​ Cristian Elizondo

HIST 1483
8-5-18

Research paper

The Texas Revolution was a conflict between the American settlers of the

area which is now Texas and the Mexican Army led by Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna. The war

lasted from October of 1835 to April of 1836 and ended with a Texan victory along with the

establishment of the Republic of Texas. I would like to discuss this topic because I feel the way

it is presented here in the US, at least in our grade schools, is a very narrow view of what

happened. Only viewing the Texans as the “good guys”. When in reality, I’d say both sides had

their faults and also good qualities. I want to tell an objective story of the Texas revolution

showing all facts, as well as telling the perspective of lesser known groups, i.e., the Native

people who lived in the area.

The root of this conflict sprang from Stephen Austin, who led American families to settle

Texas and establish the settlement of San Felipe de Austin. For years after this, colonists from

the United States continued to settle the territory. President John Q. Adams and Andrew Jackson

both offered to purchase the territory for 1 million dollars, but the Mexican president(s) declined

both offers. In 1829, the Mexican government officially outlaws slavery, this angered many of

the settlers, who refused to comply or changed their slaves title to “servants” without actually

freeing them. In the year 1830, Mexican President Anastasio Bustamante signs a series of laws

directed towards the Texan settlers, Urging them to emancipate their slaves or face military
intervention. He also subjected the colonists to a property tax along with banning any new

immigration from the US, though this was widely ignored and immigration continued.

In 1832, the first true battle between the Texans and the Mexican army began when the

Texian militia attacked fort Velasco, the Mexican army tried to stop the rebels from transporting

a cannon to attack the city of Anahuac. In 1834, Stephen Austin was arrested and accused of

treason. Santa Anna rescinds the Mexican constitution 1824, in attempt to centralize the country,

this effectively made him a dictator, which was the last straw for many Texans and started a civil

war in Mexico. This action sparked many independence movements in Mexico, with many states

declaring their own governments, in opposition to Santa Anna. In 1835, the revolution officially

began with the Battle of Gonzales. Santa Anna led a 6000 strong army from Mexico City to take

back Texas from the rebels.

The Texans make a stand at the Alamo, where all of its defenders were killed and the

Mexican army overran the fort. Though this was a victory for the Mexicans, it could be

considered a morale victory for the Texans, the saying “remember the Alamo” was used to boost

the morale of the Texian forces. Davy Crockett, a US house representative from Tennessee, was

killed in the battle and was immortalized as a martyr for the Texans and a folk legend. Stories

circulated of how he made a brave last stand and managed to kill 16 Mexican troops before

falling himself. When Santa Anna arrived in harrisburg, Sam Houston’s forces arrived there as

well. This resulted in the Battle of San Jacinto, where the Mexican forces lasted just 18 minutes.

Santa Anna managed to escape however he was captured just a day later. Santa Anna is forced to

sign the treaty of Velasco, in exchange for his freedom. The Mexican army then retreats to the

south of the Rio Grande, effectively ending the conflict with a Texan victory.
 The Republic of texas was established with a constitution modeled after the US

constitution. Sam Houston became the republic’s first president. During the war, he negotiated

with the Native American tribes in Texas. If the tribes fought on the side of the Mexican

government, that would have ensured the Texan defeat. Houston asked for their neutrality, in

return, he promised to the Native Americans that their land rights would be respected under the

Republic. His main task was solidifying the sovereignty of his new Republic. He had supported

the “Solemn Declaration”, which granted the Cherokee Indians a right to land in Texas. The next

president of Texas, Mirabeau Buonaparte Lamar wasn’t as kind to the Natives. He talked about

removing Houston’s “pet Indians”. Lamar was a vicious racist who made it a task to remove and

deport the Native americans from their lands. He demanded the Cherokee to give up the land that

had been promised to them by Houston. Years of skirmishes between the Texans and the

Mexicans eventually led to the US annexation of Texas and California, which eventually led to

the Mexican American war.

The constitution that was drafted in Texas was also somewhat ironic for a country that

claimed to be founded on the principles of liberty. Yes, landowning white men had freedom,

however pretty much every other group was excluded from this. Freed blacks were not allowed

to live in the republic. Individual slaves could be freed via congressional order, but were forced

to leave Texas.Women also were excluded from this. They were not allowed to own property,

sue, or sign contracts- This effectively made them completely dependent on their husbands,

which was a part of English common law. Tejanos, who were Texans of Mexican background,

many of which supported the revolution, faced discrimination under the new republic.
 I think it is important to study these events and teach them in a way that isn’t too

one-sided. Although Santa Anna was a tyrant, he was considered a hero to his people for

defeating the spanish attempt to retake Mexico in 1829. His reputation had been destroyed after

the Texan war. Even after being soundly defeated by the Texans, Mexico never truly recognized

the independence of the Republic.

The thought of annexing Texas and making it a state was floated in the US. However,

both major parties at the time, Whigs and Democrats, both opposed the idea of admitting Texas

into the Union because it was a vast, slave owning region. Adding another slave state would

disrupt the balance of power in the US between Pro-Slave states and Non-Slave states. Sam

Houston entered in negotiations with Mexico in the 1840’s so that Mexico would recognize their

independence, the United Kingdom mediated. John Tyler, who was independent from any party

decided personally pursue the annexation of Texas to undermine British attempts to emancipate

slave in the Texas region. Tyler secured a Treaty of annexation with Texas in 1844. When the

treaty was submitted to congress, it was made public. The annexation of Texas was now a central

theme of the 1844 presidential election. Pro Manifest destiny candidate, James K. Polk, won the

election. In 1845, President Polk signed a bill officially admitting Texas as the 28th state of the

Union. Eventually, an unresolved border dispute between Texas and Mexico caused the

Mexican-American war.

Not all people in the Texas Republic enjoyed the liberty they were promised as the

institution of slavery was still alive. Some of the colonists believed it was their “right” to own

other humans and any attempt to stop this was an infringement on their freedom. This type of
attitude was cemented in the mind of slave owning Texans, solidifying them as a “southern

state”. In the end, admitting Texas, a slave owning state, into the Union did cause more

instability. The arbitrary line between slave states and northern states caused a major division in

the US and was bound to blow up. In 1861, the state of Texas seceded from the Union and

joined the Confederate States. Not to mention the fact that the Native americans were driven out

of their own lands and again were victimized by the idea of Manifest destiny. We need to teach

future generations that our version of history is not always accurate and that we need to

acknowledge our mistakes.

Bibliography:

Map of Texas showing land grants to natives, 1835

https://dp.la/primary-source-sets/texas-revolution/sources/1173

Santa Anna, Sam Houston. Treaty of Velasco, 1836.

General Colonization Law, August, 1824.

Letter from Stephen Austin to the people of Texas, November, 1835.
https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth216928/m1/1/

Edward Baptist “The Half has never been told: Slavery and The Making of American
Capitalism” (2014)

Don Graham, “Remembering the Alamo: The Story of the Texas Revolution in popular culture”
(1985)

Elizabeth Varon, “Disunion! The Coming of the American Civil War” (2008)

“Indians and the Texas Revolution”

​https://www.tsl.texas.gov/exhibits/indian/early/page1.html