Texas
Texas Acquistion and Conflicts
Many Americans thought adding Texas would be very profitable to the United States. This is because most of Texas was well suited for growing cotton, the most valuable crop in the South. Moses Austin wanted to start an American colony in Texas. In 1821, Austin received a large piece of land from Spain. Moses Austin died that same year, so his son Stephen F. Austin took over the idea of starting a colony. Mexico agreed to let Stephen Austin start his colony, but Austin and his colony had to cooperate with the rules of the Mexican government. The certain conditions were Austin had to choose hardworking and moral settlers, all of the colonists had to become Mexican citizens and join the Catholic Church. As Austin agreed to Mexico's terms, Americans started to populate Texas. By 1830, there were 25,000 Americans and only 4,000 Tejanos. Arguments and conflicts started to rise between the Americans and the Tejanos. Many of the Americans had complaints with the Mexican government. They disagreed with outlawing slavery, they were unhappy about official documents being in Spanish, and also the Americans would not take orders from Mexican officials. The Tejanos were angry with the Americans because many Americans came without permission and also the Americans were disrespecting their culture. This resulted in the Mexican government closing Texas to further U.S. immigration. Mexican troops were ordered to enforce these new laws about immigration. One group led by William Travis started thinking about rebellion while Stephen Austin and his group asked if U.S. immigrants could continue to settle in Texas and to make it a separate Mexican state. In 1833, Austin displayed the Texans demands to General Antonio López de Santa Anna. Santa Anna refused to listen and threw Austin in jail for stirring up rebellion. Once Austin was released, the Texans started to rebel. Santa Anna marched North to Texas with his troops. The Texans tried to defend the Alamo, but as the battle went on, Santa Anna and his troops stormed the fort and took over. Sam Houston took his army deeper into Texas. This lured the Mexican army into chasing the Texans. This made it harder for Santa Anna to supply his troops. The Texans were able to surprise the Mexican Army with a sneak attack during the day. Although Santa Anna fled, the Texans caught him the next day. Santa Anna wanted his freedom so he had to order all of the remaining troops out of Texas. The Texans had won their independence, but Mexico did not fully accept their loss. Texas was known as the Lone Star Republic, but most of the Texans were Americans that wanted to annex Texas to the United States. Many of the Americans were ambivalent on whether to add Texas to the U.S. or not. Southerners wanted to have another state where they could have slaves. Northerners wanted to keep Texas out because they opposed slavery. Others felt that adding Texas would lead to war with Mexico. The annexation of Texas played a huge role in the presidential campaign of 1844. James K. Polk turned out to be the winner. He was a strong believer in Manifest Destiny. After Polk was elected, Congress had enough votes to add Texas. Finally in 1845, Texas became the 28th state. These are the conflicts that came up during the annexation of the important Texas Territory.
Quick Summary:
Who: United States and Mexico
What: Dispute over settlement in Texas
When: 1821-1845
Where: Texas Territory
Why: Texans were tired of living under the Mexican government. Cotton was a well suited for Texas.
How: The Texans were able to revolt against the Mexican government and claim independence. Texas became known as the Lone Star Republic. After solving all of the conflicts, Texas finally became a state.
Quick Summary:
Who: United States and Mexico
What: Dispute over settlement in Texas
When: 1821-1845
Where: Texas Territory
Why: Texans were tired of living under the Mexican government. Cotton was a well suited for Texas.
How: The Texans were able to revolt against the Mexican government and claim independence. Texas became known as the Lone Star Republic. After solving all of the conflicts, Texas finally became a state.