LONE STAR REBELLION

AP U.S 1

Greedy Americans

Eager for land, Americans wanted Texas

Spanish wanted to populate area, but Mexicans had won their independence

In 1823 a large chunk of land goes to Stephen Austin

He would bring into Texas 300 American families

They would be Roman Catholic and become Mexicanized

Stephen Austin

2 stipulations were ignored

30,000 by 1835

Most were law abiding, God-fearing people, but no all were

Davy Crockett, Jim Bowie, Sam Houston

Tough Pioneers

These people were not easy to push around

Friction rapidly increased between Texans and Mexicans over issues like slavery, immigration, local rights

Mexico emancipated its slaves in 1830

Texans wanted to keep their slaves

Seeds of Rebellion

When Stephen Austin went to Mexico City in 1833 to negotiate differences the dictator Santa Anna put him in jail for 8 months

In 1835 he wiped out all local rights and started to raise an army to suppress the Texans

1836 Texas declares independence, Long Star flag and name Sam Houston commander in chief

Santa Anna had about 6,000 men and he sent them in

Battle of the Alamo

Trapped about 200 Texans at Alamo in San Antonio

Killed every man after 13 days trying

Colonel W.B. Travis: “I shall never surrender not retreat… Victory or Death”

Slain heroes like Bowie and Crockett became legendary after their death

Scores of vengeful Americans seized their rifles and rushed to aid of relatives, friends and compatriots

Bowie Knife

Texas Revolution

Caught like a coward

When finally confronted and caught, Santa Anna was found cowering in tall grass near the battlefield, confronted with bowie knives he quickly signed 2 treaties

He agreed to withdraw Mexican troops and recognize Rio Grande as southwestern boundary of Texas

After he was released, he said the agreement was illegal

What to do now U.S?

Events put U.S gov. in a sticky situation

Texas wanted to join the Union, but issue of slavery halted proceedings

Antislavery crusaders in North were opposing annexation, didn’t want to add another slave state

Another Missouri Compromise? How to deal with this issue…

Texican culture

The “Old Three Hundred” were the original settlers in Texas

Mostly Scots- Irish southerners from the trans-Appalachian frontier they were cultured people

All but 4 were literate

Wide ranging horse patrols organized to attack Indian camps became the Texas Rangers

Clashes in culture

Texas lies along the border where Hispanic and Anglo-American cultures meet, mingle and clash

The Texas Revolution was partly a contest of those two cultures

Mainly though a contest on philosophy of government, liberal frontier ideals of freedom against conservative concept of centralized “control”