{"product_id":"the-red-river-bridge-war-a-texasoklahoma-border-battle-volume-4-red-river-valley-books-sponsored-by-texas-am-universitytexarkana","title":"The Red River Bridge War: A Texas-Oklahoma Border Battle (Volume 4) (Red River Valley Books  sponsored by Texas A\u0026M University-Texarkana)","description":"\u003cp\u003eWinner  2017 Oklahoma Book Award  sponsored by the Oklahoma Center for the Book  Winner  2016 Outstanding Book on Oklahoma History  sponsored by the Oklahoma Historical Society  At the beginning of Americas Great Depression  Texas and Oklahoma armed up and went to war over a 75-cent toll bridge that connected their states across the Red River. It was a two-week affair marked by the presence of National Guardsmen with field artillery  Texas Rangers with itchy trigger fingers  angry mobs  Model T blockade runners  and even a costumed Native American peace delegation. Traffic backed up for miles  cutting off travel between the states.  This conflict entertained newspaper readers nationwide during the summer of 1931  but the Red River Bridge War was a deadly serious affair for many rural Americans at a time when free bridges and passable roads could mean the difference between survival and starvation. The confrontation had national consequences  too: it marked an end to public acceptance of the privately owned ferries  toll bridges  and turnpikes that threatened to strangle American transportation in the automobile age.  The Red River Bridge War: A Texas-Oklahoma Border Battle documents the day-to-day skirmishes of this unlikely conflict between two sovereign states  each struggling to help citizens get goods to market at a time of reduced tax revenue and little federal assistance. It also serves as a cautionary tale  providing historical context to the current trend of re-privatizing our nations highway infrastructure.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44986218807349,"sku":"ByrdShop_1623494052","price":38.58,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9781623494056.jpg?v=1770892845","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/the-red-river-bridge-war-a-texasoklahoma-border-battle-volume-4-red-river-valley-books-sponsored-by-texas-am-universitytexarkana","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}