Gone to Texas
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Gone to Texas, often abbreviated G.T.T. or GTT, was a phrase used by Americans immigrating to Texas in the 19th century[1] often to escape debt[2], especially in the South and Midwest. It was often written on the doors of abandoned houses or posted as a sign on fences.[3]
The phrase is well known in Texas due to the state government's policy of requiring Texas history courses in grades four and seven. Outside of Texas the phrase is less well known, although it has gained modern currency with the publishing of Gone to Texas! by Randolph B. Campbell, considered to be the most recent authoritative work of Texas's history by scholars.
Recently, the Governor's Office of Economic Development has revised the use of "Gone to Texas" as part of its plan to attract businesses to Texas under its current advertising campaign "Texas. Wide Open For Business".
[edit] Usage In Songs, Movies and Other Forms Of Modern Popular Media
The phrase has also been used as the title of a 1986 CBS TV movie Gone to Texas: The Sam Houston Story and as the first trade paperback in the Vertigo comic book series Preacher. Gone To Texas is also the title of a novel by Forrest Carter, which was adapted into the film The Outlaw Josey Wales starring and directed by Clint Eastwood. In 2006, American rock band Jessica's Crime released a concept album entitled Gone to Texas, which shares similar themes of vengeance and retribution with Carter's novel, while the album's protagonist recalls the man with no name character, portrayed by Eastwood in his earlier spaghetti western films, such as the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.
[edit] References
- ^ National Gazette and Literary Register - December 29, 1825, "Col. Palmer is said to have taken French leave and gone to Texas." from online source, verified 2005-12-30.
- ^ UTSA ITC Education Scrapbook - Texas the Shape and the Name, The University of Texas at San Antonio, Institute of Texan Cultures. 1996-2001, verified 2005-12-30.
- ^ "G.T.T.", The Handbook of Texas Online. Also see Smith, Sidney (1850). The Settler's New Home : Or, Whether to Go, and Whither?. London: John Kendrick. p. 128. discouraging emigration by noting that "'Gone to Texas' has become the proverb for a scamp" and quoting the New York Tribune's assessment of "universal scoundrelism". For a defense of the character of early Texas settlers (suggesting contemporary negative connotative use of the term), also see Benton, Thomas Hart (1854). Thirty years' view; or, A history of the working of the American government for thirty years, from 1820 to 1850 (Vol. 1). New York: D. Appleton and Company. p. 674. Also see South-Western Immigration Company (Austin, Texas) (1881). Texas: Her Resources and Capabilities: Being a Description of the State of Texas and the Inducements She Offers to Those Seeking Homes in a New Country. New York: E.D. Slater. encouraging immigration and remarking on the "slang use" of the term a "generation ago" to refer to fugitives from justice.
[edit] Further reading
- Campbell, Randolph (2003). Gone To Texas - A History of the Lone Star State. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-513843-0.
- Hughes, Thomas (1884). G. T. T. Gone to Texas: Letters from Our Boys. New York: MacMillan.
