Don Wildman
👤 SpeakerAppearances Over Time
Podcast Appearances
But somewhere out there is the trouble he's been dispatched to find.
But whether he finds it or not, almost matters less than what he represents to us today.
That rider and the star he wears is a memory we all carry.
The legend, the myth, the magic of the Texas Ranger.
Welcome to American History Hit.
Don Wildman is my name.
And today we are back out on the American frontier in the vast, unspoiled lands of Texas.
While still well within the borders of sovereign Mexico.
In this land of opportunity and danger emerged a group of men who would rank among the most iconic figures of the Wild West.
The Texas Rangers.
Delivering Silver Star justice to a lawless frontier.
Or so goes the myth.
Who were these Texas Rangers?
Defenders of order or agents of exploitation and violence?
We'll explore it all with Professor Benjamin Johnson of Loyola University, Chicago, author of several books including Texas in American History and Revolution in Texas, How a Forgotten Rebellion and Its Bloody Suppression Turned Mexicans into Americans.
Ben Johnson, great to have you with us.
You have a name like a Texas Ranger.
Our telling of the story begins around 1820, beginnings of Texas, which was known by the Mexicans and Spanish, who founded the place, as Tejas.