Settlement of Texas

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Settlement of Texas
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Settlement of Texas - Stephen Austin Father of
Texas Continued the work of his father (Moses
Austin) in setting up a colony in Spanish
Texas. After Mexico got its independence from
Spain, Mexico hoped that Americans would help
develop the area and control Indian attacks. In
1821, Austin and 300 families move to Texas. Many
of them were slave owners who brought their
slaves with them. By 1830, about 20,000 Americans
had re-settled in Texas.
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Conflict with Mexico Texas settlers agreed to 1)
Become citizens of Mexico 2) Worship in the Roman
Catholic Church 3) Ban Slavery
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However, most settlers felt no loyalty to Mexico,
only spoke a small amount of Spanish and most
were Protestant. Tensions rose when Mexico
forbade any more Americans from moving to Texas
in 1830 and Mexico began enforcing its laws.
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1833 General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna comes
to power in Mexico. Many believed he wanted to
drive the Americans out of Texas. March 2, 1836
Texas declares its independence from Mexico and
sets up a new nation called the Republic of Texas.
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Fighting for Independence
Sam Houston Commander of the Army Will later
become the first President of the Republic of
Texas.
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The Siege at the Alamo 200 Texans make a stand
against Santa Annas army of 6000 men at the
Alamo in San Antonio. William Travis led the
Texans inside the Alamo- Victory or Death was
his battle cry. The Texans stood up to the
Mexican army for 12 days. All Texans were killed
in the battle or executed. Texan forces sought
soldiers and supplies.
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• The Battle of San Jacinto
• Angry over the siege at the Alamo, volunteers
  flooded in to Houstons army.
• April 25th 1836 Sam Houston takes revenge.
• Remember the Alamo!
• Over 1330 Mexican killed or captured, including
  Santa Anna - the battle only lasted 18 minutes.
• Forced Santa Anna to sign a treaty granting
  independence.

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• The Lone Star Republic
• Created a constitution and elected Sam Houston as
  their 1st President
• Problems they faced
• Mexico refused to accept the treaty
• Texas was nearly bankrupt
• Thought the solution was to become part of the
  U.S.
• The slavery issued became a major concern
• For 10 years, the U.S. refused to annex it