Dealey Plaza History / Dallas History / The Europeans and American Settlers (Part 1)

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D in the Heart of Texas

Jerry T. Dealey

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The Europeans and American Settlers (Part 1)

Early History of Texas
The Europeans and American Settlers
John Neely Bryan – And Other Early Founders
Some Wheeling-Dealing to Grow a City
George Bannerman Dealey
The Dallas Morning News is Born
The Great 1908 Flood
G. B. Promotes Other Early Dallas Growth
The "City of Hate"
Building the ‘Subway’, Triple Underpass, Dealey Plaza
The Other Buildings Around Dealey Plaza
The Elder G. B. Dealey
The Dallas "Citizens Council"
The ‘Right Wing’ Direction of Dallas - "City of Hate" Revisited
A ‘Turn-Around’ for the Dallas Morning News
The Pre-November ‘Hate’ Incidents
Dallas’ Law Enforcement
November 1963, Why Dallas?
Dealey Plaza Changes To-Date

During the 1500’s, the Spanish were the dominant world power, and most of the areas from the southern Mississippi to California were discovered and explored by Spain. The Spanish were also the dominant explorers and settlers of Mexico and points south. Although there were occasional French explorers to come to the Texas gulf coast and areas back through Louisiana to Florida, Spain was the main conqueror of the area. After his death, the remnants of the Spanish explorer De Soto’s expedition came to the Texas area in 1542, while looking for New Spain. However, they soon retreated back to the Mississippi to find civilization. No white men even attempted to settle the Dallas area until after the Republic of Texas won its independence in 1836.

Spain continued to decline, and Mexico won its independence in 1819. Mexico included the area of present day Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada and California, as well as large areas in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, Utah and Wyoming. The Louisiana Purchase included land up to, but not including, the mountains of Colorado.

Texas was a problem for the new government, as it was pretty much a wilderness area, populated by Indians. Many of these Indians had been supplied guns and weapons by the French during the Spanish - French war years, and would kill white settlers whenever they encountered them. In addition, the Mexican government was afraid that an unsettled area would continue to be a lure for the French and other settlers, if there was nobody there to defend it and keep them out. So to help settle the area, Mexico opened many parts of Texas to settlement by Americans.

Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, who called himself the “Napoleon of the West”, left Mexico City in 1835 with between 4000 and 6000 troops, to swing through Texas and suppress any rebellion he found. The Texans met and wrote a Declaration of Independence (a virtual copy of the US version, with the word “Mexico” substituted for “England”), and the Texas War of Independence was under way.

D in the Heart of Texas - Table of Contents
Early History of Texas
The Europeans and American Settlers (Part 2)

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Last edited June 3, 2003