A Country Called Texas The Lone Star Republic Flag

Texas Americans hadn't settled in Texas until 1820 because Spain had refused to allow them. In 1821 Mexico became independent from Spain. Mexico then gave Moses Austin a land grant. He died before he had the opportunity to settle there but his son Stephen Austin started to develop a settlement there. Stephen Austin There were 2 resons why Mexico wanted Texas settled, they were: 1) To control attacks from Native Americans. 2) To develop the land for farming (think taxes).

Agreements and Disagreements In order to settle on the land ranchers and cotton farmers had to agree to the following. They had to become Mexican citizens, obey the Mexican laws, and become members of the Catholic Church. The problem with this was that new Americans kept moving in. They were Protestants, who did not speak Spanish. As a result, in 1830 in an effort to crack down, Mexico passed laws forbidding more settlers, banning slavery which farmers believed they needed, and requiring attendance at the Catholic Church.

Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna In 1832 things only got worse, Santa Anna, a very fierce leader took over and got rid of the Mexican constitution. The Americans living in Texas were very scared of him. In October of 1835 Texans in Gonzales, tired of Santa Anna's rule, finally fought back and won. Two months later they captured San Antonio. Santa Anna marched North with a large number of troops. General Santa Anna

Texas's War for Independence Leading the Texan troops was a man by the name of Sam Houston. The Texans called themselved the Republic of Texas and declared their independence from Santa Anna. They established a flag with 1 star as the symbol of their new republic. This is why they are called the Lone Star Republic. They elected Sam Houson as their president. Sam Houston

"Remember the Alamo" In the fighting of the war for their independence the famous battle at the Alamo took place. In this battle 188 Texans died defending a Texas mission. Because of the brutal American defeat, troops were from then on motivated by the phrase "Remember the Alamo." **At the battle of the Alamo, 2 famous frontiersmen fought and died. Their names were Jim Bowie and Davy Crockett.** Davy Crockett

Sam Houston and the Texans were able to defeat Santa Anna and his army at the Battle of San Jacinto. Using the rallying cry of "Remember the Alamo," the roughly 900 Texans launched a surprise attack and defeated the Mexican Army in 18 minutes. Many retreating and unarmed Mexicans were slaughtered in the hour that followed. Santa Anna was eventually captured and forced to sign the Treaty of Velasco in which he agreed to lobby for Texan Independence in exchange for safe passage back to Mexico City.

Battle of San Jacinto

Surrender of General Santa Anna

Texas wins Independence Eventually Texas won its independence but soon faced difficulties. Mexico did not accept the treaty that Texas had signed with Santa Anna and Texas was almost bankrupt from the cost of the war. When Texas asked to become a part of the United States the nation was concerned because of the fear of a US war with Mexico and the addition of another slave state to the Union.