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A Tejano Describes How He has been Transformed into a Foreigner in His Own Land
Digital History ID 3674
Author:
John N. Seguín
Date:1858
Annotation:
Juan Nepomuceno Seguín, who had served as San Antonio’s mayor, describes how he had been reduced to second-class citizenship in his native Texas, despite his role in promoting Texas’s independence.
Document:
I have been the object of the hatred and passionate attacks of some few disorganizers, who, for a time, ruled, as masters, over the poor and oppressed population of San Antonio. Harpy-like, ready to pounce on every thing that attracted the notice of their rapacious avarice, I was an obstacle to the execution of their vile designs. They, therefore, leagued together to exasperate and ruin me; spread against me malignant calumnies, and made use of odious machinations to sully my honor and tarnish my well earned reputation….
A victim to the wickedness of a few men, whose imposture was favored by their origin, and recent domination over the country; a foreigner in my native land; could I be expected stoically to endure their outrages and insults? Crushed by sorrow, convinced that my death alone would satisfy my enemies, I sought for a shelter amongst those against whom I had fought; I separated from my country, parents, family, relatives and friends, and what was more, from the institutions, on behalf of which I had drawn my sword, with an earnest wish to see Texas free and happy.
Source: Personal Memoirs of John N. Seguín, From the Year 1834 to the Retreat of General Wollfrom the City of San Antonio, 1842 (San Antonio: 1858), pp. iii-iv, 18-32 passim.
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