Bibliography of the Texas Revolution, Republic, and Annexation

This is a select bibliography of academic level books and journal articles, published mainly after World War II, about the history of the Texas Revolution, Republic, and Annexation to the United States and its historical context.

The Texas Revolution (October 2, 1835 – April 21, 1836) was a rebellion by Anglo-American immigrants as well as Hispanic Texans (known as Texians and Tejanos respectively) against the centralist government of Mexico in the Mexican state of Coahuila y Tejas. Although the uprising was part of a larger revolt that included other provinces opposed to the regime of President Miguel Barragán and General Antonio López de Santa Anna, the Mexican government believed the United States had instigated the Texas insurrection with the goal of annexation. The Mexican Congress passed the Tornel Decree, declaring that any foreigners fighting against Mexican troops "will be deemed pirates and dealt with as such, being citizens of no nation presently at war with the Republic and fighting under no recognized flag". Only the province of Texas succeeded in breaking with Mexico, establishing the Republic of Texas. It was eventually annexed by the United States about a decade later.

The Republic of Texas (), or simply Texas, was a short-lived sovereign country in North America from March 2, 1836, to February 19, 1846. Texas was bordered by Mexico to the west and southwest, the Gulf of Mexico to the southeast, the two U.S. states of Louisiana and Arkansas to the east and northeast, and U.S. unorganized territory encompassing parts of the current U.S. states of Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, and Wyoming to the north. The Texas Revolution began when hostilities broke out on October 2, 1835, shortly before the regime of Mexican President and General Antonio López de Santa Anna adopted a new Mexican constitution known as the Siete Leyes that abolished the authority of the states under the federal republic and established a centralized government. The revolution lasted for over six months. On March 2, 1836, delegates in convention proclaimed the Texas Declaration of Independence. Major fighting ended on April 21, 1836, with the Treaties of Velasco that ended the fighting and secured Texas' independence.

The Texas annexation was the incorporation of the Republic of Texas into the United States by joint resolution of Congress, culminating in its admission to the Union as the 28th state on December 29, 1845.

Works listed here are cited in the notes or bibliographies of scholarly sources. Each is published by an academic or major press, written by a recognized expert, or substantially reviewed in scholarly journals; borderline cases are omitted. A selection of primary sources are included. Many of the books below carry their own bibliographies; see the Further reading section for other bibliographies, and the External links section for historical sites, academic sites, and museums.

Citations follow APA style. Book have citations to academic journal or mainstream published reviews when available. For books only partly about the subject, relevant chapter or section titles are provided when useful and available. Translators of the original-language edition are included when possible. In cases where a title or name has appeared with more than one English spelling, the most recent published form is used and a footnote documents any earlier title under which the work appeared.

General surveys Brands, H. W. (2018). Heirs of the founders: The epic rivalry of Henry Clay, John Calhoun and Daniel Webster, the second generation of American giants. Doubleday. Part 5, "Temptations of empire," covers Texas annexation and the sectional crisis it opened. Campbell, R. B. (2003). Gone to Texas: A history of the Lone Star State. Oxford University Press. Harrigan, S. (2019). Big wonderful thing: A history of Texas. University of Texas Press. Howe, D. W. (2007). What hath God wrought: The transformation of America, 1815–1848. Oxford University Press. Chapter 17, "Texas, Tyler, and the Telegraph," covers annexation; chapter 18, "Westward the Star of Empire," and chapter 19, "The War Against Mexico," carry the story forward. Johnson, B. H. (2025). Texas: An American history. Yale University Press. McComb, D. G. (2010). Texas: A modern history (Rev. ed.). University of Texas Press. Merry, R. W. (2009). A country of vast designs: James K. Polk, the Mexican War, and the conquest of the American continent. Simon & Schuster. Chapters "Texas: Dawn of a new era" and "Annexation complete: Diplomacy, intrigue, and the force of politics" treat the annexation crisis. Montejano, D. (1987). Anglos and Mexicans in the making of Texas, 1836–1986. University of Texas Press.

The Texas Revolution Barker, E. C. (1904). The finances of the Texas Revolution. Political Science Quarterly, 19(4), 612–635. Barker, E. C. (1906). Land speculation as a cause of the Texas Revolution. Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association, 10(1), 76–95. Barker, E. C. (1907). President Jackson and the Texas Revolution. American Historical Review, 12(4), 788–809. Barker, E. C. (1910). Stephen F. Austin and the independence of Texas. Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association, 13(4), 257–284. Barker, E. C. (1914). The United States and Mexico, 1835–1837. Mississippi Valley Historical Review, 1(1), 3–30. Barker, E. C. (1928). Mexico and Texas, 1821–1835. P. L. Turner. Barr, A. (1990). Texans in revolt: The battle for San Antonio, 1835. University of Texas Press. Brands, H. W. (2004). Lone Star nation: How a ragged army of volunteers won the battle for Texas independence. Doubleday. Davis, W. C. (2004). Lone Star rising: The revolutionary birth of the Texas Republic. Free Press. de la Teja, J. F. (Ed.). (2010). Tejano leadership in Mexican and revolutionary Texas. Texas A&M University Press. Donovan, J. (2012). The blood of heroes: The 13-day struggle for the Alamo and the sacrifice that forged a nation. Little, Brown. Dunn, J. D. (2011). Mapping San Jacinto battleground, 1836–1855. Southwestern Historical Quarterly, 114(4), 388–424. Hardin, S. L. (1994). Texian Iliad: A military history of the Texas Revolution, 1835–1836. University of Texas Press. Lack, P. D. (1985). Slavery and the Texas Revolution. Southwestern Historical Quarterly, 89(2), 181–202. Lack, P. D. (1992). The Texas revolutionary experience: A political and social history, 1835–1836. Texas A&M University Press. Leazes, F. J. (2023). A portrait of Amos Pollard: The doctor at the Alamo. Southwestern Historical Quarterly, 126(4), 438–465. Pohl, J. W. (1989). The battle of San Jacinto. Texas State Historical Association. Pomeroy, C. D. (2009). Reassessing the location of Vince's bridge: Critical prelude to the Battle of San Jacinto. Southwestern Historical Quarterly, 112(4), 410–427. Reichstein, A. (1989). Rise of the Lone Star: The making of Texas. Texas A&M University Press. Reid, S. (2007). The secret war for Texas. Texas A&M University Press. Reyes, S. R. (2024). The ideological origins of the Texas Revolution. Journal of Southern History, 90(3), 479–502. Roberts, R., & Olson, J. S. (2001). A line in the sand: The Alamo in blood and memory. Free Press. Roell, C. H. (2013). Matamoros and the Texas Revolution. Texas State Historical Association. Scheer, M. L. (Ed.). (2012). Women and the Texas Revolution. University of North Texas Press. Stout, J. A. (2008). Slaughter at Goliad: The Mexican massacre of 400 Texas volunteers. Naval Institute Press. Tolbert, F. X. (1959). The day of San Jacinto. McGraw-Hill. Winders, R. B. (2004). Sacrificed at the Alamo: Tragedy and triumph in the Texas Revolution. State House Press. Winders, R. B. (2017). "This is a cruel truth, but I cannot omit it": The origin and effect of Mexico's no quarter policy in the Texas Revolution. Southwestern Historical Quarterly, 120(4), 412–439.

The Republic of Texas Adams, E. D. (1910). British interests and activities in Texas, 1838–1846. Johns Hopkins Press. Nance, J. M. (1963). After San Jacinto: The Texas–Mexican frontier, 1836–1841. University of Texas Press. Nance, J. M. (1964). Attack and counterattack: The Texas–Mexican frontier, 1842. University of Texas Press. Siegel, S. (1956). A political history of the Texas Republic, 1836–1845. University of Texas Press. Vázquez, J. Z. (1986). The Texas question in Mexican politics, 1836–1845. Southwestern Historical Quarterly, 89(3).

Annexation to the United States Cash, J. T. (2024). Adding the Lone Star: John Tyler, Sam Houston, and the annexation of Texas. University Press of Kansas. Crapol, E. P. (1997). John Tyler and the pursuit of national destiny. Journal of the Early Republic, 17(3), 467–491. Crapol, E. P. (2006). John Tyler, the accidental president. University of North Carolina Press. Freehling, W. W. (1990). The road to disunion: Vol. 1. Secessionists at bay, 1776–1854. Oxford University Press. Haynes, S. W. (2010). Unfinished revolution: The early American republic in a British world. University of Virginia Press. Haynes, S. W., & Morris, C. (Eds.). (1997). Manifest Destiny and empire: American antebellum expansionism. Texas A&M University Press. Merk, F. (1972). Slavery and the annexation of Texas. Alfred A. Knopf. Morrison, M. A. (1990). Westward the curse of empire: Texas annexation and the American Whig Party. Journal of the Early Republic, 10(2), 221–249. Morrison, M. A. (1995). Martin Van Buren, the Democracy, and the partisan politics of Texas annexation. Journal of Southern History, 61(4), 695–724. Morrison, M. A. (1997). Slavery and the American West: The eclipse of Manifest Destiny and the coming of the Civil War. University of North Carolina Press. Narrett, D. E. (1997). A choice of destiny: Immigration policy, slavery, and the annexation of Texas. Southwestern Historical Quarterly, 100(3), 271–302. Roeckell, L. M. (1999). Bonds over bondage: British opposition to the annexation of Texas. Journal of the Early Republic, 19(2), 257–278. Rugemer, E. B. (2007). Robert Monroe Harrison, British abolition, southern Anglophobia and Texas annexation. Slavery & Abolition, 28(2), 169–191. Schroeder, J. H. (1985). Annexation or independence: The Texas issue in American politics, 1836–1845. Southwestern Historical Quarterly, 89(2), 137–164. Silbey, J. H. (2005). Storm over Texas: The annexation controversy and the road to Civil War. Oxford University Press. Smith, J. H. (1911). The annexation of Texas. Baker & Taylor. Sturdevant, P. E. (2005). Robert John Walker and Texas annexation: A lost champion. Southwestern Historical Quarterly, 109(2), 188–202. Volanto, K. J., & Preuss, G. B. (2019). When was the Republic of Texas no more?: Revisiting the annexation of Texas. Southwestern Historical Quarterly, 123(1), 30–59.

Topical works Anderson, G. C. (2005). The conquest of Texas: Ethnic cleansing in the promised land, 1820–1875. University of Oklahoma Press. Barker, E. C. (1924). The influence of slavery in the colonization of Texas. Mississippi Valley Historical Review, 11(1), 3. Barr, A. (1996). Black Texans: A history of African Americans in Texas, 1528–1995. University of Oklahoma Press. Campbell, R. B. (1989). An empire for slavery: The peculiar institution in Texas, 1821–1865. Louisiana State University Press. Carrigan, W. D. (1999). Slavery on the frontier: The peculiar institution in Central Texas. Slavery & Abolition, 20(2), 63–96. de la Teja, J. F. (1998). Discovering the Tejano community in "Early" Texas. Journal of the Early Republic, 18(1), 73–98. de la Teja, J. F. (2024). Slavery and antislavery in the Hispanic world and Texas, 1789–1827. Southwestern Historical Quarterly, 128(2), 114–142. de la Teja, J. F., & Wheat, J. (1985). Bexar: Profile of a Tejano community, 1820–1832. Southwestern Historical Quarterly, 89(1), 7–34. DePalo, W. A., Jr. (1997). The Mexican national army, 1822–1852. Texas A&M University Press.