Legacy of The Battle of The Alamo - Perception

Perception

Within weeks of the battle, it began to be compared to the Greek stand at the Battle of Thermopylae.

Efforts to preserve the Alamo have largely been an Anglo-American cause. The first major calls to restore parts of the Alamo occurred after 1860, as English-speaking settlers began to outnumber those of Mexican heritage. Likewise, according to Schoelwer, within "the development of Alamo imagery has been an almost exclusively American endeavor", focusing more on the Texian defenders with less emphasis given to the Mexican army or the Tejano soldiers who served in the Texian army. Many Tejanos viewed the Alamo as more than just a battlesite. They or their ancestors had experienced the benefits of the Alamo complex when it served as a mission, a hospital, or a military post. Americans had arrived in Texas much later, when the Alamo no longer served in those roles, and they tended to see the complex solely in relation to the battle. According to author Richard R. Flores, in the early 20th century the Alamo was perceived by many in the majority white population of Texas as a symbol of white supremacy over the minority Mexican population. This symbolism followed the late 19th century to early 20th century development of a new capitalist system in Texas that placed whites at the top of the social ladder as profit earners and Mexicans at the bottom of the social ladder as wage earners.

In Mexico, perceptions of the battle have often mirrored those of Santa Anna. Initially, reports of the Mexican victory concentrated on glorifying Santa Anna, especially among newspapers that supported the centralist cause. Typical headlines included, "Immortal Glory to the Illustrious General Santa Anna: Eternal Praise to the Invincible Army of Mexico". Within days of the news, people began composing patriotic marching songs about Santa Anna and his victory at the Alamo. Santa Anna's political opponents were displeased that the focus had shifted to him; within days newspapers supporting the federalist viewpoint began questioning whether the victory had come at too great a cost, and whether it would actually help Mexico. Many of the newspapers were disenchanted with Santa Anna's deployment of General Martin Perfecto de Cos, who had been paroled back to Mexico after the Siege of Bexar on the condition that he no longer take up arms against Texians.

On April 27, 1836, Mexican Secretary of War José María Tornel announced that Mexican soldiers who participated in the campaign to retake Texas would be eligible to receive a special medal; to commemorate the battle of the Alamo, the establishment date for the program was retroactively set to March 6, 1836. Within weeks, however, the Mexican government learned of Santa Anna's defeat and capture at the Battle of San Jacinto; the medal program was immediately cancelled. The Texas campaign, including the Battle of the Alamo, was soon overshadowed by the Mexican-American War of the 1840s.

In the 1960s, the battle was often used as a historical parallel to the Vietnam War. United States President Lyndon Johnson, whose father had authored the 1905 legislation that allowed the state of Texas to buy the long barracks, often compared the war to the Alamo. He remarked once that his decision to send more troops to Southeast Asia was "Just like the Alamo, somebody damn well needed to go to their aid." These remarks, and other similar ones, prompted a strong anti-Alamo backlash in the United States. The New York Times editorialized that "If Americans must remember the Alamo, let's remember that gallant men died needlessly in that old mission and that their sacrifice led eventually to a war that reflects little credit on the United States. ... To persevere in folly is no virtue. To dare to retreat from error can be the highest form of courage." In the late 1960s and early 1970s numerous anti-war protests were held on the grounds of the Alamo.