Republic Notes (PDF)

Day 1 Problems in the New Republic In 1836, the young nation of the Republic of Texas had many challenges: The new government was in debt due to the cost of fighting the Revolution Native Americans began attacking Anglo set...

Day 1 Problems in the New Republic In 1836, the young nation of the Republic of Texas had many challenges: The new government was in debt due to the cost of fighting the Revolution Native Americans began attacking Anglo settlers moving into their territory Mexico was still a threat since it refused to recognize Texas independence; many Texans feared Mexico would attack again These financial and security issues led many Texans to support annexation; they wanted Texas to join the United States Day 1 Election of 1836 Texans voted to approve the Constitution of 1836, which was established by the ad- interim government during the Texas Revolution Once the constitution was approved, it was the will of Texans to elect their first leaders, many of whom engaged in heroic actions during the Texas Revolution President - Sam Houston Vice President - Mirabeau B. Lamar Members of Congress - among whom included José Antonio Navarro, who fought for Tejanos’ rights Additionally, most Texans voted to pursue President Vice President Congressman U.S. annexation Day 2 First Attempt at Annexation The United States was opposed to the annexation of Texas because - Texas was a slave state, and its admission would upset the balance between the number of free and slave states in the United States Americans feared that annexation would cause trouble with Mexico The Constitution of 1836 had legalized slavery in Texas; this caused an increase of U.S. immigrants and their slaves to the Republic Texans were very disappointed not to be annexed to the United States since many were Americans who wanted to be rejoined with their former country Day 2 Minorities in the Republic The Texas legislature passed a law requiring free African Americans to either leave within two years or be sold into slavery Some Texans showed their opposition to laws that restricted African Americans’ freedoms and petitioned Congress Citizens in Nacogdoches spoke on behalf of William Goyens, the first successful African American businessman in Texas who owned thousands of acres of farmland and slaves U.S. settlers discriminated against Tejanos, like Juan Seguín, because they viewed them as loyal to Mexico Day 2 Europeans in the Republic Germans were the largest immigrant group to settle in Texas during the 1830s. They came to find better economic opportunities and cheap farmland and later formed communities in the Texas Hill Country In 1839, France recognized Texas independence and created a treaty of friendship, allowing French immigrants to settle south of San Antonio in Castroville, near the Medina River Immigrant groups brought their traditional foods, architecture, language, and celebrations to Texas Day 3 Sam Houston Becomes President When Sam Houston was elected president by the people of Texas, he moved the capital to Houston At this time, Texas was over $1 million in debt; Houston planned to lower the debt by - dismissing the army and replacing it with the Texas Rangers putting tariffs on goods to raise money Houston wanted to promote peace with Natives by - establishing a line of forts along the frontier encouraging trade creating peace treaties Houston, like most Texans, supported annexation to the United States Day 3 Córdova Rebellion During the 1830s, many Anglos moved to east Texas, and disagreements over land ownership increased between the settlers, Tejanos, and Natives Tejano Vicente Córdova established an alliance between east Texas Natives and Tejanos to rebel against Texas and make it a part of Mexico again President Houston tried to calm the situation, but the rebels refused to lay down their weapons Eventually, the rebels clashed with Texans and were defeated; many Anglos further distrusted Natives and Tejanos Day 4 Mirabeau B. Lamar After Houston fulfilled the limits of his term, another election was held in 1838. Mirabeau B. Lamar, Houston’s vice president, was widely popular and won this election Lamar’s goals for Texas were very different from Sam Houston’s. Lamar - opposed the annexation of Texas wanted to remove all Natives from Texas spent large amounts of money He was a big supporter of public schools and universities in Texas and became known as the “Father of Texas Education” He believed the capital should be more centrally located and moved it from Houston to Austin Day 4 Clashes with Native Texans President Lamar ordered Chief Bowles and the Cherokee to leave east Texas, but the Cherokee refused to leave In July 1839, the Texas Rangers were sent to force them out, but the Cherokee fought back in the Battle of the Neches, which resulted in the death of Chief Bowles and over 100 Cherokee; the remaining Cherokee were driven out of Texas and into present-day Oklahoma Lamar’s Native policy further increased Texas’ debt Day 5 Council House Fight In March 1840, Texas officials met with Comanche leaders at the Council House to conduct peace talks and see that the Comanche returned Anglo captives Though Texas officials had demanded the release of all Anglo captives, the Comanche leaders arrived with only one Angered, the Texans refused to allow the Comanche to leave until the remaining captives were returned. A fight broke out between the two groups when the Comanche tried to escape, resulting in the death of 35 Comanche and 7 Texans Mary Maverick, an early Texas settler known for recording events significant to Texas history, was present for the Council House Fight and wrote about it in her diary Day 5 Santa Fe Expedition In 1841, President Lamar sent a military expedition under the command of Tejano José Antonio Navarro to gain control of Santa Fe in order to give Texas access to valuable trade routes along the Santa Fe Trail When the expedition arrived, Texans were immediately arrested and jailed in Mexico City until 1842; they were eventually released to go back to Texas The Santa Fe Expedition was a waste of money and only increased tension, causing Mexico to start invading and attacking Texas Day 6 Lamar’s Financial Difficulties To address Texas’ debt issue, the government began issuing paper money called redbacks, but it wasn’t backed by gold or silver, so it was essentially worthless Lamar also expanded the Texas navy to protect Texas’ borders, which was very costly He also increased the use of the Texas Rangers, who were used to protect Texans from Native and Mexican attacks Jack Coffee Hays was appointed a captain of the Texas Rangers, helped boost morale among officers, and developed rigorous training for new recruits Day 6 Sam Houston’s Second Term Sam Houston won the election of 1841 and wasted no time in putting his plans back into action. They included - cutting government spending by firing many government employees and attempting to sell the Texas navy renewing peace efforts with Natives through peace and trade treaties He replaced redbacks with new paper money and restricted the amount issued in order to build its value, but this was unsuccessful Houston once again urged the United States to annex Texas, but the annexation treaty fell one vote short of passing Day 7 Mier Expedition After San Antonio had suffered multiple Mexican raids, President Houston ordered a militia led by Somervell to capture the Mexican cities of Laredo and Guerrero After capturing these cities, some Texans returned home while others remained behind with the group which had been instructed to halt after running low on supplies The remaining Texas militia launched the Mier Expedition and decided to ignore orders to stop invading Mexico and went on to attack the town of Mier, demanding needed supplies Mexican troops captured the Texans and marched them to Mexico City; Santa Anna ordered the men to draw black beans to determine which prisoners would live or be executed Day 7 Anson Jones and Texas Annexation Dr. Anson Jones was elected the fourth and final president of Texas in the election of 1844 Annexation became a central issue again since many American expansionists supported Manifest Destiny, a belief that the United States should own all land from the Atlantic to the Pacific coasts In 1845, the U.S. Congress approved a resolution that accepted Texas into the U.S. The Texas Congress voted for annexation and drafted a state constitution. On February 19, 1846, President Jones announced that Texas had been annexed by the United States