 The Convention of 1836 was held at Washington-on-the-Brazos on March 1.  Many of the 59 delegates had served in the U. S. government.  They included: Sam Houston, Richard Ellis, Robert Potter, Martin Parmen, and Samuel Carson.  One of the delegates, Lorenzo de Zavala served in the Mexican Congress.  The delegates named Richard Ellis the president of the convention. Richard Elllis, President of the Convention of 1836

 The delegates voted to declare independence.  George C. Childress chaired the committee to write the Declaration of Independence and used the U.S. Declaration of Independence as their guide.  The document listed the complaints the settlers had against Santa Anna’s government.  It stated that Mexico had denied them many rights guaranteed under the Constitution of 1824 and it declared Texas an independent country. George C. Childress,

 The Declaration was presented to the convention on March 2,  The vote in favor of the declaration was unanimous.  Many Tejanos opposed the declaration, and some Tejanos left the Texas army after hearing the call for independence.  With the adoption of the declaration, Republic of Texas was born.  March 2 is celebrated as Texas Independence Day.

 A few days later, delegates learned about the siege of the Alamo.  Sam Houston urged those who wanted to go to San Antonio to aid the defenders to stay and create a constitution.  The delegates used the U.S. constitution as a model and created a government with three branches.  The powers of each branch were limited to those listed in the document. Sam Houston

 The Texas Constitution also established a republican government in which representatives and executive officials are elected by the people.  This idea, that the power to create or change the government comes for the people, is called popular sovereignty. Washington-on –the-Brazos

 The new constitution also resolved a controversial issue – slavery  The constitution ensured slavery as a legal institution, as well as the importation of slaves.  The constitution also required free African- Americans to petition the Texas Congress to stay in Texas.

 The delegates also set up an ad interim or temporary government until elections could be held.  David G. Burnet was selected as president and Lorenzo de Zavala was vice-president.  The officers were sworn in on March 17, 1836, at Washington-on-the-Brazos.  Later that day the fled after hearing the Mexican army was near.  The government was constantly on the move due to the approaching Mexican army.