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The invasion of the Aztecs by the Spanish
Essays on texas independence
The invasion of the Aztecs by the Spanish
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Thesis: The nine years of Texas’s independence were long and seemed to be dragged out. Were those nine years unnecessary and could it have been done in a shorter period of time? 13 October 1834 was the first revolutionary meeting of the American citizens who’d settled in Mexico, in the area soon to be known as Texas. The people attempted a movement that soon was laid to rest by the Mexican Congress. Attempts at independence were silenced for the time being and the elections of 1835 proceeded forward. With Santa Anna moving to control Mexico, and taxes increasing, Texans grew restless and rowdy. A Texan, William B. Travis and a small group of Texans attacked a squad of Mexican troops in Anahuac with the motive that “taxes should not thus be collected from them to support a standing army in their own country” (SOS 1) and soon drove them back. Travis retreated to San Felipe and were assisted to Bexar. Skirmishes and the threat of war with Mexico soon followed. Come 1835, the idea of independence was extremely popular within the territory of Texas. Assemblies were held in the later months of 1835 and soon the revolution had spread like wildfire. From the interior of Mexico, Stephen Austin returned with news from Santa Anna (the Mexican President) and stated Anna wanted nothing better than Texas’ prosperity and would promote the idea everywhere. Texans felt these words to be hollow, and rallied to the idea of independence and annexation to the United States. Within months, the nation was on the edge of war. With the smallest little spark enough to explode into chaos. Mexico saw the fire of revolution in the Texans and acted quickly. They soon sent spies in to observe the actions of the Texans and slowly started to move troop... ... middle of paper ... ... pro or an antislavery state? It took nine dragged out years to be annexed to the US. So with the new US president James K. Polk being inaugurated in 1845 and one of his priorities being to claim texas, it seemed to set things in motion. 12 April 1844 was the Treaty of Texas’ Annexation into the United States of America. We take note that Texas was accepted into the “Union States” as an anti-slave state, as were all the territories annexed from the Mexican War. So finally, on 29 December 1846, the 29th Congress met and concluded in the Joint Resolution of Congress that the Republic of Texas was to be accepted as a new state in the United States under a republican government, equal to all of the original states before it and in every respect. Texas was entitled to two representatives in the House of Representatives until the government did a census of Texas’s people.
Silbey mentioned multiple events that led to the annexation of Texas, one being the Wilmot Proviso, the Wilmot Proviso intention was to get rid of the expansion of slavery into the territory conquered from Mexico; “The Proviso, therefore, led to an eruption of hostile sectional response, rhetorical and, more compellingly, behavioral, as well” (Silbey 126). Northerners, as democrats, saw Texas as a slave state and grew concerns for the slave power that would be growing through the 1850s. This was passed after the Mexican War, and did encounter difficulty amongst Southern and Northern democrats, such as “bickering over territories became the order of the day in
Many factors led to the Texicans’ decision to declare their independence. The declaration was due to a lack of tolerance for religion, the repealing of the constitution of 1824, an unstable government with an unstable president, and the closure of the Mexican legislature, a congress of nine declared Texas independent from Mexico, followed by a formal declaration on March 2, 1836. After the declaration, General Samuel Houston was appointed commander-in-chief for the Texican government. Immediately after the declaration, hostilities between Mexico and Texas began. Santa Anna sent back up to Texas, but the Texicans fought them off with bows and spears (Mckeehan). Santa Anna’s first mistake was his decision to go to Texas with 10,000 men behind him with no intention of mercy.
James K. Polk was one of many that felt extremely strong about Texas joining the Union. Silbey uses direct quotes from politicians gives a deeper outlook into Texas annexation. “That there is a large majority who would be glad to see Texas, in some way or another, united to this country, there can be no doubt.” (Silbey 81) Shortly after this widespread idea of Texas joining the country Congress was overwhelmed with bills to make Texas’s entry accomplished.
On June 23, 1845, the Republic of Texas was annexed to the U.S. as a slave state. Foley notes "the annexation of Texas as a slave state…became the great white hope of northern expansionists anxious to emancipate the nation from blacks, who, it was hoped, would find a home among the kindred population of 'colored races' in Mexico."(20) But rather than uniting as kindred races, discord between poor whites, African Americans and Mexicans resulted from competition for farmland as either tenant farmers or sharecroppers.
With the battle of Gonzales, the Texas Revolution was started officially. More and more volunteers kept coming to Gonzales. Besides, they also set up a temporary state government and a Texan army, who under Sam Houston won several minor battles in the fall of 1835. In mid-February 1836, to avenge for the reputation of Mexico, Santa Anna decided to retake Texas. Mexican General Urrea led his troops and defeated all the Texans on the Goliad campaign up the Texas coast. On April 21st, the battle of San Jacinto started, which was also the sign of the end of the Texas Revolution. Houston’s army defeated Santa Anna’s troops with a shocked engagement that lasted just eighteen minutes. Santa Anna was also captured and was a loser and prisoner of the war. Therefore, he had to sign the peace treaty that led his army to go back to Mexico, indicated the Republic of Texas had become an independent country. On December 9th, 1845, Texas was admitted into the Union as the 28
In July 1845, a popularly-elected Constitutional Convention met in Austin to consider both this annexation proposal as well as a proposed peace treaty with Mexico which would end the state of war between the two nations, but only if Texas remained an independent country.
Several steps preceded Texas Independence. In 1821 the Treaty of Cordoba was signed releasing Mexico from 300 years of Spanish control. Within the same year the first Anglo settlers migrated to Texas under Stephen F. Austin’s leadership. (Winders) The following year Andrew Robinson opened a ferry at the “La Bahia Crossing on the Brazos.”
Henry Clay, also known as the “Great Compromiser,” served as Speaker of the House of Representatives, secretary of state under President John Quincy Adams, and U.S. senator from Kentucky. He had the idea that annexation would only bring problems to the United States, therefore he was against this idea. Texas declared independence form Mexico in 1836. At that time, Mexico had a large population of settlers from the United States. Presidents Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren decided to only recognize Texas as a nation that is independent,
Flores is a Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at the College of Liberal Arts and a Professor of Anthropology and Mexican American Studies at the University of Texas. Flores says that one of the reasons Texans wanted to gain its independence from Mexico was because of the government Santa Anna had. Texans and anyone going against Santa Anna wanted Mexico to go back to a federalist republic they did not want a centralist government. Stephen F. Austin proposed the idea of making Texas an independent Mexican state that had control of its own affairs to Santa Anna, but he refused the idea which then added on to the Texans desires to become independent. The tension grew between the Texans and the Mexican government when Santa Anna got rid of the Mexican Constitution of 1824. Flores states that saying the Battle of the Alamo was a battle between Texans and Mexicans is wrong. The “Texans” in fact were not truly Texans, only thirteen native-born Texans fought in the Battle of the Alamo (eleven of those were of Mexican descent), the rest were Europeans, Jews, African Americans, United States Americans and Mexicans. Flores discusses the severe effects of the Texas Modern on the Mexicans. He says that most Mexicans were unemployed, lived in poverty, and had little access to public institutions. He also says the Mexicans were maintained by
These factors and many more including America herself showing interest in Texas, led Mexico to institute a restriction of the number of settlers allowed into Texas. In addition, “Mexico suspended all unfilled colonization contracts, and required passports issued by Mexican Consulate at their place of residence,” these policies alone angered the settlers who have been accustomed to a lazie fair approach. In addition troops were now being used to see that the laws were enforced and obeyed. As Myers points out:
While Texas leader Stephen Austin initially had no contempt toward Mexicans, the Anglo-American citizens in the area did. The American Texans of the 1800’s defined Mexicans as “a race alien to everything that Americans held dear” (De Leon 4). This sentiment would serve as the primary catalyst to the Texas secession from Mexico. When Austin began colonizing the area, he envisioned a place in which Anglo-Americans and Tejanos, Mexicans living in Texas, could live together. Eventually, though, the public opinions of North American settlers in the territory and in Washington would make him realize that the goal of unity between the two groups was impossible.
In 1835, Stephen F. Austin “Father of Texas” traveled to Mexico City while the Mexican government was undergoing adversity. He traveled to Mexico City to petition for Texas to establish its own government. Austin had no success in doing so. President of Mexico Santa Anna suspended the 1824 Mexican Constitution and while doing this, he imprisoned Austin for citing the concept of change. When Santa Anna these actions, he led a lot of groups to start a rebellion. This led to the Battle of Alamo. The Battle of Alamo started in December 1835 after Austin tried to make Texas its own governing body. Santa Anna, determined to push his political ways, marched to San Antonio with his 4,000 army men; however, Austin’s group was prepared so this would
Texas having rebelled against Mexico and its president Santa Anna, who is driving an armed force to retake the Alamo, the Texan War Party requires the Texas armed force to leave Bexar, go into Mexico and face the Mexican forces at the town of Matamoros. As the story progresses, Crockett lands in San Antonio, where he tells a crowd, "I told them folks 'you all can go to hell, I'm going to Texas". He is informed that others are impatient for Santa Anna to arrive now that Crockett is available to battle nearby them to which a confused Crockett answers, "I understood the fighting was over... Ain't it?", implying that perhaps his intention for traveling out to Texas was to look for new opportunities all the more-so than to join the battle for Texas Independence. Santa Clause Anna soon arrives in San Antonio, much to the surprise of the Texan soldiers, who were not anticipating that the Mexican Army should arrive until late March or early April. The Texans resign to the Alamo compound in spite of its powerlessness, and start strengthening it as best as they can. Aside the chaos, Travis was writing letters requesting help. Just a couple dozen men arrive to go along with
for a revolution of the world. The American Settlers were tired of Mexican dictatorship and wanted the same freedoms they enjoyed back in America. So with a little bit more influence from America, a revolt was formed. Eventually Texas would capture Santa Anna the Mexican. dictator and independence for Texas.
In 1836, the people living in the area known as ‘Texas’ (which was governed by and part of Mexico) declared their desire to become an independent nation separating itself from the Mexican government. This became the Republic of Texas. Although today we can look at a map and clearly see the borders as they are; however, in 1836, it was not as clearly defined. The ensuing years was an on and off (but mostly ‘on’) series of raids and attacks by Indian tribes both in Mexico and in Texas. At the same time, the United States sought to gain that territory as its’ own by annexing Texas. Mexico threatened a war against the United States if annexation was achieved. On December 29, 1845, Texas was admitted as the 28th state in the Union.