An Act to Incorporate the European and American Colonization Society in
Texas
Whereas, A company under the name of the European and American
Colonization Society in Texas has been formed in Brussels between Victor
Prosper Considerant, Allyre Bureau, Charles Francois Guillon, Jean
Baptiste Andre, Goden Lemaire and their associates, on the 26th day of
September, A.D. 1854, as appeared by an act deposited at the office of
Mr. Hedweld, Notary in said city, and duly legalized and certified on
the 20th day of January, AD. 1855, by the Consul of the United States at
Antwerp, the nature and object of which said company consists in the
Union of intended colonists creating a joint stock, and constituting an
agency to enable its shareholders to emigrate to Texas to colonize, to
improve lands, to transfer hither their manufactories, to introduce new
culture and new branches of industry. And whereas, the objects of said
association are calculated to develop the resources and add to the
population and wealth of this State. Therefore, Be it enacted by the
Legislature of the State of Texas,
Section 1. That Victor Prosper Considerant, Allyre Bureau, Charles
Francois Guillion, Jean Baptiste Andre, Godin Lemaire and their
associates, successors be, and they are hereby constituted a body
politic and corporate, by the name of the European and American
Colonization Society in Texas, with power and authority in said
corporate name to have succession, to make contracts, to have and use a
seal, to acquire by purchase, donation or otherwise, and to own, manage
and alienate property real, mixed and personal, to sue and be sued, to
plead and be impleaded in law and equity in like manner and as fully as
natural persons, to carry on, conduct and manage any kind of
manufacturing, mechanical or agricultural business, to issue shares and
negotiate them, to borrow money by mortgage on its property or
otherwise; to have a President, Directors, Secretaries and Treasurers,
and all such officers and agents as the company may deem necessary, and
to prescribe their powers and duties; to make such by-laws, rules and
regulations, not inconsistent with the Constitution and laws of this
State or of the United States, as they may deem necessary and proper for
the government of said company and the management of its affairs and
interests, and to possess generally all the powers, rights, immunities
and privileges necessary to carry into effect the provisions and objects
of the said association.
Provided, that a majority of the Directors of said Company and the
President thereof shall be residents of Texas, and that the principal
office shall be kept in this State, where all writs and citations shall
be served. And further provided, that this act shall not be so construed
as to entitle said company to the benefits of any law granting lands or
money to any railroad, manufacturing or colonization company, nor shall
it authorize said company to prohibit slavery in any Territory occupied
by it.
Section 2. The capital stock issued by the said Company shall not exceed
one million dollars, to be divided into shares of such values and
entitling the share holders thereof to vote in such manner as shall be
prescribed by the by-laws of said company; the duration of which shall
not exceed twenty years from the passage of this act.
Section 3. That the shareholders or corporators of the company, by this
act incorporated, shall be liable for all debts and obligations of said
company in the same manner and to the same extent as general partners
are by law now liable.
Passed, September 1st, 1856.
Special Laws of the Sixth Legislature of the State of Texas passed at
its adjourned session convened July 7, 1856 (Austin 1856) 216-217, in
H.P.N. Gammel, _The Laws of Texas_, 1822-1897, Vol. IV (Austin, 1898),
pp. 762-763.
CHAPTER 32
An Act amendatory of an act entitled an act to incorporate the European
and American Colonization Society in Texas.
Section 1. Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Texas, That
the third section of the above entitled act be so amended that the same
shall hereafter read as follows: That the Shareholders or Corporators of
the Company shall be liable for all debts and obligations of said
Company, to the extent of the Capital Stock subscribed or owned by each.
Section 2. That this act take effect and be in force from and after its
passage.
Approved, January 6th, 1858.
Special Laws of Seventh Legislature of the State of Texas (Austin,
1858), 26, _ibid._, p. 1204.
D. LETTERS OF INTRODUCTION
New York City
November 10, 1854
His Excelly
Gov. Pease
My Dear Sir:
Permit me to introduce to you my friend Mr. F. Cantagrel of France--He
is a gentleman of _high standing_ and _acquirements_ and goes to Texas
to see the country and may perhaps establish himself there for
life--Being a stranger, he will be thankful for any advice, aid or
consel you may extend to him, will be regarded a personal favor by me
and duly reciprocated by us both.[1]
Very respectfully,
(Signed)
H. W. Merrill
Bt Major
USA
To/His Excelly
Gov. M. Pease
Legation of the United States
Brussels, January 14, 1855
Dear Sir:
Although not acquainted with your Excellency, yet as the diplomatic
representative of our country I take the liberty of addressing you this
note for the purpose of introducing to your acquaintance and attention
the distinguished Republican, Mons. Victor Considerant of France; who is
about leaving Europe with a number of his Countrymen to settle and
establish a Colony in your state. Mons. Considerant is an ardent
republican and has not escaped the persecution usually attendant upon
the advocates of these opinions in Europe. Our Countrymen, I trust, will
receive him the more cordially. He is a gentleman of means education and
intelligence, and will be a most valuable acquisition to your state.
Under these circumstances it is not necessary to commend him both good
office and kind consideration of the governor of the free and chivalrous
state of Texas.
I have the honor to be, Sir, with very great respect your Countryman &
old Servant.[2]
(Signed)
J. J. Seibel
To/His Excellency the
Governor of Texas
The State of Texas
County of Travis
Know all men by these present that I James Knight of Fort Bend County.
State aforesaid for a good & Valuable Consideration. The receipt of
which is hereby acknowledged, have by these presents doth hereby grant
bargain and convey unto Victor Prosper Considerant, his heirs and
assignees all the right title and interest that I have or may hereafter
acquire of in the certificate no [3169/3270] for one league and labor of
Land issued by the Commission--is of the General Land office on the 19th
day of January A D 1854 which said certificate was issued to me as
assigned of James McLaughlin
Witness my hand and scrawl for seal this 7th Jany A D 1855.[3]
E. R. Peck
John C. Higginson
James Knight
(Seal)
[1]Texas Archives, Governor's Letters--Pease.
[2]From Archives of Texas, Governor Pease's Letters.
[3]From Texas Land Office--Dallas Co.--James McLaughlin, File 853.
REFERENCES
Introduction
[1]For a brief study of socialism see Thomas Kirkup, _A History of
Socialism_ (New York, 1909); John Spargo, _A Summary and
Interpretation of Socialistic Principles_ (New York, 1906); Harry W.
Laidler, _A History of Socialist Thought_ (New York, 1927). For a
more extended study, Donald Drew Egbert and Stow Persons, editors,
_Socialism and American Life_ (Princeton, New Jersey, 1952), 2 Vols.
[2]A. C. Pigou, _Socialism Versus Capitalism_ (London: Macmillan and
Company, 1938), p. 2; Egbert, _op. cit._, I, iii.
[3]_Ibid._, 1.
[4]Egbert, _Socialism and American Life_, I, Introduction.
[5]See also Max Beer, _A History of British Socialism_, London, 1929, I,
160-180; Egbert, _op. cit._, I, 156-172.
[6]H. W. Laidler, _Social-Economic Movements_ (Thomas Y. Cromwell, New
York, 1946), 98.
[7]_Socialism, Utopian and Scientific_ (Chicago: 1914), 74; Egbert, _op.
cit._, I, iii.
[8]Engels, _op. cit._, 91.
[9]This conclusion does not coincide with the discussion in _Socialism
and American Life_, I, 215-522 by Daniel Bell. It appears that Bell
used an indefensibly wide interpretation of Marxianism to demand so
many pages to relate the actions of the followers of Marx. An
example, from the viewpoint of this author, may be noted on page
250. The discussion in these two hundred and fifty pages is a
splendid story of American Socialism but hardly of Marxian Socialism
in America.
CHAPTER I
[1]D. O. Wagner, _Social Reformers from Adam Smith to John Dewey_ (New
York: 1934), 213-239. Harry W. Laidler, _Social-Economic Movements,
An Historical and Comparative Survey of Communism, Cooperation,
Utopianism: and Other Systems of Reform and Reconstruction_ (New
York: Thomas Y. Crowell Co., 1946), 44-117. For general discussion
concerning the period see _Revue des Deux Mondes_, XXIIIe Annee,
Seconde serie de la Nouvelle Period, III, No. 1, 1853, 320-345, and
especially, 1852, No. 3, 508-545.
[2]For a criticism of Fourier's ideas and system see Mme. C. Coignet,
_Victor Considerant, sa Vie, son Oeuvre_ (Paris, France, 1895), 5-9;
Frederic Engels, _Socialism, Utopian and Scientific_, translated by
Deward Aveling (Chicago, 1914), 63-66; Harry W. Laidler, _A History
of Socialist Thought_ (New York, 1927). For a more extensive
biography, _La Grande Encyclopedie Nouvelle Biographie Generale
depuis les Temps les plus Recules Jusqua nos jours_, XII; Coignet,
_op. cit._, 2-5. Fourier's chief works are _Le Noveau Monde
Industrial et Societaire_, 1829; _Traité de l'association
Domestiquée Agricole au Attraction Industrielle_, 2 Vols., 1822; _La
Theorie des Quarte Mouvements et de Destinées Générales_. For
materials on related discussions see A. Grandin, _Bibliographie des
Science_, etc. For a biography see F. August Bebel, _Charles
Fourier, Sein Leben Und Seine Theorien_ (Stuttgart, 1888).
[3]For a plan of phalanstery see Appendix B. Compare Albert Brisbane,
_Social Destiny of Man_: or, _Associations and Reorganization of
Industry_ (Philadelphia, 1840), 353-354. For an extensive study see
items listed in Egbert, _op. cit._, II, 132-135.
[4]Frederic Engels had a very high appreciation of Fourier; he said:
"Fourier is not only a critic; his imperturbable serene nature makes
him a satirist, and assuredly one of the greatest satirists of all
times.... He was the first to declare that in any given society the
degree of woman's emancipation is the natural measure of the general
emancipation." See Frederic Engels, _op. cit._, 64-65. Ferrari, "Des
Idées de L'école de M. Fourier depuïs 1830" in _Revue des Deux
Mondes_, XI, August 1, 1845, No. 3, 389-434.
[5]Eugene Fourniere, "Le Rèigne de Louis-Philippe, 1830-1848," in
_Histoire Socialiste_, 1789-1900, edited by Jean Jaures, 322-326.
[6]Coignet, _op. cit._, 1-16. For a list of his writings see _Victor P.
Considerant, in LaRousse du XXe Siécle_, II, 425.
[7]Coignet, _Victor Considerant, sa Vie, son Oeuvre_, 11-22; see also
Eugene Fourniére, _op. cit._; Savardan, _Un Naufrage au Texas_
(Paris, 1858), iii, 11-23.
[8]Coignet, _op. cit._, 29-34.
[9]_Ibid._; Albert Brisbane, _A Mental Biography With a Character Study
by His Wife, Redelia Brisbane_ (Boston, 1893), 194; Hereafter cited
as _Mental Biography_; Savardan, _op. cit._; Victor Prosper
Considerant, _The Great West, A New Social and Industrial Life in
Its Fertile Regions_ (New York, 1854) _passim_. Hereafter cited as
_The Great West_.
[10]Eugene Fourniére, _op. cit._, 444.
[11]Brisbane, _Mental Biography_, 195.
[12]Brisbane, in the preface of Considerant, _The Great West_; see also,
Considerant, _Contre M. Arago Réclamation addresse a la Chambre des
Deputies par les Redacteurs du Feuilleton de la Phalange. Suive de
la Théorie Droit de Propriété_, Paris, 1840.
[13]Albert Brisbane, _op. cit._, 315.
[14]_New York Tribune_, January 1, 1853, quoting the _Allegemeine
Zeitung_.
[15]Albert Brisbane, _op. cit._, vii. For a short bibliography of
Brisbane see Charles A. Madison, _Critics and Crusaders_ (New York,
1947-1948), 114-133.
[16]Albert Brisbane, _op. cit._, 177; a further development of
Brisbane's ideas along this line is found in his _Social Destiny of
Man_.
[17]Brisbane, _Mental Biography_, xi; For a discussion of Brisbane's
efforts in literature and propaganda see John Humphrey Noyes,
_History of American Socialist_ (New York, 1870), xvii, entitled
"Literature of Fourierism."
[18]Brisbane, _op. cit._, 211.
[19]See _infra_. iv: footnote 25.
[20]Brisbane, _Social Destiny of Man, or Associations and Reorganization
of Industry_ (Philadelphia, 1840), 5-40.
[21]Brisbane, _op. cit._, 40.
[22]For a full list of writers and supporters see Noyes, _History of
Socialism_, 211-231; C. Nordhoff, _Communistic Societies of the
United States_ (New York, 1875).
[23]For additional information concerning Fourierism in the United
States, see William Alford Hinds, _American Communities_ (Chicago,
1902), 221, 254, a list of phalanges on page 224; Albert Shaw,
_Icaire, A Chapter in the History of Communism_ (New York, 1884),
ii.
CHAPTER II
[1]Victor Prosper Considerant, _Au Texas_, 1st, 1-6. There are two
editions of this book, and, unfortunately, notes were taken from
both. The editions will be referred to as 1st and 2nd.
[2]_Ibid._, 6; Coignet, _Victor Considerant, sa Vie, son Oeuvre_, 74,
states that Considerant came directly to the United States in
response to an invitation from Brisbane, intending to establish a
colony.
[3]Considerant, _op. cit._, 8; Coignet, _op. cit._, 175.
[4]_Ibid._, Part I, especially 16-17.
[5]_Picayune_ as quoted in the _Northern Standard_ (Clarksville, Texas),
May 21, 1853.
[6]Considerant, _Au Texas_ (1st ed.), 23-28.
[7]Considerant, _The Great West_, 4-5; _Au Texas_ (1st ed.), 28-29.
[8]Considerant, _The Great West_, 6; _Au Texas_ (1st ed.), 32-33.
[9]"The town of Preston, from which all this misery for the Red Man
emanates, is a collection of low groggeries and a few stores, lining
the high bluff bank of the River.
It is notorious as the scene of some most cold-blooded and cruel
murders, committed in open day, and with--up to that time--perfect
impunity. This, together with the detestable traffic I have just
alluded, whiskey traffic has brought such a stigma upon the place,
that the very name is sufficient for all that is ruthless and
vicious."
W. B. Parker, _Notes Taken During the Expedition Through Unexplored
Texas_, 72.
[10]Letter written June 9, 1853 from Cooke County, quoted in the
_Northern Standard_, June 18, 1853.
[11]Considerant, _The Great West_, 9-10; _Au Texas_ (1st ed.), 37-44.
[12]_Ibid._, 42. The Icarian movement was an attempt to form a French
colony which had preceded Considerant's colony by several years.
[13]_Ibid._, 10-11. Perhaps the tomatoes were of the climbing variety.
[14]Considerant, _The Great West_, 10-11; _Au Texas_ (1st ed.), 44-45.
[15]Considerant, _The Great West_, 11.
[16]_Ibid._, 14.
[17]_Ibid._, 20.
[18]_Ibid._, 23.
CHAPTER III
[1]Considerant, _The Great West_, 27. The whole of _Au Texas_ is a
defense of the colonization scheme, in which Considerant is
continually reminding the colonists and those who furnished the
money that no golden promises were ever made.
[2]_Ibid._, 27-28.
[3]_Ibid._, 30-31.
[4]_Ibid._, 31.
[5]_Ibid._, 32.
[6]_Ibid._, 35.
[7]Herman Studer, _Auswanderung nach hoch--Texas, Was wir in Texas
wollen; Andeutungen Ueber Organization der Arbeit_ (Zuerich, 1855);
Considerant, _Description du Phalanstere et Considerations Sociales
sur l' Architect antique_ (3rd ed.), Libraire Societaire, Paris,
1846, 64.
[8]Considerant, _Du Texas, premier Rapport a Mes Amis_, (Paris, 1857),
7.
[9]_Ibid._, 8-9. This surprise and disappointment of Considerant in
having all his advice disregarded might explain Considerant's
attitude toward Savardan's party at New Orleans and Galveston, as
given in Savardan, _Un Naufrage au Texas_, ch. ii.
[10]Considerant, _Au Texas_, (2nd ed.), 276. The title is sometimes
written the _Société Europeene de colonisation du Texas_.
[11]Savardan, _Un Naufrage Au Texas_, 14; see also Coignet, _Victor
Considerant, sa Vie, son Oeuvre_.
[12]Savardan, _op. cit._
[13]Considerant, _op. cit._, 272-274. Agencies were to be established at
No. 2 Rue de Beaune, Paris, France, and in New York, with Brisbane
as agent for the United States--Considerant, _The Great West_, 60.
[14]Considerant, _Au Texas_, (2nd ed.), 240.
[15]Appendix of statutes of the Society, _ibid._, 271.
[16]Considerant, _A Petition to the Honorable, the Senate and the House
of Representatives of the State of Texas_ (Austin, December 10,
1855), Enclosure c, 7.
[17]Quoting an extract from a letter to his excellency, the Governor of
Texas, in _ibid._, 5.
[18]Considerant, _Au Texas_, (2nd ed.), 199-217.
[19]_Ibid._, 197, 301-324.
[20]Considerant, _The Great West_, 42; _Au Texas_ (2nd ed.), 127-131.
[21]Considerant, _The Great West_, 59-60.
[22]Considerant, _Au Texas_, (2nd ed.), 306-310.
[23]Considerant, _The Great West_, 28-29.
[24]Considerant, _Au Texas_, (2nd ed.), 306-310.
[25]Considerant, _The Great West_, 25.
[26]_Ibid._, 37-38; _Au Texas_, (2nd ed.), 320-321.
[27]Considerant, _The Great West_, 30-31; see also succeeding footnote.
[28]Considerant, _Au Texas_, (2nd ed.), 189-190.
[29]Considerant, _The Great West_, 37-38.
[30]Considerant, _European Colonization in Texas_, 15; _The Great West_,
37-38; _Au Texas_, (2nd ed.), 167-170.
[31]_Ibid._, 169 ff.
[32]Considerant, _The Great West_, 44.
CHAPTER IV
[1]Considerant, _European Colonization in Texas, An Address to the
American People_, New York, 1855, 4-6; _Du Texas_, 5-6.
[2]Considerant, _European Colonization in Texas_, 5.
[3]_Ibid._, 6-7.
[4]_Ibid._, 6-16.
[5]Also quoted in Considerant, _op. cit._, 31.
[6]For Considerant's reply see his pamphlet _European Colonization in
Texas_; for editorial of _Washington Sentinel_, see _Texas State
Gazette_, October 13, 1855; For the letters see _ibid._, June 2,
1855, October 13, 1855.
[7]_Texas State Gazette_, October 13, 1855.
[8]Letter from J. L. to Editors, dated at Washington, May 2, 1855, as
quoted in _Texas State Gazette_, June 2, 1855.
[9]_European Colonization in Texas._
[10]_Ibid._, 32.
[11]_Austin State Gazette_, Aug. 11, 1855; Compare this article with the
one written in the issue of September 22, 1855, wherein those who
had suffered from persecution were advised to, "Come to the gallant
West, where freedom is as expansive as the prairie, and as generous
as the soil. Come to the West and let the golden grain you raise be
sent back to feed the men whose ruthless hands would, as did those
of Cain of old, strike down the toiling tiller of the soil."
[12]_Texas State Times_, August 4, 1855.
[13]_Ibid._
[14]_Ibid._
[15]_Ibid._; For opposition to other foreigners in Texas see _Texas
State Times_, June 16, 1855, and also June 21, 1855.
[16]August 14, 1855.
[17]As quoted in _The Standard_, February 24, 1855.
[18]August 25, 1855.
[19]_Texas State Gazette_, October 13, 1855.
[20]_Ibid._
[21]Albert Brisbane, _Social Destiny of Man_; or _Associations and
Reorganization of Industry_, ix, especially pps. 101-102.
[22]Considerant, _European Colonization in Texas_, 35-38.
[23]_Texas State Gazette_, August 11, 1855.
[24]Savardan, _Un Naufrage au Texas_, specifically states that the
legislators would have no neutrality but actual participation
favorable to the slavery question.
[25]_New York Tribune_ as quoted in the _Texas Sun_, November 17, 1855.
[26]The petition is entitled "_A petition to the Honorable, the Senate
and the House of Representatives of the State of Texas_," and is in
the Library of the University of Texas. Search of the state archives
was made for the original document, with other information which
Considerant referred to in the petition, but was not found, due to
the fact that the records were not systematically filed at the time
of the search.
[27]Considerant, _European Colonization in Texas_, 4ff. states his
attitude toward this opposition and the reasons for his application.
[28]Extract from a letter to his Excellency the Governor of Texas, as
quoted in "_A Petition to the Honorable, the Senate and House of
Representatives of the State of Texas_," 5.
[29]_Dallas Herald_, August 16, 1856.
[30]_State Gazette Appendix_, Austin, No. 79, Sixth Legislature, Adj.
Sess. 205.
[31]_House Journal_, 1856, 566, and _Austin Gazette, Appendix_, No. 70,
205.
[32]_Senate Journal_, 1856, 340-341.
[33]_Ibid._, 341.
[34]_Ibid._, _Adj. Session_, 394.
[35]_Senate Journal_, 1856, 412.
CHAPTER V
[1]_Dallas Herald_, as quoted in _The Standard_, February 24, 1855.
[2]_Dallas Herald_, as quoted in the _Clarksville Standard_, February
24, 1855.
[3]In preface of Considerant, _The Great West_.
[4]_Ibid._
[5]Savardan, _op. cit._, 37-38; the numbers really indicate livres
instead of pounds.
[6]The account of Savardan's trip and the others mentioned above are
found in Savardan, _Un Naufrage au Texas_, chap. iv.
[7]Savardan, _op. cit._, 201-203.
[8]_Ibid._, chap. iv.
[9]Samuel W. Geiser, "Naturalists of the Frontier," in _Southwest
Review_, October, 1928-July, 1929, XIV, No. 3, 331. An adequate
biography of Julien Reverchon is given in this article by Mr.
Geiser.
[10]_Ibid._ See also Preston Sneed, "Letter signed by Napoleon is in
Dallas," in _Dallas News_, Sunday, May 8, 1927.
[11]I have been able to locate only a few detached pages of his diary.
These pages were in the possession of a grandson of the La Notte
family or Lanotte.
[12]Esubia Lutz, "Almost Utopia," in _Southwest Review_ (October,
1928-July, 1929), Vol. XIV, No. 3, 321-330. Since writing this
article Germain Santerre has died. See also George H. Santerre,
_White Cliffs of Dallas, the Story of La Reunion, The Old French
Colony_, Dallas, 1955, 137-142.
[13]Ellis W. Schuler, "The Geology of Dallas County," in _University of
Texas Bulletin_, No. 1818, March 25, 1918.
[14]See Appendix A for a partial list of the colonists and see also
Eloise Santerre, _Réunion_, a Translation of Dr. Savardan's _Un
Naufrage au Texas_.
[15]_Texas State Gazette_, February 10, 1855.
[16]The list of names contained in Appendix A was collected from
articles, papers, and books written concerning the colony and does
not represent any special investigation in unprinted sources. "The
story of Old French Town" in the _Dallas News_, March 26, 1922; and
also Santerre, _op. cit._, are perhaps the best sources available
for names.
CHAPTER VI
[1]Victor Prosper Considerant, _Au Texas, le premier Rapport a mes Amis_
(1st ed., Bruxelles, 1855), 44; _The Great West, A New Social and
Industrial Life in its Fertile Regions_ (New York, 1854), 9-10;
_European Colonization in Texas, an Address to the American People_
(New York, 1855), 18. The greater part of this chapter first
appeared as an article in _The Southwestern Social Science
Quarterly_, XVII, No. 2, September, 1936.
[2]_A Petition to the Honorable, the Senate and the House of
Representatives of the State of Texas_, Austin, December 10, 1885;
Savardan, _Un Naufrage au Texas_ ..., p. 30-31.
[3]_Deed Record_, Dallas County, _Book K_, 67-69; also _Book F_,
410-411.
[4]Considerant, _Au Texas_ (2nd ed.).
[5]Savardan, _op. cit._, v.
[6]Phalanstery was the name given to a unit of the colony in writings
supporting the movement.
[7]Deed filed in Harris County _Record of Deeds, Book D_, 164; see also
County of Dallas, _Deeds Record, Book K_, 174-176.
[8]Savardan, _Un Naufrage au Texas_, 148-149.
[9]_Ibid._, v.
[10]_Southwest Review_, (October-July, 1928-1929), XIV, 324-325. A list
of the tracts purchased is found in Dallas County, _Deed Record_,
Book K, 67-73.
[11]Savardan, _op. cit._, 244-246.
[12]Compare, _Ibid._, 160 ff.
[13]Savardan, _Un Naufrage_, 206-213.
[14]Considerant, _Au Texas_, _passim_, for definite explanation.
[15]Savardan, _op. cit._, 179 ff.
[16]_Dallas Herald_, November 23, 1859.
[17]_Dallas Herald_, June 1, 1859.
[18]Vincent, "The Story of Old French Town," _Dallas Morning News_,
November 23, 1919.
[19]Savardan, _op. cit._, vii.
[20]_Ibid._, vii.
[21]_Ibid._, 191-193.
[22]_Ibid._, 153-154.
[23]_Ibid._, 179, 180 ff.
[24]
a. Considerant and council of six (supposedly elected by people).
b. A Director, apparently responsible to the Council.
c. Worker's Council (elected from the different groups of
workers). Two from this organization were elected to serve in the
council of six.
d. In addition to these committees there were numerous minor
groups--one of the store, and one of the hotel--each one exerting
some influence on local affairs.
Savardan, _Un Naufrage au Texas_, _passim_.
CHAPTER VII
[1]Savardan, _Un Naufrage au Texas_, 175-178.
[2]_Ibid._, 172, 206-207.
[3]Considerant, _Du Texas_, 14-16; Savardan, _op. cit._, 188.
[4]_Du Texas_, 9-13. He died in Paris, France, 1893.
[5]_Ibid._, 1.
[6]Savardan, _op. cit._, 150.
[7]Savardan, _Un Naufrage au Texas_, 151-153.
[8]Savardan, _op. cit._, 169-170.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
A selective bibliography is given here, listing only items important to
the development of the Colony. Other items will be found in footnotes,
especially for introduction and Chapter I.
Adair, W. S., "Old French Settlement Near Dallas," _Dallas Morning
News_, March 26, 1922.
Boyer, Louise, "The Story of Old French Colony," in _Dallas Morning
News_, June 15, 1924.
Bougle, C., "Victor Considerant," _Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences_,
Vol. IV, New York, 1931.
Brisbane, Albert, _A Mental Biography, with a Character Study by His
Wife Redelia Brisbane_, Boston, 1893.
_Social Destiny of Man: or, Associations and Reorganization of
Industry_, Philadelphia, 1840.
Brown, John Henry, _History of Dallas County, Texas, from 1837-1887_,
Dallas, 1887.
Bryan, Louise Estelle, _Considerant and His Texas Utopia_ (M.A. Thesis)
Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas, 1924.
Coignet, Madame C., _Victor Considerant, sa Vie, son Oeuvre_, Paris,
France, 1895.
Collard, P., _Victor Considerant, sa Vie, ses Idees, Dijon_, 1910. (not
cited).
Considerant, Victor Prosper, _A Petition to the Honorable, the Senate
and House of Representatives of the State of Texas_, Austin,
December 10, 1855.
_Au Texas, la premiere rapport a mes amis_, Paris, 1954.
_Au Texas! Ou Exposé fidèle des hauts faits de science sociale,
exécutés par les grands hommes de la Phanage et de la Démocratie
pacifique dans le Nouveaux Monde_, Paris, 1856.
_Au Texas, Rapport a mes amis; Bases et status de la Sociéte de
Colonization Europeo-Americaine, au Texas; Les bases d'un premier
establissement societaire_, 2nd edition, 1855, Bruxelles.
_Contre M. Argo Reclamation addressee a la chambre Des deputes par
les Redacteurs du Feuilleton de la Phalange. Suivi de la Théorie
Droit de Propriete._ Paris, 1840.
_Destinée Sociale_, 3 Vols., Paris, 1834-1844.
_Du Texas; premier rapport a mes amis_, Paris, Librairie Societaire,
1857.
_European Colonization in Texas; An Address to the American People_,
New York, 1855.
_Mexique: Quatre Lettres au Maréchal Bazaine_, Bruxelles, 1868.
_The Great West; A New Social and Industrial Life in its Fertile
Regions_, New York, 1854.
_Théorie du Droit de Propriete, et du droit au travail_, 1848, N.P.
(Bound with Contre M. Argo in Texas University Library.)
_Three Hundred Millions of Dollars saved in Specie by the Meaning of
a Word: Letter to Secretary McCulloch from Victor Considerant_ (La
Conception, Texas). New York, 1867.
_Dallas County Deeds Record_, Courthouse, Dallas, Texas. (Examined files
only from 1852-1870.)
_Dallas Herald_, Dallas, Texas.
Newspaper published in Dallas, not connected with the present paper
bearing the same name. Investigated incomplete files, at the
University of Texas, covering the period from July 3, 1855, to June
20, 1860.
_Dallas Morning News_, Dallas, Texas, (Examined files only from
1915-1931.)
_Democratie Pacifique_, Paris, France, July 30, 1843.
Newspaper published by the Fourieristes immediately after Fourier's
death. Not used in the preparation of this account.
Engels, Friedrick, _Socialism, Utopian and Scientific_, tr. by Edward
Aveling ... with a special introduction by the author, Chicago,
1900.
Fourniere, Eugene, _Le Reigne de Louis-Philippe_, 1830-1848, in the
_Histoire Socialiste_, 1789-1900, 12 Vols., edited by Jean Jaures,
Paris, 1901-1908.
_Galveston News_, Galveston, Texas.
Gammel, H. P. N., _The Laws of Texas_ 1822-1897, Vol. V., Austin, 1898.
Geiser, Samuel Wood, "Naturalists of the Frontier; Julian Reverchon" in
_Southwest Review_, XIV (October, 1928, July, 1929), 231-342.
Grandin, A., _Bibliographie Générale des Sciences Juridiques Politiques,
Economiques et Sociales de 1800 a 1925_, 3 Vols., Paris, 1926, also
supplement for 1926, 1927 and 1928.
Laidler, Harry W., _Socialism in Thought and Action_, New York, 1920.
"Letters of the Governors" (Manuscripts), _State Archives_, Austin,
Texas.
Lindsey, Philip, _A History of Greater Dallas and Vicinity_, 2 Vols.,
Chicago, 1909.
Louis, Paul, _Histoire du Socialism en France de la Revolution a Nos
Jours_, Paris, 1925.
Lutz, Esubia, "Almost Utopia," in _Southwest Review_ (October,
1928-July, 1929), Vol. XIV, No. 3, 321-330.
Madison, Charles A., _Critics and Crusaders_, New York, 1948.
Markham, S. F., _A History of Socialism_, London, 1930.
_New York Tribune_, Jan. 1, 1853-1855. New York.
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1875.
_Standard_, Clarksville, Texas. Scattered files and a few bound numbers
are in the Texas University Library. This paper is sometimes known
as the _Northern Standard_.
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the Southwestern Frontier_, with a statistical appendix and map, New
York, 1857.
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B. Marcy, U.S.A., through unexplored Texas in the fall of 1854_,
Philadelphia, 1856.
Pigon, A. C., _Socialism versus Capitalism_, London, 1938.
Raines, Cadwell Walton, _A Bibliography of Texas_, Austin, Texas, 1896.
_Revue des Deux Mondes_, Paris, France.
Rosengarten, J. G., _French Colonists and Exiles in the United States_,
Philadelphia, 1907.
Santerre, George H., _White Cliffs of Dallas, the story of La Réunion,
the Old French Colony_, Dallas, 1955.
Santerre, Eloise, _Réunion_, a Translation of Dr. Savardan's _Un
Naufrage au Texas_, with an Introduction to Reunion and a
Biographical Dictionary of the Settlers (M.A. Thesis). Southern
Methodist University, Dallas, Texas, 1936.
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Impressions et a Travers Les Etas-Unis d'Amerique_, Paris, 1858,
Garnier Freres, Libraires-Editeurs.
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Texas Bulletin_, No. 1818, March 25, 1918.
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Morning News_, Feature section, Sunday, May 8, 1927.
_State Gazette_, Austin, Texas.
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wollen; andeutungen ueber Organization der Arbeit_, Zurich, 1855.
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INDEX
A
Abolitionists, 76, 77
Adair, W., 82
Aims of the colony, 49
Allen, John, 33, 37, 68, 96
_Allgemeine Zeitung_, 25
Austin, 44, 99, 108
_Austin State Gazette_ (_Texas State Gazette_), 67, 69, 71-72, 76-78,
83, 94
Azores, 88
B
Belgium, 23, 25, 44, 52, 62, 96
Blanc, Louis, 9
Blummer, 112
Bourland and Manion, letter of recommendation, 40
Brisbane, Albert, 17, 25, 29-33, 54, 85, 100, 111
Brussels, 85, 87, 91
Bryan, 84, 88
Bureau, Allyre, 93
Bussy, A. M., 98, 108-110
C
Cantagrel, Francçois, 85-86, 96, 103, 104, 108
Capitalism, definition, 11, 55-56, 58
Carcassonne, 87
Castroville, 99
Cement City, 95
Chapelle-Guagain, 87
Chateau-Renault, 87
Choctaw Agency, 39
Cincinnati, 38, 86, 95
Colonists, 85-86, 89-94
Communism, 28, 48, 58
Considerant, Victor Prosper, birth and life, 21;
escape, 25;
contributions, 25-29;
first trip to U.S.A., 35ff.;
trip to Texas, ii;
ideas concerning Texas, 40-44;
return to Europe, 44;
ideas on colonization, iii;
leading attacks, 64-66;
attitude toward slavery, 77-78;
plans suicide, 109;
departed in secret, 109.
Co-operative kitchen, 103-104
Cousin, M., 87, 114
D
Dallas, 41, 61, 89, 93, 95, 111
Dallas County, 92, 93, 96, 102;
courts, 111.
_Dallas Herald_, 67, 75
Daly, M. Cesar, 95
_Démocratie Pacifique_, 23-24, 25
De Morse, Major, 40
Dickson (of Red River), 82
Dwight, John S., 33
E
Engels, Frederic, 10-14
Erie (Lake), 42
European-American Colonization Society in Texas, 82, 84, 96, 102
Evans, W. M., 82
Experiment in Texas, 48
F
Fort Belknap, 98
Fort Graham, 41, 44
Fort Smith, 38, 39
Fort Worth, 41, 42;
soldiers in, 42, 63, 96
Fourier, Charles Francois, photograph 1; 14, 17;
birth and life, 18;
teachings, 19-20;
writings, 18, 21;
idea tested, 22;
death, 22.
Fourierism, 17, 23, 30, 32-33, 111
Free-soilers, 76
G
Galveston, 88, 89, 91
_Galveston News_, 67, 74
Godain-Lemaire, 52, 54
Goetsel, Philip, proposed colony, 90
Godwin, Parke, 33
Gouhenans, M., 41, 95
Greeley, Horace, 33, 75, 78
Gregg, G. G., 82
Guillon, Charles Francois, 52
H
Harrison County, 82
Houston, 89, 90, 93, 96, 98, 114
J
James, Henry, 33
K
Kingsley, Charles, 10
Knight, James, 96
Know-Nothing Party, 64, 65-66, 107
L
_La Reunion_, founders, 15, 17, 91, 93;
population, 94, 95, 97;
remains, 101-102
La Salle, Saint Jean-Baptiste, 10
Lechevalier, Jules, 26
Long, Ben, 93
Lowell, James Russell, 33, 36
M
McDade, Senator, 84
Macy, Captain, 37, 63
Marx, Karl, 14
Merrill, Major, 42, 62, 63
Muiron, Just, 18, 21, 22, 26
N
Napoleon, 25
Napoleon III, 91
_National Intelligencer_, 86
New Harmony, 12, 14
New Orleans, 52, 88, 89, 91
Newton, 111
New York City, 35, 38, 44, 52, 107, 111
_New York Tribune_, 67, 75, 77, 79
_Northern Standard_, 75
Nuremberg, 88
O
Owen, Robert, 9, 12-14
P
Paget, Amedee, 22
Paris, 28
Pellarin, 22
Pendleton, 111
_Phalanstére_, 22, 23, 26
Phalansterians, 22, 49, 99
Phlange (phalanx), 19-20, 22, 23, 36
Philippe, Louis, 25
Preston (Texas), 39-40
R
Raizant, M. M., 90, 113
_Reforme Industrielle_, 23, 26
Remond, Emile, 92
Renaud, 22
Reverchon, Julien, 91-92
Rodbertus, Johann, 10
Roger, 85, 86, 95, 113
S
Saint-Simon, school, 25, 29
San Antonio, 44, 99, 108, 110
Santa Fe, 37, 61
Santerre, François, 92, 113-114
Savardan, 87-88, 90, 91, 98, 114
Shaw, Francis G., 33
Socialism, definition, 10-11;
types, 11-12;
Marxian, 11;
Utopian, 12; 14, 31
_Société de colonisation_, 52;
articles of incorporation, 53-55;
concerning capital, 56-57;
groups within, 57-58;
cooperation with other societies, 59-60;
center of commerce, 61;
incorporation, 82-84, 96
_Standard_ (_Northern Standard_), 75
_State Gazette_ (_Texas State Gazette_) Texas, 40, 42, 43, 44, 47, 49,
54, 63
T
Texas settlers, character, 43-44
_Texas State Gazette_, see _Austin State Gazette_
_Texas State Times_, 67, 73
Trinity River, 33, 41, 95
U
Ureidag, 93
Uvalde County, 98-99; 108
V
Vigoureaux, Mme. Clarisse, 21-22, 92
W
Wakefield method, 48
Washington, D. C., 63, 70
_Washington Sentinel_, 67, 69, 76
Whittier, John G., 33
Y
Young, Arthur, 23
Z
Zurich (Switzerland), 93
LA REUNION, A French Settlement in Texas, by W. J. and Margaret F.
Hammond, is the story of one of the great romantic attempts to settle
Texas. It is also the failure of several hundred Europeans to realize
their dreams.
This venture was led by Victor Prosper Considerant who headed a group of
several hundred colonists that came to the Dallas-Fort Worth area in
1855 to establish La Reunion a few miles west of Dallas, Texas.
Considerant intended this colony to be an experiment. However, those who
joined him thought in terms of actual accomplishments. Most of the
colonists were college graduates. Many of them were professional people
who were successful in European countries. They knew nothing of Texas
Frontier life and were not prepared for the heavy demands the climate
would make upon their existence. Even though these factors contributed
to the disintegration of the colony and experiment, the chief reason for
failure was the contrast of this socialistic dream with an unlimited
capitalism.
While La Reunion is a product of historical research, the authors have
related the story in an interesting, brisk style. The gathering of all
footnotes on specific pages instead of placing them at the bottom of
each page will be found to be more convenient in research.
Transcriber's Notes
--Retained publication information from the printed edition: this eBook
is public-domain in the country of publication.
--Corrected a few palpable typos.
--In the text versions only, text in italics is delimited by
_underscores_.