Title:
In Texas, a Museum for a Larger-Than-Life Hero, Sam
Houston
Description: This is
a VOA Special English General News Report.
See text below
Text:
Sam Houston was larger than life. The city of
Huntsville, Texas, has a 20-meter-tall statue of
him. It is said to be the largest statue of any
American hero. Nearby, the Sam Houston Memorial
Museum holds many of his belongings. Patrick Nolan
is the director.
PATRICK NOLAN: "He is really the only man in our
history who was president of an independent country,
also governor of two different states, the only man
to have that distinction, Tennessee and Texas,
United States senator from Texas, commanding general
in a very successful war."
Sam Houston suffered personal and political defeats
early in life. In 1832, he joined American settlers
in what was then the Mexican territory of Texas.
PATRICK NOLAN: "The idea of remaking yourself, of
re...kind of...constituting your career, if you
will, was there, and Texas was an opportunity to do
that."
Sam Houston led Texas rebels to victory against a
larger Mexican army at the battle of San Jacinto in
1836. Texas won independence from Mexico before
joining the United States. Houston became governor
of the new state, but was forced to retire to his
farm in Huntsville in 1861. Nolan says Houston
refused to sign an oath to support rebellious
southern states against the north.
PATRICK NOLAN: "He would not take that oath to
support the Confederacy. He would resign -- he
didn't resign, he would be dismissed, he would be
fired before he would do it."
The Civil War was still being fought when Sam
Houston died at his home in 1863. James Haley has
studied his life. He says Sam Houston and his wife
owned slaves, but paid them for extra work. He says
Houston angered many southerners because he opposed
efforts to expand slavery to other states.
JAMES HALEY: "Every year, he had a speaking tour up
the Ohio Valley, through Pennsylvania, New York and
into New England. That was really the center of his
political strength, because he was unpopular in the
South because of his stance against slavery."
Sam Houston predicted the Civil War years before the
fighting started.
JAMES HALEY: "The South will go down, I think he
said, in a sea of smoke and ruin and that will be
the end of the South as we know it, and the North
will think they've won this big victory. He said the
North will have its own price to pay; they will reap
a harvest of assassination."
One week after the main Confederate army
surrendered, President Abraham Lincoln was murdered.
Haley says Sam Houston freed all his slaves before
he died. The money he gave them helped some become
educated and start businesses. Sam Houston continues
to interest people, and his influence in Texas
remains strong. I'm Barbara Klein.
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Hi. I
personally reviewed this video and found it appropriate for
the news section of English Global Group. This
is a Voice of America video which covers an interesting
topic in Special English. I would appreciate some feedback from both
students and teachers about this video. You can comment in
the window below using any of a number of different services
including Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, and Hotmail.
