The Alamo is a famous fight in 1836, and also the old mission building in San Antonio, Texas, where it happened. Mexico and American settlers were fighting over Texas. A small group held the Alamo; Mexican soldiers took it, and almost all the defenders were killed. Their death became a story of bravery. People later shouted “Remember the Alamo!” to keep others fighting something hard, and Texas did later become part of the United States. Though actually the real history is messier than a simple good-guys film: it was also a fight over land, power, and who would rule, not only a cartoon of courage. The name is Spanish álamo, a cottonwood tree; the place was named for those trees.