Why did tens of thousands of Anglo settlers renounce their US citizenship and declare their loyalty to another country by migrating to the Mexican Republic of Texas between 1821 and 1836?

One National Family is a fascinating new history of Texas that emphasises the importance of Mexico’s political culture in attracting US settlers and Texas’s unique role in the nation-building efforts of both Mexico and the United States. In One National Family, Sarah K. M. Rodríguez challenges traditional assumptions about early North American history to draw new conclusions about the comparative power, viability, and nation-building of Mexico and the United States. Drawing from archival research in both countries, Rodríguez highlights a profound political irony at the core of US expansion—that it was spurred by US weakness and Mexican viability.

Johns Hopkins Univesity Press | October 2024 | Hardback 352 pages | ISBN 9781421449449 | Price £54.00