Carlos E. Castañeda

Mexican-born historian and educator

• Born: November 11, 1896
• Birthplace: Camargo, Tamaulipas, Mexico
• Died: April 3, 1958
• Place of death: Austin, Texas

Castañeda wrote many respected books and articles about the history and culture of Mexico and the U.S. Southwest. During World War II, his work with the Fair Employment Practices Committee made a significant contribution toward expanding employment opportunities for Latinos.

Early Life

Born in northeastern Mexico near the U.S. border, Carlos Eduardo Castañeda (KA-stah-NAY-dah) was the seventh child of Timoteo Castañeda, a politically active schoolteacher, and Elisa Leroux Castañeda, a U.S. citizen of French ancestry. When Castañeda was ten years old, the family moved to Brownsville, Texas. Both parents died four years later, requiring him to take a series of odd jobs in order to help support himself and his four sisters. He remained an excellent student, graduating as valedictorian of the class of 1916 at the Brownsville High School. He then taught for one year in a rural school before attending the University of Texas at Austin.

While studying for his bachelor’s degree, Castañeda worked part time and lived in a small, unheated room in the Catholic chapel of the university. Initially enrolled as an engineering student, he soon discovered that he did not have the temperament to be an engineer. After experiencing “the sheer joy of reconstructing the past,” Castañeda decided to major in history. His academic work was outstanding, and he earned membership in the prestigious Phi Beta Kappa honor society. In 1921, he graduated with a bachelor’s degree and married Elisa Rios. He then taught high school Spanish in Beaumont and San Antonio. In 1923, Castañeda completed his master’s degree in history, and during the next four years, he worked as an associate professor of Spanish and Spanish literature at the College of William and Mary in Virginia. During this period, he decided to specialize in the history of the Catholic Church in the Spanish borderlands, and he published his first scholarly article, “The Earliest Missionary Activities in Texas.”

Life’s Work

In 1927, Castañeda returned to the University of Texas to work as a librarian in the Latin American section. In addition to his duties in the library, he took courses for a doctorate and published his first book, The Mexican Side of the Texas Revolution (1928), which analyzed the positions of five Mexican leaders who opposed the revolution. Soon thereafter, while doing research in Mexico City, he accidentally came across a handwritten manuscript of a lost history by an early missionary, Father Juan Agustín Morfi’s History of Texas, 1673-1779, and he prepared an annotated translation of the work as his Ph.D. dissertation, which he completed in 1932. His translation of Morfi’s history was published in two attractive volumes and was widely recognized as a major contribution to the history of Texas.

Although Castañeda attempted to maintain an objective attitude and present factually accurate descriptions of the past, like all historians, he wrote his works with a particular point of view. A devout Catholic, he admired the missionary-priests who attempted to convert Native Americans to the Catholic religion, and he viewed conversion to Christianity as a step toward a higher morality and a superior culture. Although he appreciated U.S. political traditions and did not demonize Americans during the age of manifest destiny, he generally defended Mexican policies and recognized that President James K. Polk and other U.S. leaders had expansionist goals before the Mexican War. A realist, Castañeda understood the necessity of accepting the consequences of political and military power.

In 1933, Castañeda accepted a commission from the Knights of Columbus to write the history of Catholicism in Texas for the state’s centennial. This commission resulted in his monumental achievement, Our Catholic Heritage in Texas, which was published in six volumes between 1936 and 1950. The title of the work is rather misleading, for it actually was a general history of Texas with an emphasis on the history of Catholicism in the state. In an autobiographical essay, Castañeda commented that the production of the books required “many hours of unrelenting toil and . . . many personal sacrifices.” He became a member of the university’s history department in 1939 and seven years later was promoted to full professor, a position he held until his death in 1958. During World War II, he took a leave of absence to work with the federal Fair Employment Practices Committee.

A prolific writer, Castañeda published eighteen books, more than one hundred scholarly articles, and numerous book reviews. He also played an important role in development of the Nettie Lee Benson Latin American Collection at the University of Texas, a major repository of Latin American research materials. He was awarded numerous honors, including the presidency of the American Catholic Historical Association in 1939, knighthood in the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem in 1941, and honorary doctorates from St. Edward’s University and the Catholic University of America in 1951. At the University of Texas, the Perry-Castañeda Library, which opened in 1977, bears his name.

Significance

Castañeda was one of the most distinguished historians and teachers of his day. His research and writings significantly advanced interest in and knowledge about Spanish-speaking persons in the Southwestern states, especially Texas. Also, his patient but persistent efforts to promote employment equality during World War II helped to establish the foundation for the later civil rights movement.

Bibliography

Almaráz, Felix D., Jr. Knight Without Armor: Carlos Eduardo Castañeda, 1896-1958. College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 1999. Based on exhaustive research, this interesting and readable biography deals with all aspects of Castañeda’s life and career.

‗‗‗‗‗‗‗. “The Making of a Boltonian: Carlos E. Castañeda of Texas—The Early Years.” Red River Valley Historical Review 1 (Winter 1974): 329-350. Focuses on the influence of Herbert Bolton’s thesis, which emphasized the historical similarities among the countries in the Western Hemisphere.

Castañeda, Carlos E. “Why I Chose History.” The Americas 8 (April, 1952): 475-492. Interesting reflections on Castañeda’s academic career and the study of history, followed by a bibliography of his numerous publications.

Del Castillo, Richard G. World War II and Mexican American Civil Rights. Austin: University of Texas, 2008. Includes much material about Castañeda’s work at the Fair Employment Practices Committee; the appendix reprints his 1944 speech advocating a permanent Fair Employment Practices Commission.

Wunder, John R., ed. Historians of the American Frontier: A Bio-Bibliographical Sourcebook. New York: Greenwood Press, 1988. Includes an essay devoted to Castañeda and essays about most other historians relevant to his career.