25 Texans in the Land of Lincoln

A 2,000-mile quest to seek the repatriation of Santa Anna’s leg and honor Lincoln’s support of Mexico
by
Year Released
2019
Film Length(s)
33 mins
Closed captioning available Audio description available
Remote video URL

Introduction

Twenty-five history students travel from the Alamo to Springfield, Illinois to build a Day of the Dead altar honoring Lincoln’s support of Mexico, and ask a museum to return Santa Anna’s prosthetic leg. With humor, humility, and animated history lessons, these students, mostly Mexican American, raise questions of identity, borders, museum ethics, and collective memory.

Featured review

A beautiful, stirring, and redemptive story about learning and especially about teaching. A history lesson, and more.
Jill Lepore
author "These Truths: A History of the United States"

Synopsis

Twenty-five history students from St. Mary’s University take a 2,000 mile bus trip from the Alamo in San Antonio, Texas to Springfield, Illinois to build a Day of the Dead altar honoring Abraham Lincoln’s support of Mexico, and then to ask the Illinois State Military Museum to return General Antonio López de Santa Anna’s prosthetic leg to Mexico. With humor, humility, and a few animated history lessons, these students, mostly Mexican American, raise questions of identity, national borders, museum ethics, and collective memory. You will even learn a bit about the war Mexicans never forget and Americans hardly remember: the US-Mexican War, known to Americans as the Mexican American War and to Mexicans as the War of the United States against Mexico.

The quest made the front page of the Wall Street Journal the day before the 2016 Presidential Election and was covered on local TV and radio in Texas and Illinois. At a moment of heightened antagonism against Mexico and Mexican Americans, these students remind us to examine how we tell the story of our shared history across the border.

Reviews

A deft, slyly funny, emotionally powerful journey story about how history gets collected, recollected, claimed, and reclaimed. These 25 Texans--and their passionate teacher--show that history is alive and meaningful.
Benjamin Filene
Chief Curator, North Carolina Museum of History
25 Texans is a delightful and illuminating excursion into history and how it's remembered—or, so often, misremembered. This hands-on, questioning approach to the past is an ideal teaching tool for students of all ages and backgrounds.
Tony Horwitz
author of "Spying on the South: An Odyssey Across the American Divide"
Brodsky's film is an excellent history lesson that also provides a fine model of how the subject can be taught in a fashion that engages and inspires students
Video Librarian
Video Librarian
A delightful film that provides an illuminating look at questions of who owns history, relevance of the past, and a lesser-known aspect of Lincoln's legacy: his support of Mexican independence and republicanism.
David McKenzie
Associate Director for Interpretive Resources, Ford’s Theatre
I personally learned quite a bit, especially about Abraham Lincoln's opposition to the Mexican-American War and later support of Mexico. As good as the history was, I think the most powerful part for my students would be seeing a very diverse group of students researching and discussing history at very high levels, which could inspire some of my students who are interested in history, but might not see that as a realistic potential study/career path.
Ben Hicks
Social Studies teacher from Waukee, IA
The film was perfect and powerful for our Museum and Exhibition Studies Graduate Program with energetic discussion afterwards. Everyone was moved by the dignity of the students in "25 Texans," as they made a powerful case for the artifact's return. Highly recommended.
Therese Quinn
Associate Professor and Director of the Museum and Exhibition Studies Program at University of Illinois at Chicago

Awards and Screenings

Best Documentary Short, Jury Prize, San Antonio Film Festival, 2019
LOLA Honorable Mention, Philadelphia Latino Film Festival, 2019
Opening Night of Immigration Film Festival, 2019
Best Documentary Short, Audience Award, Boston Latino International Film Festival, 2019
Best Documentary Short, Audience Award, GlobeDocs Film Festival, 2019
Arizona International Film Festival, 2019
Prescott Film Festival, 2019
Prairie State Film Festival, 2019
Oaxaca Film Festival, 2019

Director Commentary

I hate to admit it, but I’m not really a history person. Yet, so many people I love also love history. And when one of them was making a delicious Mexican meal in my kitchen and began to tell me about the quest for Santa Anna's leg, I had to say, "Wait! Slow down. What happened in 1848? Who started the Mexican American war? And was Santa Anna a good guy or a bad guy?" I have loved spending two years with students eager to answer all these questions, and open to ask a few more. And along the way, I began to fall in love with history, and the feeling of sensing the urgency of the past in an all too uncertain present.

Features and Languages

Film Features

  • Audio Description
  • Closed Captioning

Film/Audio Languages

  • English

Subtitle/Caption Languages

  • Spanish

Promotional Material

Promotional Stills

Resources for Educators

File Downloads

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