Sowing the Seeds of Texas Nationalism

The period of Texas independence (1836-1845) provided rich ground for a strong sense of Texan nationalism to grow, with the seeds sown much earlier. To this day, Texans still exhibit characteristics common with nationalism, due to a long history of coping with life on the frontier, the Scotch-Irish heritage of fighting in defense of individual rights, winning an armed struggle for independence from Mexico, and dominant Southern traditions of Protestant evangelical religion and military pride.