Narratives, Uses of History, and Power in Gonzales, Texas, 1900-1940

This book represents a new take on the study of cultural heritage. Based on narrative and place theories, and drawing on scholarship within memory and ethnoracial studies, it contributes to the ongoing scholarly debate on uses of history. Applying this framework, the book focuses on the small town of Gonzales, known in Texas history as the place of the First Shot of the Texas Revolution. Gonzales is the source of the defiant expression, ‘Come and Take It’ that originates from a confrontation over a small cannon between American immigrants and the Mexican army in 1835. This book focuses on the period of 1900–1940, where the ‘Come and Take It’ narrative emerged and came to define Gonzales as a place, identifying the White population as the dominant community and as the only ‘true’ Texans despite being a town that also included two large African-Texan and Mexican-Texan communities. The period is decisive for how Texas cultural heritage has developed over the 20th and 21st centuries, both in Gonzales and in Texas at large, and with important repercussions for American heritage and society on a greater scale.