A 19th century madstone

Dubious Medicine on the Texas Frontier

If you got sick in the Texas frontier area in the decades before the Civil War, your options were all pretty bad.
The "world's littlest skyscraper" in Wichita Falls, Texas, 2015

Boom, Bust, and the “World’s Littlest Skyscraper”

The discovery of oil near Wichita Falls in 1911 not only brought money to the Texas town, it brought a swindler who promised the sky(scraper).
A typical long-horn Texas Steer

Longhorns Long Gone (And Returned)

The end of the era of so-called Texas Longhorns doesn’t seem to have been sentimentalized at the time. Why do we wax nostalgic about it now?
selling great britain to texas

The Plan to Sell Texas to Great Britain

Stephen Pearl Andrews, a lawyer, Houston socialite, and abolitionist, concocted a plan to free Texas' slaves—with a hint of treason.
Waco compound in flames

How Religious Literacy Might Have Changed the Waco Tragedy

Religious scholars argue that the Waco raid was not justified and that with more understanding of theology, the loss of life could have been avoided.
A map of Mexican territories in 1835

When Mexico Was Flooded By Immigrants

In the early nineteenth-century, Mexico had a problem with American immigrants.
A Juneteenth celebration from 1900

The Story of Juneteenth

The Emancipation Proclamation was issued on January 1, 1863. It took over two years for the news to reach some enslaved people.
Abigail Fisher, who challenged the use of race in college admissions, joined by lawyer Edward Blum, right, speaks to reporters outside the Supreme Court in Washington, Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2015, following oral arguments in the Supreme Court in a case that could cut back on or even eliminate affirmative action in higher education. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

The Case for Abigail Fisher: A History of Affirmative-Action Cases

Three affirmative-action cases set precedent for the Supreme Court as they make a decision on Fisher vs. University of Texas.
Texas flag

Enslaved People in Texas and the Mexican Border

How the nearness of the Mexican border influenced formerly enslaved people in the state of Texas.