Alex Jones Show - November 01, 2001


Alex Jones report on Plans to Demolish Susanna Dickinsons Home


Episode Stats

Length

48 minutes

Words per Minute

132.96297

Word Count

6,462

Sentence Count

483

Misogynist Sentences

11

Hate Speech Sentences

16


Summary

In this episode, I talk about the destruction of the Alamo, the removal of the oldest house in the city of Austin, Texas, and the murder of a woman who was the sole survivor of the Battle of San Antonio.


Transcript

00:00:00.000 Thank you.
00:00:29.000 Thank you.
00:00:48.000 Well, folks, here's the new world order for you.
00:00:51.000 Tear down historical sites.
00:00:53.000 The city gets into business to build hotels.
00:00:56.000 And they're already selling people washers and dryers and controlling everything else.
00:01:02.000 It's going to be total corporate fascism with the state and corporations merging, which is happening.
00:01:08.000 And the city's running a giant surplus.
00:01:10.000 Look at their comprehensive annual financial report.
00:01:12.000 They're telling the public they're broke.
00:01:13.000 They need more money.
00:01:14.000 Meanwhile, the cops shake more and more people down.
00:01:18.000 Welcome to the brave new world.
00:01:20.000 Here's the scam of smart growth.
00:01:30.000 And it's not just nationwide, it's worldwide news.
00:01:32.000 Big corporations are behind it.
00:01:33.000 They won't let you develop in rural areas or own your own property.
00:01:37.000 They then restrict you to giant compact cities, which the government's going to own.
00:01:42.000 They're going to own this.
00:01:44.000 They own the hotel out at the airport.
00:01:46.000 They're building all those big high-rises over there for government operations where you can also lease space.
00:01:52.000 And then you pay for it if you want to lease it, and you pay to build it.
00:01:57.000 And then they treat you like trash.
00:01:59.000 Welcome to a corrupt corporate slave state, a third-world country.
00:02:07.000 I'm sure in school, they don't teach us anymore, but older folks will remember that they taught us that one lady and her baby survived the Alamo, Suzanne Dickinson.
00:02:17.000 And her husband, Algernon Dickinson, was actually killed there.
00:02:21.000 Well, she had the oldest home in Austin that was still remaining, right down here where the city has started its giant corporate takeover, building all the big corporate city buildings.
00:02:34.000 Projects and then trying to restrict growth in other areas, cramming us into the compact system.
00:02:40.000 Her little house was actually a restaurant, and it was very historical.
00:02:45.000 Again, the oldest house in Austin.
00:02:47.000 Plus, she's the sole survivor of the Alamo.
00:02:50.000 But a lot of people in the city council don't like America, don't like Texas.
00:02:54.000 And we've talked to folks inside the city that have...
00:02:57.000 told us this in confidence, and so they quietly, with almost no fanfare, there's been a few stories in the Statesman, one in the Chronicle, tore it out and have hidden it behind the O'Henry House, right down in historic downtown Austin.
00:03:12.000 And history is history, and they shouldn't have done this, especially to build this giant city-owned hotel monstrosity.
00:03:21.000 So the corruption just continues to intensify.
00:03:25.000 Under the cover of darkness, they tore the house up at night, damaging it, wrecking balls, you name it, and drug it over here and hit it.
00:03:32.000 The city and the county is hoping everybody just forgets about it.
00:03:35.000 The oldest house in Austin, the sole survivor of the Alamo, Mrs. Dickinson.
00:03:44.000 And they could care less.
00:03:46.000 Because people hate America and hate Texas that run this city.
00:03:53.000 Well, I tell you, if the sole survivor of the Alamo, Susanna Dickinson's house, is evil and needs to be torn up in the middle of the night and spirited away here to a back parking lot, then maybe this Sam Houston star should be removed and torn up out of the ground.
00:04:08.000 Texas is evil.
00:04:10.000 I guess we're part of Oslon, a greater world government.
00:04:13.000 Of course, you all know that Susanna Dickinson was the sole survivor of the Alamo with her young child.
00:04:25.000 And the reason Santa Ana spared her life was to go back and take the news to Gonzales, where the whole thing started, you know, come and take it, come take our guns, come take our cannon.
00:04:34.000 and let them know the defeat and the massacre of the prisoners.
00:04:40.000 Now, of course, you know Texas has changed hands five separate times.
00:04:44.000 That is, five different empires or countries had it.
00:04:47.000 Not just France or Spain or Mexico or Texas or even the U.S., but first it was owned by the American Indians.
00:04:53.000 So any claims by Mexico that they own Texas and the Southwest is asinine.
00:04:59.000 Any more than saying that original ownership belongs to the French.
00:05:04.000 This area was fought over quite a bit, and many Hispanics actually fought on the side of Texas for independence because they could own property, they could own guns, they could be free human beings, which you couldn't be in Mexico under Santa Ana or before that under Maximilian and Spain.
00:05:19.000 So that's just the facts.
00:05:20.000 But destroying history, destroying history is what it's all about.
00:05:26.000 They have to erase history to create a new system.
00:05:29.000 And when you see the cover of Time magazine, In red, white, and green saying, Mexico, the end of the United States, that is establishment New York wanting to destroy Texas in American history.
00:05:41.000 Because they want to put us under a system like France or Germany or Mexico or Russia would have, where you're all slaves.
00:05:48.000 So I'm proud to be a Texan.
00:05:49.000 As I know most Texans are, regardless of race, color, or creed.
00:05:52.000 So let's not let the racists in the city council and the race manipulators like Daryl Slusher and others control the situation.
00:06:00.000 Let's remember Texas history for what it is.
00:06:02.000 A beautiful thing.
00:06:03.000 Barbara Stockland, historic preservation officer with the city, was intrigued by the house's historical value before the demolition.
00:06:18.000 But since visiting the site last month, she was championed its architectural value as well.
00:06:24.000 And then she said of all the historical houses that she's dealt with over the past couple years working in Austin, this is the most important property of all.
00:06:31.000 It's the oldest residential structure that I know of in downtown Austin still remaining, and it was the home of a famous figure, a famous woman, not just of Austin history, but also of the history of Texas.
00:06:41.000 And then, of course, the O'Henry House is right next door.
00:06:44.000 They tore it up when it was down in the...
00:06:47.000 You know, where this pit is for this big city boondoggle, which they'll own, going into business with our money.
00:06:53.000 They're all getting kickbacks, that's guaranteed.
00:06:55.000 And then now they've drugged her home, the Dickinson home, over here.
00:07:00.000 We already showed that to you earlier.
00:07:02.000 The Landmark Association is the City of Austin and Hilton Hotels.
00:07:14.000 It's going to be the biggest building in Austin with your tax money, a giant boondoggle, a huge scam with the bonds, and then in 30 years, the city owns it outright.
00:07:24.000 They're going into business now.
00:07:25.000 It's not just enough to take your tax money.
00:07:27.000 And right in the middle of that thing would have been the oldest house in Austin and, of course, the sole survivor of the Alamo.
00:07:37.000 Mrs. Dickinson.
00:07:38.000 But you notice the media didn't say a word about it.
00:07:41.000 They moved it in the dead of night over there.
00:07:43.000 And they could have kept the building inside as a slash, you know, house Alamo remembrance.
00:07:50.000 But see, Texas is evil.
00:07:52.000 So you can't have that.
00:07:53.000 Texas has to be gotten rid of in the greater global scheme.
00:07:58.000 So, number one, I'm against this whole project.
00:08:01.000 It's a joke.
00:08:02.000 The city is predatory.
00:08:03.000 And on top of it...
00:08:04.000 They're basically destroying old historical houses.
00:08:07.000 And you read all these documents.
00:08:08.000 They threaten the Austin Historical Society, people in the city, you name it, to keep quiet or it would kill the bond proposal.
00:08:15.000 And now they won't even say what they're going to do with it.
00:08:17.000 They say they may destroy it, may get rid of the ruins that are over here just in a lot hidden away.
00:08:24.000 Well, that's it, folks.
00:08:26.000 Destroying history.
00:08:27.000 And those that don't know history are doomed to repeat it.
00:08:29.000 Now we're done.
00:08:32.000 Thank you.
00:09:01.000 Thank you.
00:09:31.000 on historical sites.
00:09:33.000 The city gets into business to build hotels.
00:09:36.000 And they're already selling people washers and dryers and controlling everything else.
00:09:41.000 It's going to be total corporate fascism with the state and corporations merging, which is happening.
00:09:48.000 And the city's running a giant surplus.
00:09:49.000 Look at their comprehensive annual financial report.
00:09:52.000 They're telling the public they're broke.
00:09:53.000 They need more money.
00:09:54.000 Meanwhile, the cops shake more and more people down.
00:09:57.000 Welcome to the Brave New World.
00:10:04.000 Here's the scam of smart growth, and it's not just nationwide, it's worldwide Big corporations are behind it.
00:10:13.000 They won't let you develop in rural areas or to own your own property.
00:10:17.000 They then restrict you to giant compact cities, which the government's going to own.
00:10:22.000 They're going to own this.
00:10:23.000 They own the hotel out at the airport.
00:10:25.000 They're building all those big high-rises over there for...
00:10:29.000 Government operations where you can also lease space.
00:10:32.000 And then you pay for it if you want to lease it, and you pay to build it.
00:10:36.000 And then they treat you like trash.
00:10:38.000 Welcome to a corrupt corporate slave state, a third world country.
00:10:47.000 I'm sure in school, they don't teach us anymore, but older folks will remember that they taught us that one lady and her baby survived the Alamo, Suzanne Dickinson.
00:10:56.000 And her husband, Algernon Dickinson, was actually killed there.
00:11:00.000 Well, she had the oldest home in Austin that was still remaining, right down here where the city has started its giant corporate takeover, building all the big corporate city projects and then trying to restrict growth in other areas, cramming us into the compact system.
00:11:20.000 Her little house was actually a restaurant.
00:11:24.000 And it was very historical.
00:11:25.000 Again, the oldest house in Austin.
00:11:27.000 Plus, she's the sole survivor of the Alamo.
00:11:30.000 But a lot of people in the city council don't like America, don't like Texas.
00:11:34.000 And we've talked to folks inside the city that have told us this in confidence.
00:11:38.000 And so they quietly, with almost no fanfare, there's been a few stories in the Statesman, one in the Chronicle, tore it out and have hidden it behind the O'Henry House.
00:11:49.000 Right down in historic downtown Austin.
00:11:52.000 And history is history.
00:11:53.000 And they shouldn't have done this, especially to build this giant city-owned hotel monstrosity.
00:12:00.000 So the corruption just continues to intensify.
00:12:05.000 Under the cover of darkness, they tore the house up at night, damaging it, wrecking balls, you name it, and drug it over here and hit it.
00:12:12.000 The city and the county is hoping everybody just forgets about it.
00:12:15.000 The oldest house in Austin.
00:12:18.000 The sole survivor of the Alamo, Mrs. Dickinson.
00:12:24.000 And they could care less.
00:12:26.000 Because people hate America and hate Texas that run this city.
00:12:32.000 Well, I tell you, if the sole survivor of the Alamo, Susanna Dickinson's house, is evil and needs to be torn up in the middle of the night and spirited away here to a back parking lot, then maybe this Sam Houston star should be removed and torn up out of the ground.
00:12:48.000 Because Texas is evil, I guess we're part of Oslon, greater world government.
00:12:58.000 Of course, you all know that Susanna Dickinson was the sole survivor of the Alamo with her young child.
00:13:05.000 And the reason Santa Ana spread her life was to go back and take the news to Gonzalez where the whole thing started.
00:13:11.000 You know, come and take it.
00:13:12.000 Come take our guns.
00:13:13.000 Come take our cannon.
00:13:14.000 And let them know the defeat and the massacre of the prisoners.
00:13:20.000 Now, of course, you know Texas has changed hands five separate times.
00:13:24.000 That is, five different empires or countries had it.
00:13:26.000 Not just France or Spain or Mexico or Texas or even the U.S., but first it was owned by the American Indians.
00:13:33.000 So any claims by Mexico that they owned Texas and the Southwest is asinine.
00:13:39.000 Any more than saying that original ownership belongs to the French.
00:13:43.000 This area was fought over quite a bit, and many Hispanics actually fought on the side of Texas for independence because they could own property, they could own guns, they could be free human beings, which you couldn't be in Mexico under Santa Ana or before that under Maximilian and Spain.
00:13:58.000 So that's just the facts.
00:14:00.000 But destroying history, destroying history is what it's all about.
00:14:06.000 They have to erase history to create a new system.
00:14:09.000 And when you see the cover of Time magazine...
00:14:11.000 In red, white, and green, saying Mexico, the end of the United States, that is establishment New York wanting to destroy Texas in American history.
00:14:21.000 Because they want to put us under a system like France, or Germany, or Mexico, or Russia would have, where you're all slaves.
00:14:27.000 So I'm proud to be a Texan.
00:14:29.000 As I know most Texans are, regardless of race, color, or creed.
00:14:32.000 So let's not let the racists in the city council and the race manipulators like Darrell Slusher and others control the situation.
00:14:40.000 Let's remember Texas history for what it is.
00:14:42.000 A beautiful thing.
00:14:43.000 Barbara Stockland, historic preservation officer with the city, was intrigued by the house's historical value before the demolition.
00:14:58.000 But since visiting the site last month, she was championed its architectural value as well.
00:15:04.000 And then she said of all the historical houses that she's dealt with over the past couple years working in Austin, this is the most important property of all.
00:15:10.000 It's the oldest residential structure that I know of in downtown Austin still remaining, and it was the home of a famous figure, a famous woman, not just of Austin history, but also of the history of Texas.
00:15:21.000 And then, of course, the O'Henry House is right next door.
00:15:23.000 They tore it up when it was down in the, you know...
00:15:27.000 Where this pit is for this big city boondoggle, which they'll own, going into business with our money.
00:15:32.000 They're all getting kickbacks, that's guaranteed.
00:15:35.000 And then now they've drug her home, the Dickinson home, over here.
00:15:40.000 We already showed that to you earlier.
00:15:42.000 The Landmark Association is the City of Austin and Hilton Hotels.
00:15:54.000 It's going to be the biggest building in Austin.
00:15:56.000 With your tax money, a giant boondoggle, a huge scam with the bonds, and then in 30 years, the city owns it outright.
00:16:03.000 They're going into business now.
00:16:05.000 It's not just enough to take your tax money.
00:16:07.000 And right in the middle of that thing would have been the oldest house in Austin and, of course, the sole survivor of the Alamo, Mrs. Dickinson.
00:16:18.000 But you notice the media didn't say a word about it.
00:16:20.000 They moved it in the dead of night over there.
00:16:23.000 They could have kept the building inside as a slash, you know, house Alamo remembrance.
00:16:29.000 But see, Texas is evil, so you can't have that.
00:16:33.000 Texas has to be gotten rid of in the greater global scheme.
00:16:38.000 So, number one, I'm against this whole project.
00:16:40.000 It's a joke.
00:16:41.000 The city is predatory.
00:16:43.000 And on top of it, they're basically destroying old historical houses.
00:16:46.000 And you read all these documents.
00:16:48.000 They threatened the Austin Historical Society, people in the city, you name it, to keep quiet or it would kill the bond proposal.
00:16:55.000 And now they won't even say what they're going to do with it.
00:16:57.000 They say they may destroy it, may get rid of the ruins that are over here just in a lot hidden away.
00:17:04.000 Well, that's it, folks.
00:17:06.000 Destroying history.
00:17:06.000 And those that don't know history are doomed to repeat it.
00:17:09.000 Power.
00:17:11.000 Power.
00:17:41.000 "This was the spirit of
00:18:00.000 the times, and the "you find that kind of person flocking to Texas "in search of opportunity." There were all sorts of cultural differences between Mexicans and Americans.
00:18:21.000 One of the most significant, I think, there was a quote from a Mexican general who said that one of the things that annoyed him most about these Americans was that they carried their Constitution in their pockets.
00:18:31.000 They came to Texas, many of them sincerely believing that they were going to...
00:18:37.000 Become Mexican citizens, but also with the expectation that their way of life was going to continue in this place.
00:18:47.000 Fearing growing American dominance in the region, the Mexican government bans further immigration to Texas in the law of April 6, 1830. The law of April 6, 1830 puts Anglos on notice that the Mexican government is not going to allow them to recreate American society on Texas soil.
00:19:09.000 That they are going to have to, sooner or later, become Mexican.
00:19:13.000 And that begins to really create friction between Anglo settlers and the Mexican government.
00:19:20.000 When told of this law, Stephen F. Austin chuckled and said, you might as well try to damn the Mississippi.
00:19:28.000 With a dam of straw.
00:19:31.000 In point of fact, the law did not keep Americans out.
00:19:36.000 All it did was make lawful aliens suddenly illegal aliens.
00:19:44.000 Tightening his control over Texas, Santa Ana sends his brother-in-law, Martin Perfecto de Cas, with a small army to disarm and arrest American and Tejano rebels.
00:19:57.000 I make it known to every one of the inhabitants of Texas that any attempt to disturb the public order, that the inevitable consequences of war will bear upon them and their property.
00:20:12.000 On October 2nd, 1835, a mob of Texian volunteers in the town of Gonzales Attacks a Mexican cavalry squadron who have come to reclaim a cannon.
00:20:29.000 The rebels unfurl a banner, challenging them to come and take it.
00:20:34.000 A cannon blast thunders across the prairie.
00:20:38.000 A Mexican soldado falls dead.
00:20:42.000 It's not much of a battle.
00:20:46.000 Hell, it's not even much of a skirmish.
00:20:48.000 But the significance is that blood is shed.
00:20:53.000 The die is cast, and beyond that point, there is no going back.
00:20:58.000 The revolution has begun.
00:21:03.000 A consultation of delegates meets to form a provisional government.
00:21:07.000 It issues a declaration of causes stating the reasons for taking up arms against Sana'ana.
00:21:14.000 First on the list is the nullification of the Constitution of 1824. On December 5th, the Texians attacked Behar and the Alamo, where General Kass is headquartered.
00:21:29.000 For four days, the battle rages.
00:21:32.000 On December 10th, the Texians forced General Kass to surrender.
00:21:37.000 The terms given to him by the Texians are generous.
00:21:41.000 He is allowed to leave Texas with the stipulation that he never again take up arms against the Federalist Constitution of 18. A pledge which he makes and almost instantly repudiates the moment he gets south of the Rio Grande and reunites with his brother-in-law, the president, who's marching north.
00:22:10.000 When San Ana learns of Casa's surrender, he vows to drive out those perfidious foreigners.
00:22:16.000 The defeat turns a military imperative into a personal vendetta.
00:22:20.000 A humiliation to national pride is now a stain on family honor.
00:22:26.000 At 26, William Barrett Travis takes sole command of the Alamo.
00:22:31.000 His chief task is to get reinforcements as soon as possible.
00:22:35.000 He communicates this urgent need in letters delivered by couriers braving the Mexican siege lines.
00:22:43.000 William Barrett Travis's letters from the Alamo are the core documents that hold together the story of the Alamo.
00:22:51.000 The letter of February 24th is generally considered one of the grand documents of American history.
00:22:57.000 One of the most compelling pieces of writing ever put forth by an American.
00:23:03.000 To the people of Texas and all Americans in the world.
00:23:09.000 The fact that he was addressing his letter to all Americans in the world reinforces the idea that America had this tremendous psychic stake in Texas.
00:23:23.000 It was a heady moment, and you can feel the energy and the excitement in that letter.
00:23:29.000 I am besieged by a thousand or more of the Mexicans under Santa Ana.
00:23:34.000 I have sustained a continual bombardment and cannonade for 24 hours and have lost not a man.
00:23:43.000 The enemy has demanded surrender at discretion.
00:23:46.000 Otherwise, the garrison are to be put to the sword if the fort is taken.
00:23:51.000 I have answered the demand with a cannon shot, and our flag still waves proudly from the walls.
00:23:58.000 I shall never surrender or retreat.
00:24:03.000 What we need to understand that in 1836, this would not have sounded hokey.
00:24:09.000 It was a more romantic age.
00:24:12.000 They would have not...
00:24:13.000 If they found it stilted, they would have found it inspiring.
00:24:17.000 That aside, this is the substance of the letter.
00:24:23.000 Then I call on you in the name of liberty, of patriotism, and everything that is dear in the American character to come to our aid with all dispatch.
00:24:36.000 That's the substance of the letter.
00:24:38.000 We've got our butt in a crack.
00:24:42.000 We need your help.
00:24:44.000 Please hurry.
00:24:47.000 If this call is neglected, I am determined to sustain myself as long as possible and die like a soldier who never forgets what is due his own honor and that of his country.
00:24:59.000 Victory or death.
00:25:02.000 William Barrett Travis.
00:25:06.000 The letter came to symbolize what the Alamo was all about.
00:25:10.000 As Lincoln defined the Civil War in his writings and his speeches, so did Travis define that moment at the Alamo in his great letter.
00:25:19.000 I will never surrender our retreat.
00:25:21.000 Victory or death.
00:25:24.000 No one writes like that anymore.
00:25:31.000 This is the last letter Travis writes.
00:25:38.000 When you read Travis's letters from the Alamo, which taken together constitute a kind of abbreviated autobiography of a man in crisis, you feel you're in the presence of somebody who is going through a very significant change.
00:25:54.000 It starts out, victory or death, and ends up, take care of my little boy.
00:26:05.000 Later, Travis gives his ring as a keepsake to Angelina Dickinson, the daughter of Alamo defender Almiron Dickinson, and his wife Susanna.
00:26:15.000 That's Travis's moment of signing off his connection to the human world in preparation for his moment of glory to come.
00:26:28.000 Viewing the chaos from a safe distance, Santa Ana calls in his reserves.
00:26:42.000 The advantage has now turned to the attacker.
00:26:45.000 The Texans have to expose themselves to get a shot at the masked enemy.
00:26:50.000 Once the Texans put their heads over the walls, they're a fair target to those Baker rifles and brown vests.
00:26:57.000 Defenders start dropping from the walls, the Mexicans start getting a foothold, and over they go.
00:27:03.000 Ultimately, the north wall gives way.
00:27:06.000 They open the north wall gate and soldiers pour through.
00:27:12.000 At that point, the outcome of the assault is never in doubt.
00:27:20.000 Great God, Sue!
00:27:22.000 The Mexicans are inside our walls!
00:27:24.000 If they spare you, save my child!
00:27:27.000 Almiron Dickinson to his wife Susanna.
00:27:34.000 Enrique's father Gregorio would be the only Alamo defender given a proper burial.
00:27:44.000 For Susanna Dickinson, there will be another role in the drama.
00:27:49.000 She is going to be Santa Ana's messenger to the rest of Texas to say, this is what happens to those who will oppose the will of the dictator.
00:28:00.000 And she and her infant daughter...
00:28:02.000 We're dispatched toward Gonzales to intercept Houston's army to carry war to the fall of the Alamo.
00:28:09.000 Houston arrives in Gonzales on March 11th, where Susanna Dickinson informs him of the fall of the Alamo.
00:28:17.000 It is only then that Houston takes a leading role in resisting Santa Ana.
00:28:23.000 Most of the Texan army wanted to stand on the Guadalupe River.
00:28:27.000 Let us meet the Mexicans on the frontier, just like Travis said.
00:28:30.000 Houston didn't want to do that.
00:28:33.000 For whatever his reasons were, Houston retreated that army from the Guadalupe to the Colorado to the Brazos to the San Jacinto.
00:28:44.000 For 46 days, the Alamo became a lingering, oozing wound to the Texas populace, compounded by the Goliad Massacre.
00:28:57.000 And whether Houston wanted to fight or not when he got to the San Jacinto is really a rebel.
00:29:02.000 What is important is that army was fighting men.
00:29:10.000 With vengeful battle cries of Remember the Alamo, Houston's outnumbered army slaughtered Santa Ana's troops at San Jacinto on April 21st.
00:29:22.000 If Jesus Christ were to come down here from heaven and order me to quit shooting yellow-bellies, I wouldn't do it.
00:29:30.000 J.H.T. Dixon, Texian soldier at the Battle of San Jacinto.
00:29:34.000 Santana's surrender at San Jacinto secured Texas independence.
00:29:44.000 It was now time to remember the Alamo not with vengeance, but with veneration.
00:30:01.000 This is the first known photograph taken in Texas.
00:30:05.000 Made in 1849, its subject is the Alamo Church, just 13 years after the battle.
00:30:14.000 That people are posed in front of it illustrates that even then the Alamo was an important landmark.
00:30:22.000 The transformation of the Alamo into a shrine and its defenders into legends demonstrates that while history informs, Myth inspires.
00:30:33.000 The Alamo very quickly, in fact almost instantly, almost as those bodies were consumed by the flames of the funeral pyres, lost its factual content and transcended into myth.
00:30:48.000 Spirits of the mighty, though fallen, the spark of immortality which animated your forms shall brighten into a flame.
00:30:57.000 And Texas, the whole world, shall hail ye like demigods of old, as founders of new actions and as patterns of imitation.
00:31:09.000 Telegraph and Texas Register, March 26th, 1836. While the Texans who fought there were elevated to instant icons, the Alamo itself lay in ruins.
00:31:28.000 The Alamo is a mere wreck of its former grandeur.
00:31:32.000 The church door is meagerly decorated by stucco moldings, all hacked and battered in the battles it has seen.
00:31:39.000 Since the heroic defense of Travis and his handful of men in 36, it has been a monument, not so much to faith as it is to courage.
00:31:50.000 Frederick Law Olmsted, traveler and writer, 1854. Until the Alamo was officially memorialized at the turn of the century, it changed hands many times and served various functions.
00:32:09.000 In 1847, the U.S. government leased the site from the Catholic Church as a quartermaster's depot.
00:32:17.000 The army made several repairs to the buildings, including the capping of the facade with a hump-shaped parapet.
00:32:26.000 Nothing epitomizes Alamo mythology greater than the Alamo facade, the famous hump that goes across the top.
00:32:33.000 It is one of the great iconographic figures in American architecture.
00:32:37.000 It wasn't there at the time of the battle.
00:32:40.000 But now, if you want to make a painting about the Battle of the Alamo, you dare not leave it off, because that is the Alamo.
00:32:51.000 When the U.S. Army vacated in 1877, the long barrack was sold by the Catholic Church to Honore Grenet, a local merchant.
00:33:01.000 He festooned the building with ornate porticos and leased the Alamo Church as a warehouse.
00:33:09.000 You cannot imagine my disgust upon this, my first visit to the Alamo and finding it filled with sacks of salt and stinking potatoes.
00:33:20.000 It's a strange, very strange mingling of fame and sauerkraut.
00:33:26.000 And still stranger, the fact that the state of Texas should permit a historic building like the Alamo to become a grocery warehouse.
00:33:37.000 Letter to a Galveston, Texas newspaper, 1881. Comments like that led the state of Texas in 1883 to purchase the Alamo Church from Catholic officials for $20,000.
00:33:55.000 The long barrack, however, was sold by Grenet to the general merchandise firm of Hugo and Schmelzer.
00:34:00.000 In 1903, the company was about to sell the property to a hotel syndicate When Adina de Zavala, a member of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas, a patriotic organization seeking to preserve the site, organized a drive to save the long barrack.
00:34:22.000 A major donation of $75,000 from fellow DRT member Clara Driscoll saved the structure from further commercial development.
00:34:33.000 The state of Texas tardily came in and reimbursed this heroic young woman.
00:34:37.000 At the same time, they guaranteed the Daughters of the Republic of Texas, the management of the Alamo.
00:34:43.000 The DRT, now in control of the building, began a great struggle over how to interpret the Alamo's past.
00:34:54.000 This great struggle would become known as the Second Battle of the Alamo, pitting former allies de Zavala and Driscoll against each other in a bitter conflict.
00:35:05.000 De Zavala accurately described the long barrack as the scene of the greater part of that memorable martyrdom.
00:35:12.000 Driscoll disagreed.
00:35:15.000 The Hugo Schmelzer building is not historically sacred.
00:35:19.000 The Alamo Chapel is the real Alamo.
00:35:22.000 I don't think the Alamo should be disgraced by this whiskey house which obscures the most remarkable relic in the world.
00:35:30.000 Clara Driscoll.
00:35:37.000 When De Zavala heard of Driscoll's plans to demolish the long barrack to make way for a park, she barricaded herself inside it for three days.
00:35:45.000 Her siege ended only when the governor assured her that the building would be preserved.
00:35:51.000 But no sooner had the governor left the state when Clara Driscoll received approval from the lieutenant governor to have the top floor of the building removed.
00:36:03.000 Driscoll and her followers were triumphant.
00:36:05.000 The chapel became the focal point of the Alamo, became what is recognized today everywhere as the Alamo.
00:36:13.000 The DRT now lovingly turned the Alamo into a shrine, not a historic site, a shrine, a place where you go to worship fallen heroes, a place where you go to worship your ancestors.
00:36:29.000 It still remains very much to this day a shrine to the heroes of Texas liberty, a shrine to those men who gave their lives so that Texas might be free.
00:36:40.000 The veneration of the defenders reached a new height with the dedication in 1939 of the Alamo Cenotaph.
00:36:53.000 Towering 60 feet above the Alamo, the monument's theme is the spirit of sacrifice.
00:36:58.000 It features statues of the principal defenders and the names of all the Texians who died at the Alamo carved into its granite foundation.
00:37:06.000 The first battles with wars are fought over territory.
00:37:27.000 The final one's over memory.
00:37:31.000 The struggle over the meaning of what happened on March 6, 1836 gives new resonance to the old battle cry, remember the Alamo.
00:37:42.000 America is changing.
00:37:44.000 Texas is changing.
00:37:47.000 Our history is changing.
00:37:49.000 It changes to accommodate the needs of new generations.
00:37:52.000 We're seeing throughout America today a great struggle over...
00:37:57.000 Our past, a great struggle over how we define ourselves as a people.
00:38:01.000 Powerfully symbolic events from the past, like the Alamo, become the lightning rods for these kinds of culture wars.
00:38:10.000 The way that people argue over the meaning of the Alamo says a lot about how our culture thinks about the meaning of heroism, the meaning of martial sacrifice, the importance of historical preservation in the United States.
00:38:24.000 A place like the Alamo is a dynamic living place.
00:38:29.000 Some see the Alamo as sacred.
00:38:33.000 The Daughters of the Republic of Texas wish the Alamo to be remembered as a symbol of freedom and sacrifice and what a small group of men did facing an outstandingly large force.
00:38:53.000 Of opponents and how they withstood and were strong and courageous.
00:39:00.000 And this is Texas.
00:39:04.000 Others see the Alamo as profane.
00:39:08.000 If you look at the concerns that some of the people of Mexican heritage express regarding the way the Alamo is portrayed, it doesn't have to do so much with the battle itself.
00:39:23.000 It has more to do with the way the Alamo was used to portray racial division, that it was Anglos against Mexicans, and that the Anglos were good and that the Mexicans were bad.
00:39:39.000 So it's certainly understandable when they say that what the Alamo represents is racism.
00:39:44.000 If we understood the Alamo as a place that has a history, that bridges cultures...
00:39:53.000 Ethnicities, political systems.
00:39:57.000 Then we would have a healthier view, not only of the Alamo itself, but we'd have a healthier view of who we are as well.
00:40:06.000 Between the sacred and the profane, the Alamo is remembered in a variety of ways.
00:40:10.000 The Alamo is remembered in a variety of ways.
00:40:40.000 The Alamo is remembered in a variety of ways.
00:41:10.000 The Alamo is remembered in a variety of ways.
00:41:20.000 It's going to be total corporate fascism with the state and corporations merging, which is happening.
00:41:27.000 And the city's running a giant surplus.
00:41:29.000 Look at the comprehensive annual financial report.
00:41:31.000 They're telling the public they're broke.
00:41:32.000 They need more money.
00:41:33.000 Meanwhile, the cops shake more and more people down.
00:41:36.000 Welcome to the brave new world.
00:41:41.000 There's a yellow rose in Texas that I am going to see.
00:41:47.000 Here's the scam of smart growth, and it's not just nationwide, it's worldwide, and big corporations are behind it.
00:41:52.000 They won't let you develop in rural areas or own your own property.
00:41:56.000 They then restrict you to giant compact cities, which the government's going to own.
00:42:01.000 They're going to own this, they own the hotel out at the airport, they're building all those big...
00:42:06.000 High-rises over there for government operations where you can also lease space.
00:42:11.000 And then you pay for it if you want to lease it, and you pay to build it.
00:42:16.000 And then they treat you like trash.
00:42:18.000 Welcome to a corrupt corporate slave state, a third-world country.
00:42:26.000 I'm sure in school, they don't teach us anymore, but older folks will remember that they taught us that one lady and her baby survived the Alamo, Suzanne Dickinson.
00:42:36.000 And her husband, Algernon Dickinson, was actually killed there.
00:42:39.000 Well, she had the oldest home in Austin that was still remaining, right down here where the city has started its giant corporate takeover, building all the big corporate city projects and then trying to restrict growth in other areas, cramming us into the compact system.
00:42:59.000 Her little house was actually a restaurant, and it was very historical.
00:43:04.000 Again, the oldest house in Austin.
00:43:06.000 Plus, she's the sole survivor of the Alamo.
00:43:09.000 But a lot of people in the city council don't like America, don't like Texas.
00:43:13.000 And we've talked to folks inside the city that have told us this in confidence.
00:43:18.000 And so they quietly, with almost no fanfare, there's been a few stories in the Statesman, one in the Chronicle, tore it out and have hidden it behind the O'Henry house.
00:43:28.000 Right down in historic downtown Austin.
00:43:31.000 And history is history, and they shouldn't have done this, especially to build this giant city-owned hotel monstrosity.
00:43:39.000 So the corruption just continues to intensify.
00:43:44.000 Under the cover of darkness, they tore the house up at night, damaging it, breaking balls, you name it, and drug it over here and hit it.
00:43:51.000 The city and the county is hoping everybody just forgets about it.
00:43:54.000 The oldest house in Austin.
00:43:57.000 The sole survivor of the Alamo, Mrs. Dickinson.
00:44:03.000 And they could care less because people hate America and hate Texas that run this city.
00:44:11.000 Well, I tell you, if the sole survivor of the Alamo, Susanna Dickinson's house, is evil and needs to be torn up in the middle of the night and spirited away here to a back parking lot, then maybe this Sam Houston star should be removed and torn up out of the ground.
00:44:27.000 If Texas is evil, I guess we're part of Oslon, greater world government.
00:44:37.000 Of course, you all know that Susanna Dickinson was the sole survivor of the Alamo with her young child.
00:44:44.000 And the reason Santa Ana spread her life was to go back and take the news to Gonzalez where the whole thing started, you know, come and take it, come take our guns.
00:44:52.000 come take our cannon.
00:44:53.000 And let them know the defeat and the massacre of the prisoners.
00:44:59.000 Now, of course, you know Texas has changed hands five separate times.
00:45:03.000 That is, five different empires or countries had it.
00:45:06.000 Not just France or Spain or Mexico or Texas or even the U.S., but first it was owned by the American Indians.
00:45:12.000 So any claims by Mexico that they owned Texas and the Southwest is asinine.
00:45:18.000 Any more than saying that original ownership belongs to the French.
00:45:22.000 This area was fought over quite a bit, and many Hispanics actually fought on the side of Texas for independence because they could own property, they could own guns, they could be free human beings, which you couldn't be in Mexico under Santa Ana or before that under Maximilian and Spain.
00:45:38.000 So that's just the facts.
00:45:39.000 But destroying history, destroying history is what it's all about.
00:45:45.000 They have to erase history to create a new system.
00:45:48.000 And when you see the cover of Time magazine...
00:45:50.000 In red, white, and green, saying Mexico, the end of the United States, that is establishment New York wanting to destroy Texas in American history.
00:46:00.000 Because they want to put us under a system like France, or Germany, or Mexico, or Russia would have, where you're all slaves.
00:46:06.000 So I'm proud to be a Texan, as I know most Texans are, regardless of race, color, or creed.
00:46:11.000 So let's not let the racist in the city council.
00:46:14.000 And the race manipulators, like Daryl Slusher and others, control the situation.
00:46:19.000 Let's remember Texas history for what it is.
00:46:21.000 a beautiful thing.
00:46:22.000 Barbara Stockland, historic preservation officer with the city, was intrigued by the house's historical value before the demolition.
00:46:37.000 But since visiting the site last month, she was championed its architectural value as well.
00:46:43.000 And then she said of all the historical houses that she's dealt with over the past couple years working in Austin, this is the most important property of all.
00:46:50.000 It's the oldest residential structure that I know of in downtown Austin still remaining, and it was the home of a famous figure, a famous woman, not just of Austin history, but also of the history of Texas.
00:47:00.000 And then, of course, the O'Henry House is right next door.
00:47:03.000 They tore it up when it was down in the...
00:47:05.000 You know, where this pit is for this big city boondoggle, which they'll own, going into business with our money.
00:47:11.000 They're all getting kickbacks, that's guaranteed.
00:47:14.000 And then now they've drug her home, the Dickinson home, over here.
00:47:19.000 We already showed that to you earlier.
00:47:21.000 The Landmark Association is the City of Austin and Hilton Hotels.
00:47:33.000 It's going to be the biggest building in Austin.
00:47:35.000 With your tax money, a giant boondoggle, a huge scam with the bonds, and then in 30 years, the city owns it outright.
00:47:42.000 They're going into business now.
00:47:44.000 It's not just enough to take your tax money.
00:47:46.000 And right in the middle of that thing would have been the oldest house in Austin and, of course, the sole survivor of the Alamo, Mrs. Dickinson.
00:47:57.000 But you notice the media didn't say a word about it.
00:48:00.000 They moved it in the dead of night over there.
00:48:02.000 And they could have kept the building inside.
00:48:05.000 As a slash, you know, House Alamo remembrance.
00:48:09.000 But see, Texas is evil, so you can't have that.
00:48:12.000 Texas has to be gotten rid of in the greater global scheme.
00:48:17.000 So, number one, I'm against this whole project.
00:48:20.000 It's a joke.
00:48:20.000 The city is predatory.
00:48:22.000 And on top of it, they're basically destroying old historical houses.
00:48:26.000 And you read all these documents.
00:48:27.000 They threaten the Austin Historical Society, people in the city, you name it, to keep quiet or it would kill the bond proposal.
00:48:34.000 And now they won't even say what they're going to do with it.