An Empire for Slavery: The Peculiar Institution in Texas, 1821--1865

Because Texas emerged from the western frontier relatively late in the formation of the antebellum nation, it is frequently and incorrectly perceived as fundamentally western in its political and social orientation. In fact, most of the settlers of this region were emigrants from the South, and many of these people brought with them their slaves and all aspects of slavery as it had matured in their natives states.

In An Empire for Slavery, Randolph B. Campbell examines slavery i…