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Lines in the Sand

Ed Ayers visits with public historians in Texas and explores what's wrong with remembering the Alamo as the beginning of Texas history.

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Texas has long been a place of contentious borders and cross-cultural exchange. Six national flags have flown over Texas since the 1500s, starting with European contests for the land that followed 10,000 years of Native American history there. From Spanish missions, to a French shipwreck, to a former sugarcane plantation, we visit to ask: How did Texas become Texas?