Archie P. McDonald | Book Review | The Journal of American History, 87.4

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Archie P. McDonald | Book Review | The Journal of American History, 87.4 | The History Cooperative

Book Review

The U.S. Army and the Texas Frontier Economy, 1845–1900. By Thomas T. Smith. (College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 1999. xii, 307 pp. $34.95, ISBN 0-89096-882-9.)

Thomas T. Smith makes his point that the United States Army played a significant role in the economic development of Texas, especially in the state's recovery from financial collapse after the Civil War, the hard way. The government spent large sums of money maintaining the army in Texas and on its projects, and Smith accounts for every penny in sufficient detail to soften the heart of any accountant. We profit from his thoroughness. 1

Smith's examination focuses on the introduction of the United States Army in Texas with annexation and the Mexican-American War (1846–1848), exploration in the 1850s, and various activities following the Civil War. The army helped Texans understand that they were part of the United States, established ports, blazed and built roads, protected trade routes, and garrisoned troops in a changing number of western posts. While doing those things, the army also stimulated the state's economy with soldiers' pay, renting facilities, and hiring local contractors. . . .

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