Randolph B. Campbell's Sam Houston And The American Southwest

In Randolph B. Campbell’s biography, Sam Houston and the American Southwest, Campbell argues Houston “was courageous, sensible, and practical” (Campbel xii). Campbell believes Houston shaped not only Texas history, but the United States growth and the “possibilities and limitations of leadership in a democratic society”(Campbell xii). Campbell states Houston proves his impact on history by how he overcame the many problems he faced and his physical and moral courageous way of handling them; However, Sam Houston was a good leader not because he was brave, but because he never took a risk he did not have to take. On March 2, 1793, Sam Houston was the fifth to be born into a family of nine children, with mother Elizabeth Paxton Houston and father Samuel Houston. By 1806 Samuel Houston was on the edge of bankruptcy and saw a solution in moving west; However, before the Houston family was able to move Samuel died, leaving Elizabeth and her nine children to relocate in Maryville, Tennessee on their own. Two years after the Houston’s move, the family
Between 1818 and 1821, Houston became very popular because of his “proven courage, oratorical ability, and a commanding physical presence,” making his move into politics an easy one (Campbell 14). Sam began his political career campaigning for Andrew Jackson, and supporting him from here on out; Moving on in 1823 to run for the House of Representatives where, no one opposed him. After this, he became the governor of Tennessee in 1827, where he took a stance for the constitution while protecting the state’s power. During this time, Sam Houston married Eliza Allen on January 22, 1829 but, the marriage does not last long because Eliza leaves Sam later that year. This scandal crashes Houston’s world sending him into a “voluntary” exile which he would spend with the