Book Review: One National Family: Texas, Mexico, and the Making of the Modern United States, 1820-1867
One National Family: Texas, Mexico, and the Making of the Modern United States, 1820-1867. By Sarah K. M. Rodriguez. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2024. Hardcover, 352 pp. $64.95.
Reviewed by Aaron Stoyack
The study of the U.S.-Mexico borderlands has always been popular, but in the past fifteen years, a renewed academic focus on this region as its own entity has resulted in many well-regarded published works across disciplines. With One National Family: Texas, Mexico, and the Making of the Modern United States, 1820-1867, Sarah K. M. Rodriguez joins several authors discussing immigration to the region during the early and mid-1800s. This study dissects how U.S. and Mexican events affected the borderlands and how developments in the borderlands and each country parallel one another.
One National Family compares the political evolution of the two republics along the Rio Grande. The incessant battle between the federal and state governments has shaped both their histories. Rodriguez contrasts the respective heads of state and their approaches to federalism, immigration, labor, expansion, slavery, and Indian policy.
Mexico won independence in 1821 and faced the unenviable task of unifying disparate regions across a vast overland territory. The nation struggled to maintain a consistent political hegemony, as continued wars and disagreements stalled growth and development. In need of citizens and settlers, the Mexican government enticed Americans with lucrative land grants.
These converts often assimilated to a surprising degree. Many recognized the importance of unifying their adopted nation and assented to establishing Catholicism as the official religion. Even as immigrants, young men voluntarily answered the call of duty in Mexican conflicts. Rodriguez’s main argument is that these newcomers grew to embrace their status as Mexicans. To them, the American government overstepped its bounds, and in Mexico, they saw a chance to live freer lives.
A considerable majority of Rodriguez’s citations are primary sources that supplement rather than guide the narrative. Rather than interrupting the prose by introducing documents or overusing quotes, she prefers to paraphrase. Findings from political documents, newspapers, and personal letters from Mexican and U.S. archives give a diverse perspective of stakeholders from the ordinary citizen to heads of state.
One National Family is a focused academic study, with a fairly even split between American and Mexican history. Readers who may not initially be as interested in the Mexican history will still find key insights to this era and topic. There are also fantastic snapshots of Texan history. Even familiar national events gain new angles compared to happenings across the border. The narrative is evenly paced over the forty-seven years, divided into eight chapters. These span the topics of American exceptionalism, life west of the Mississippi, and the politics of slavery, offering a holistic examination of the American emigrant to Mexico.
American Civil War enthusiasts may be disappointed that the conflict spans only the last fifth of the book. However, it introduces seldom-discussed aspects of the conflict, like the Confederate exodus to Mexico and plans for a U.S. intervention against the French. One National Family is an in-depth, academic tour de force of political history that assuredly provides great value to the subject. If readers are willing to engage with and consider the significance of healthy doses of statecraft, and acknowledge the importance of understanding the Mexican perspective, this study will serve as a definitive book on the development of the borderlands.
