ABSTRACT
Other states of the former Confederacy constructed cultures around the War That Was Lost. Yet Texas culture is built on the War That Was Won, namely the Texas Revolution of 1835–6 when Texas won independence from Mexico. Heritage tourism sites across Texas reduce a history that implicates Anglo–Hispanic relations, Black slavery, and white supremacy into a simplified narrative of Texan pioneer freedom fighters righteously and heroically resisting cruel and unjust Mexican tyranny. Racial implications are deferred as Anglo-Texan identity is built on tropes of honor, pride, and liberty. Further, each Texas Revolution heritage site has its analog in the mythic events of the American Revolution, from the sites of the first shots fired to the final decisive battle. Thus, the Texas creation myth evokes the larger American creation myth and constructs Texas exceptionalism as an analog to American exceptionalism. Because all histories are selective reconstructions from incomplete facts, representations at heritage tourism sites fill the gaps with narratives that reflect values which “make sense” to the surrounding majority culture. Analysis of websites for Texas Revolution heritage tourism sites reveals a collective narrative that assumes Anglo cultural values of individualism, low power distance, low uncertainty avoidance, masculinity, short-term orientation, and indulgence.
