That's the question. Was Mirabeau Buonaparte Lamar, a great Texas leader or a terrible human being? And are the two ideas necessarily incompatible? Can a person be a terrible human being and still be considered a great leader? Who was Mirabeau Buonaparte Lamar?

He was the 2nd president of the Republic of Texas and served from 1838 until 1841. His tenure stands out, at least to me, for two totally contradictory issues. On one hand he absolutely despised the indigenous peoples of Texas and on the other he was a major support of funding public education. Well, public education for white children not all children, but I digress. Lamar was a product of his time.

The story is in the podcast ---