Bob Bullock State History Museum

Throughout the museum, Texas was being portrayed as a strong state known not only for it's struggle for independence from Mexico but the overall perseverance, spirit, and leadership shown by the Texas community. In the museum, this belief was sent through the writings off to the side of the displays, the entire Spirit performance, and through the design of the exhibits. The Texas star can be seen all over the Bob Bullock museum and is mentioned in the Spirit Performance. The star is symbol of the strength and leadership that lives in everyone, born in Texas or not. Through the words spoken by "Sam Houston" in the performance and the words written about Texas women in the actual exhibit, I felt empowered and proud to be a Texan...most of the time. To be honest, I was not impressed with the Spirit performance, which may have to do with the number of times I had seen it before, but never the less I didn't leave feeling as proud as I had in the past. I thought the portrayal of the Mexicans travelling to Texas was comical and I couldn't concentrate much past the accents used to depict the men and women of Mexico AND Texas. I'm sure others felt that the movie did a great job at instilling the "Texas Spirit" inside us, but I don't necessarily agree that the movie was as successful as the exhibit, in my opinion. I learned from wandering The Texas Women Exhibit that women played a much larger role in developing Texas than I had originally believed. I read the stories of women in Texas and learned about the importance of gender roles during that period. One portion of the exhibit that stuck with me the most was the display of the Honeymooners by George Peters. The book was a how-to-guide for new brides to learn how to cook, clean, and care for a child. I was amazed that the book was actually written by a man and that plenty of newlywed women must have relied on books like this to learn how to be a "successful wife".  The book serves as another example of the common belief at the time that women were meant to be happy homemakers.

< DeSoto's travel

Leadership meant different things to different people. The Caddo, Nabedache, and (Commanche chief) Quannah Parker most likely considered leadership to be making strong decisions to protect their tribes, or, at least in Quannah Parker's case, evolving to keep power. Parker led his people on and off the reservation.
To an explorer like DeSoto or DeLeon, their understanding of leadership was exhibited through their conquering of lands and other grand discoveries. They had much pride in finding lands that hadn't been claimed and strived to find more land and more riches.
Texas Rangers such as Charles Goodnight or Bigfoot Wallace both believed leadership to be incredibly important, especially in their endeavors. Charles Goodnight was said to have "approached greatness more nearly than any other cowman of history" according to J. Frank Dobie. Bigfoot Wallace fought in a number of wars and protected Texas proudly. Both Goodnight and Wallace led men or cattle to further the development of Texas.
To an ordinary soldier, missionary, farmer, or rancher, leadership was important as well. Every Texan during this time was proud of their state and worked hard to ensure it's safety and prosperity. Missionary's hoped to spread the word of God to people who had yet been exposed to it and aimed to better the lives of others. Soldier's prided themselves on making important decisions during times of war or to protect and ensure the safety of all Texans. Farmers and ranchers strived to better their crop and further the reach of Texas cattle to further Texas economically and to provide food. Women like Minnie Fisher Cunningham led other women to argue on behalf of securing women's suffrage. I do believe that the Texas Spirit is alive in every person who is ambitious enough to be a leader.

I think there is pressure as a University of Texas student to lead. I am proud that I come from a state which has fought for it's freedom and safety so strongly, but I prefer to lead differently. I think that UT offers students so many opportunities to lead, whether it be through an organization, club, or team. We can be leaders in our classes or in the community. There was an interactive part of the Texas Women Exhibit that consisted of recordings of ordinary people who have visited the Bob Bullock talking about advice they wish to extend to their children or grandchildren, women who have inspired them and why, etc. When watching the videos I realized that every person has the potential to be a leader in their own lives and our leadership is rarely as public as the ones depicted in the Spirit performance or elsewhere in the Texas exhibit. I am proud to be my own leader and am confident that every person, Texas Spirit or not, has the potential to make themselves a leader.

- Arctic Fox