen Mr. Bryan, a former president of the organization, returned the next year as interim executive director, he noticed a similar trend: academics advancing what he describes as a 鈥渘arrative鈥� of 鈥渧ictimization and villainization.鈥�
Earlier this year he filed his lawsuit against Nancy Baker Jones 鈥� both individually and in her capacity as TSHA president. He sought to reorganize the board, in accordance with the association鈥檚 bylaws, to be 鈥渂alanced substantially鈥� between academic and nonacademic members.
Early on, it was clear the lawsuit was about more than bylaws.
鈥淗ow this whole thing goes will determine the future of the way the history of Texas is written,鈥� Mr. Bryan told The Galveston County Daily News . 鈥淚f we keep on this path, we鈥檙e going to lose it all. There鈥檚 nothing inspiring when everyone鈥檚 a villain or crook or usurper of wealth.鈥�
鈥淗istory 101鈥�
A segment of the membership came out in vocal criticism of the lawsuit, supporting Dr. Jones. Among the disputes is whether the legal question at the heart of the lawsuit has been resolved: What exactly constitutes an 鈥渁cademic鈥� historian versus a 鈥渘onacademic鈥� historian?聽
The organization鈥檚 bylaws describe an academic as 鈥渁n active or retired employee of an accredited academic institution鈥� whose position involves teaching, or researching history. But that 鈥渃an be arbitrary,鈥� says Sonia Hern谩ndez, a history professor at Texas A&M University and a member of the TSHA board.
鈥淭his whole legal issue can very well reemerge in the future if we don鈥檛 have a clear understanding of what we mean by these categories,鈥� she adds. But 鈥渢his was about something else, and how we know this is because ... he said this was a battle over the narrative of Texas history.鈥�
Academics also dispute the notion that the association had taken a sudden leftward turn.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of traditional history that鈥檚 been published there, too,鈥� says Professor Hern谩ndez, about the Southwestern Historical Quarterly. A around the time of Dr. Buenger鈥檚 comments included articles on Spanish settlers, German midwives, and a Civil War naval surgeon.
But 鈥渉istorians are continuously revising narratives based on the availability of source material, based on the analysis of historical material outside of Texas,鈥� she adds. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 History 101.鈥�
In a sense, Professor Cantrell, at Texas 海角大神 University, embodies that narrative journey. One of the former TSHA president鈥檚 first books was a biography of Austin. Almost a quarter century later, his next book is going to be about lynching in the state.
The association鈥檚 academic members had 鈥渓ong prided themselves on the organization being a big tent,鈥� says Dr. Cantrell. 鈥淩eally what鈥檚 changed has been the insertion of politics in areas of life that really weren鈥檛 present before.鈥�
鈥淲e鈥檙e in a time when objectivity is hard鈥�
Weeks before trial, the parties settled in mediation, with Mr. Bryan appearing to get many of the changes he was calling for. Dr. Jones resigned, along with the secretary of the association, Stephanie Cole, a history professor and Dr. Cantrell鈥檚 wife.
Some professional academics 鈥� and some nonacademics 鈥� are concerned about where the association might now go from here. Mr. Bryan says nothing is changing when it comes to the content of the organization鈥檚 periodicals.
鈥淲e鈥檙e just trying to grow everything that we鈥檙e doing, and it doesn鈥檛 have anything to do with me changing the [historical] narrative,鈥� he adds. 鈥淭he only thing that will change is that [with more] balance, there will be more narrative from people that don鈥檛 necessarily share the academic view of history.鈥�
And that should have positive effects for the association, and for Texans as a whole, says Ms. Haas, the amateur historian, who had commented on a lost sense of community.
鈥淚f you don鈥檛 agree on which history should be promoted the most, that鈥檚 good. Fight it out,鈥� she adds.
But the lawsuit has strained relationships and damaged trust. Some members say they鈥檙e considering leaving, perhaps to start a new organization. After the settlement, a survey of members who signed the petition objecting to Mr. Bryan鈥檚 lawsuit found that 87% support forming 鈥渁 new organization to support Texas history.鈥� So far eight board members and committee members have resigned.
Historical scholarship will continue no matter if, or how, the TSHA changes. But professional historians say that, after a generation in which historical study has grown more diverse and inclusive, historical scholarship of Texas needs to keep its critical eye.
鈥淟earning new things about the past does not mean that we鈥檝e lost tether to what we thought we knew. It鈥檚 just that what we know now has expanded,鈥� says Sarah Gould, a historian and executive director of the Mexican American Civil Rights Institute in San Antonio.
What academic historians fear is the vanishing of history that shows Texas icons 鈥� be it Alamo defenders or Texas Rangers 鈥� in a negative light. What they worry about is the TSHA becoming, in effect, the Bryan Museum writ large.
The new association president is Ken Wise, a state appeals court judge who hosts a Texas history podcast and is finishing a master鈥檚 degree in history. He acknowledges that the organization needs to rebuild trust between members, but he also believes all historians are facing external pressures from a society riven with distrust and ideological division.
鈥淲e鈥檙e in a time where objectivity is hard, and that鈥檚 not a good thing for historians,鈥� he says.
Mr. Pinkerton says he鈥檚 reconsidering his support of the TSHA, but he鈥檚 also mindful of continuing to feed a conflict he believes is based on a false dichotomy.
The 鈥渁ssertion that there鈥檚 been a 鈥榳oke鈥� takeover of TSHA is intended to ignite emotions, and when that happens people tend to ignore the facts,鈥� he says.
鈥淲e鈥檝e forced ourselves into an 鈥榚ither-or鈥� society ... when we live in an 鈥榓nd鈥� kind of world,鈥� he adds. 鈥淎s a country, as a community, we鈥檙e going to need to find more 鈥榓nd鈥� solutions.鈥�
