Sam Houston… In His Own Words by Mac Woodward

by: Mac Woodward, Museum Director

We are often requested to provide the source for memorable or important quotes of Sam Houston.  These quotes are almost always at a time when Houston faced the great decisions of his day: Texas Independence, Annexation, the Compromise of 1850, the Kansas-Nebraska Act, and Secession.  But, there are other quotes of Houston that are just as revealing and show another side of his complex personality.  These quotes are often humorous, sharp, and serious at the same time but always to the point.

Sam Houston never hesitated to comment when asked about his political critics.  Thomas Jefferson Green had openly shown a dislike of Houston and when in Texas, he made speeches opposing Houston’s views.  When someone asked him about his feelings about Green, Houston said, “He has all the characteristics of a dog except fidelity.”  Nanny, Sam and Margaret’s oldest daughter, reported that she had met a kindly old gentleman named Burnett that asked about her father.  Sam remembered back to the days of the Republic and David G. Burnett’s criticism of him.  After Nanny left the room he told Margaret, “Burnett was always reading the Bible.  Perhaps he has at last come to the line ‘Thou Shalt Not Bear False Witness Against Thy Neighbor’.”  It was no secret that Houston disliked Mirabeau B. Lamar and his actions as President of the Republic of Texas.  Sam wrote a friend in 1839, “I might have been happy in ignorance at home had I know the full extent of Lamar’s stupidity.”  Houston did acknowledge that Lamar did have one “virtue – he pays his debts.”

The issues of the day always brought a response from Houston.  In the debate over the Kansas Nebraska Act the question arose, “What will become of the thousands of Indians who will be affected by this measure?” Someone explained that they will be “taken in.”  Houston warned: “Yes, they will be taken in. As strangers are sometimes taken in.”  As a provision of the Compromise of 1850, Houston negotiated the settlement of the disputed claim to the area of now New Mexico.  Texas received 10 million dollars.  When asked about the deal he affirmed, “It was the best sale ever made of poor land and a disputable title.”  

Sam Houston also extended his observations to himself.  When asked about his judge of people he said, “If I catch a man in one mean thing, I am willing to extend my suspicion to everything he does.”  Some accused Houston of being his own political party.  To that he replied: “From that I rather derive some consolation, because I know I could not be in better company, and no difference can arise between myself and myself.”  At the urging of Margaret Houston and her mother, Nancy Lea, Sam agreed to be baptized.  Afterwards he proclaimed, “Well, if all my sins are washed away, God help the fishes down below.”  He also offered to pay half the pastor’s salary and stated, “My pocketbook was baptized too.” 

When confronted, Houston always had a quick response.  Once at a barbeque, Houston rose to speak.  A stranger confronted him claiming Houston had said some bad things about him.  Sam quickly responded: “My God, man, has it come to this, that a man can’t ‘cuss out’ his best friend.”  The crowd cheered. 

The depth of Sam Houston’s passion captures our attention.  Still, Houston’s best quotes come when he defends his beliefs and gives advice.  Defending his decisions during the Texas Revolution he stated, “It is better to be right late than never.”  In 1850, eleven years before the Civil War, Senator Houston pleaded to preserve the Union “For a nation divided against itself cannot stand.”

In all the pronouncements and writings of Sam Houston, there is one that speaks for us all. In a letter to John Houston, in 1833, Sam Houston declared: “Texas is the finest portion of the globe that has ever blessed my vision!”