Independence for Texas Chapter 12, Section 2 Independence for Texas

A Clash of Cultures Davy Crockett, of Tennessee, went to Texas in 1835 to help the Texans win their independence from Mexico The Americans thought they had Texas in the Louisiana Purchase, but gave up claims to the land in the Adams-Onis Treaty

Stephen F. Austin “Father of Texas” Organized the first land grant colony in Texas He served as a spokesperson for the territory with the Mexican government Its capital city, Austin, is named after him

Land Grants The Spanish wanted to promote the settlement of Texas so they offered vast tracts of land to people who agreed to bring their families and settle there. Moses Austin received the first land grant in 1821 Before he could establish his colony, he died of pneumonia His son carried out his land grant for him The colonists had to: learn Spanish, become Mexican citizens, and convert to Catholicism

Growing Tension Americans in Texas outnumbered Mexicans Worried that the Americans would take over, the Mexican government ordered a stop to immigration from the U.S. Additionally, they placed a tax on trade with the U.S. This did NOT make the Texans happy, as they had depended on the U.S. for trade

Attempt at Reconciliation In 1833, General Lopez de Santa Anna became president of Mexico He agreed to remove the ban on American settlers, but not to make Texas a separate state Stephen F. Austin called for independence and was thrown in jail During this, Santa Anna overthrew the Mexican constitution and named himself dictator

The Struggle for Independence The Texans had a white flag that said, “Come and take it!” at the Battle of Gonzales Davy Crockett, a number of African Americans and Tejanos joined the fight against Mexico The Texans scored an important victory when they liberated San Antonio from the control of the Mexican forces But they were not preparing for Santa Anna, like they should have been

The Battle of the Alamo Santa Anna marched his army to San Antonio, where the Texans occupied a small mission called The Alamo Only a few women and children survived to tell of the battle William Travis, Davy Crockett and Jim Bowie and all other Texas defenders were killed

Texas Declares Independence On March 2, 1836, Texas declared its independence and established the Republic of Texas Sam Houston was named as commander in chief of the Texas forces After several thousand Texas soldiers surrendered at Goliad, they were executed a few days later under Santa Anna’s orders

The Battle of San Jacinto The Texans cried, “Remember the Alamo, Remember Goliad!” They captured and killed over a thousand soldiers, including capturing Santa Anna! On May 14, 1836, Santa Anna signed a treaty that recognized the independence of Texas

The Lone Star Republic Sam Houston was elected president He asked the U.S. to annex Texas Jackson refused because they wanted to be a slave state and that would upset the balance between free and slave states in Congress

The Question of Annexation Southerners wanted to annex Texas Northerners did not Van Buren also did not risk annexation John Tyler supported adding Texas to the Union and persuaded Texas to apply for readmission The Senate was divided over the issue

Texas Becomes a State James K. Polk favored annexation and the whole country was on the “Manifest Destiny” train! On December 29th, 1845, Texas officially became a state in the United States