An exploration of the multifaceted characters and complex events that have defined the Lone Star State from its inception through today

When Americans turn on their laptops, play video games, go to church, vote, eat TexMex, shop for groceries, listen to music, grill steaks, or watch football, they are, knowingly or not, paying tribute to Texas. Tracing the profound and surprising history of the Lone Star State, Benjamin H. Johnson shines new light on why Texas has had such a powerful influence on US history. 

Texas is known to outsiders for mob violence, swaggering self-conception, and conservative politics, but Johnson reveals that the state has also been on the forefront of taming frontier violence, establishing LGBTQ rights, and developing modern businesses such as organic food and personal computing. Neither looking away from the dark chapters of Texas history nor letting them overshadow the achievements of democracy and pluralism that are some of the state’s greatest legacies. In Texas: An American History (Yale University Press, 2025) Johnson offers a balanced and inclusive history of an often contentious and stereotyped region, covering such topics as the persistence of Native Americans, the frontier story of the Alamo, agrarian populism, racial segregation, the state’s porous border with Mexico, and the way historical memory continues to shape the state’s identity. The reality of Texas, Johnson shows us, is even bigger than we think it is.

Benjamin H. Johnson is professor of history at Loyola University Chicago. He is the author of numerous publications, including Revolution in Texas: How a Forgotten Rebellion and Its Bloody Suppression Turned Mexicans into Americans. He lives in Chicago.

Lecture followed by Q&A and book-signing (books available for purchase courtesy of the SMU Bookstore).

This event is co-sponsored by Clements Center for Southwest Studies, SMU's Center for Presidential History and Friends of SMU Libraries.