From the Annals of the Vanishing Daily Paper –  In 1881, the first issue of the San Antonio Light was published. The Light was a daily except on Sundays.  The paper was originally described as the only Republican daily in Texas.  After the Light was purchased by Harrison L. Beach and Charles S. Diehl in 1911, the Light became liberal-Democratic in its political views. William Randolph Hearst bought the Light  in 1924.  By 1972 the Light, with a daily circulation of 122,292 and a Sunday circulation of 160,905, had the one of the largest readerships of any of the Hearst properties.  By 1987, however, it was operating on a deficit, and in October 1992 the Hearst corporation, after purchasing the rival San Antonio Express-News, closed the Light.

From the annals of the Empressarios  – In 1821 Spain granted Moses Austin of  Missouri a permit to settle 300 Anglo-American families in the state of Texas and Coahuila.  This was the beginning of the process that led to American colonization in Texas that l d to independence and annexation by the United States. The elder Austin (who was also the founder of the American lead industry) died before actual settlement could begin. His dying wish was for his son Stephen F. Austin to carry out the ambitious scheme. Stephen took the reins eventually becoming known as the “Father of Texas.” Austin’s plan was in doubt after the Mexican war for independence began, but Stephen F. Austin preservered and the plan to settle Austin’s Colony was approved in 1823.  The original settlers became known as the “Old 300”.

From the Annals of the Civil War –  In 1861, the U.S. Senate rejected the Crittenden Compromise leading the country closer to Civil War and secession by more states including Texas.  Senator John J. Crittenden (D. Kentucky) proposed a series of constitutional amendments aimed at protecting slavery in the South. The basic plan was to resurrect the old Missouri Compromise of 1820, which had divided the West along the latitude of 36 30′ into slave and free zones.  In contrast, the Compromise of 1850 allowed a vote by territorial residents to decide the issue of slavery. Crittenden’s plan also would have protected slavery in the District of Columbia, allowed continuation of the interstate slave trade, and provided compensation to slave owners whose slaves escaped to the free states.

By the time Crittenden put forth his amendments, four states had already seceded and the prospect of more states leaving the Union loomed large.  The Compromise was overly weighted to addressing concerns of the slave-holding states and Crittenden believed that passage of his plan might convince them to rejoin the Union and avoid war.  But his plan would have been a major set back for the Republicans. The plan essentially consisted of a complete surrender by the Republicans on the issue of slavery with almost no compromise from the slave-holding states.  The Republican Party had been founded six years earlier for the express purpose of opposing the western expansion of slavery. Their remarkable success in electing Abraham Lincoln as President within six years of the party’s creation would have been eviscerated by the Crittenden Compromise.  Ultimately the plan failed with all 25 Republican senators voting against Crittenden’s plan.