Sam Houston

1
Sam Houstons First Presidency

• Unit 6 (Ch. 12 Section 1)

2
Houston Forms a Government

• September 1836 Texans elected Sam Houston
  president and Mirabeau B. Lamar as vice
  president.
• Texans approved the Constitution of 1836 and
  proposed that Texas join the United States.
• Houston was chosen as the capital for three years.

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President Sam Houston
Vice President Mirabeau Lamar
4
Trouble with the Army

• Army commander Felix Huston wanted to invade
  Mexico.
• President Houston intervened and sent most of the
  soldiers home on furlough (extended leave)

5
Texas Favor Annexation

• Most Texans wanted immediate annexation to the
  United States
• Many Texans had come from the U.S.
• Texas heavily in debt from war
• Mexico still a threat and Texans wanted U.S.
  protection.

6
The United States Delays Annexation

• Annexation was delayed because the U.S. did not
  want to damage relations with Mexico.
• Antislavery groups in the United States did not
  want Texas to join the Union as a slave state.

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8
Recognition as a Nation

• On March 3, 1837, U.S. President Andrew Jackson
  granted official recognition of Texas as a
  nation.
• Houston appointed J. Pinckney Henderson Texas
  ambassador to foreign nations
• Henderson arranged trade treaties with France and
  England.

J. Pinckney Henderson Ambassador of the Republic
of Texas
9
Native American and Texan Conflicts

• Comanches resented Anglo Americans settling in
  Central Texas
• They led series of raids from 1836 to 1837
• In 1836, Texas negotiators promised Cherokee
  titles to their land if they signed a treaty to
  remain peaceful during the Texas Revolution
• Later, the Texas Senate refused to honor the
  treaty, and each day more settlers took Cherokee
  land.

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11
Texas Debt Soars

• The Texas Congress wants to collect owed debt and
  take care of unpaid bills from the Texas
  Revolution.
• To raise money, they create
• Tariffs on imported goods
• Taxes on property
• Taxes on businesses
• Fees on land title registration

12
Texas Debt Soars

• The taxes were difficult to collect, and the
  government continued to spend more than it
  collected.
• Interest payments also
• cause debt to
• continue to soar

13
The Release of Santa Anna

• Santa Anna was released in Nov. 1836.
• He returned to Mexico aboard the Republic of
  Texas ship Invincible

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Santa Annas Comment Upon Release

• "My Friends I have been a witness of your
  courage on the field of battle, and know you to
  be generous. Rely with confidence on my sincerity
  and you shall never have cause to regret the
  kindness shown me. In returning to my native
  land, I beg you to receive the sincere thanks of
  your grateful friend. Farewell! Antonio Lopez de
  Santa Anna." 

15
Santa Annas Return to Mexico

• Upon return, he immediately renounced the
  promises he had made in Texas.
• He refused to recognize Texass independence.
• Tried in Mexican court for losing Texas
• The court removes him from office and he goes
  into exile