Presidential Leadership Lessons is a podcast hosted by Tom Fox. This continues a four-part series on leadership lessons not from US Presidents but from Presidents from the Republic of Texas, from 1836 to 1845. In this series, Tom is joined by Don Frazier, head of the Texas Center at Schreiner University in Kerrville TX to discuss the four Presidents who led Texas when it was a country. In this fourth episode, Tom and Don discuss the second term of Sam Houston.
In the second term of President Sam Houston, he was leading the Republic of Texas through a critical period of financial challenges. Don references the Texas Rangers, a defensive group established in 1823 which later became a paramilitary force during Houston’s tenure, and highlights the major impact the presence of the plantation south had on the US wanting to annex Texas. Ultimately, it was President Houston who was able to put things back on a level ground, allowing Texas to be annexed to the US and fly the U.S. flag. Don shares how he was able to ‘pull it off’ with the help of President Tyler and finally, President Polk who ‘poked the fish’ and finalized the annexation. Hear more interesting tidbits about Houston’s Presidency and related leadership lessons on the ‘Presidential Leadership Lessons’ podcast.
Key Highlights
The Challenges Faced by Sam Houston in His Second Term of Office in the Republic of Texas [00:35]
The History of the Texas Rangers [4:22]
The Annexation of Texas and the Mexican-American War [8:41]
The Benefits of Texas Annexation to the United States [12:45]
A Successful Fishing Trip and the Annexation of Texas 16:50]
Notable Quotes
1. “Texas did not retain the right to succeed. They had they retain the right to divide into multiple states at some future date.”
2. “The Republic of Texas is in dire straits. It is going to go into complete default and economic collapse. You can’t get any financial backing to speak of. There’s lots of attempts, but there’s not a lot of people buying into the Texas dream. Most Texans are still wanting to be Americans and not Texans.”
3. “What we’ll do is we’ll have officers that are on the payroll and then what they will do is they will fill out their ranks with volunteers that are providing their own weapons and stuff, and we’ll figure out how to settle up with them later. That’s where you start seeing people like Samuel Walker. People like Jack Hayes. These guys start showing up and they begin the regularization, the professionalization of the Rangers as a quasi-military force to essentially skirmish with the Comanches.”
4. “So Indianola is the really, the big port in the Republic of Texas period. Galveston is shallow and they haven’t done a whole lot of improvements. He gives you the gateway to Matagorda. Matagorda gives you the gateway to San Antonio, gives you gateway to the San Antonio River Valley, the Guadalupe River Valley.”
Resources:
Don Frazier, Director The Texas Center
