by Jeffrey A. Tucker
The American Institute for Economic Research
My family moved to Texas from Massachusetts in 1830, six years before Texas became an independent nation. I should say one man made the migration; he met his wife on the journey, in Tennessee. They first stopped to see his uncle in New Orleans, who gave him some horses, a deed to some property in Texas, and a new covered wagon. He landed in East Texas, got bored of farming, and moved further West, landing in Marfa and Alpine. Remnants of that decision are all over the region today.
He made this choice for one reason: freedom. He was the son of a Congregationalist minister, and tired of the overly compliant and restrictive culture of the Northeast. He wanted something new, something other than the stultifying strictures of his Yankee homeland. He craved adventure, even danger. He wanted choice. He wanted to find himself rather than forever live a defined and scripted life under a set doctrine of belief and practice.