Sam Houston was beloved in Texas, right? First US senator from Texas, twice president of the Republic of Texas, and the only person to serve as governor of two states. My hometown’s namesake, I’d never given the man much thought until I learned he was forced from office when he refused to take the oath of allegiance to the Confederacy. Just imagine the politics. He later said, "the glory of my life was that I had the moral manhood on that occasion to stand up against the influences which surrounded me, and to be honest in the worst of times.” 

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