Past and present

Although I have been to the USA a few times before, mostly for short visits, it is only now that I am beginning to grasp the historical context. Carnegie’s biography, which covers the second half of the 19th century, is just as enlightening as my journey into the heart of the country. I am constantly surprised by just how young America still is as a nation. Today, on a historic poster dating back just over 100 years, I read how the Texas Colonial Association promoted settlement here a good 100 years ago:

The healthiest and most pleasant climate,

The best timber,

The richest minerals,

The most fertile soil,

The largest stock region and

The widest range of products in the world.

If that’s not something…

Many things are not as straightforward or as black and white as one might think. For example, the first Governor of Texas, Sam Houston, lived amongst Native Americans for years and came to appreciate and love their culture and way of life.

The settlers were not all rough-and-ready cowboys, but also included people such as the Scottish philosopher Edmund Montgomery and his German wife, who was a famous woodcarver in her day Elisabet Ney, who were nature-loving idealists, brilliant minds and extraordinarily talented artists. Ney managed to persuade Schopenhauer, who was known as a misogynist, to allow her to carve his likeness in stone. She was one of the few women about whom he had positive things to say.

After their arrival, she and her husband successfully sought to promote cultural life in Texas. The fact that the University of Texas – which now has 70,000 students and where Obama recently spoke – is located here in Austin is also down to her influence. The fact that it is a city which continues to promote the arts to this day is likewise due to her.