1. Chapter Three

2.  Anglos
• Towns
 Number increased from 3 (1821) to 21 (1835)
 San Felipe de Austin, Gonzales, Velasco (near Freeport), and
Matagorda were the primary towns
• Survival
 Anglos lived off the land, hunted wild game, fished, planted
small gardens, and gathered nuts and berries
 Farming only earned the minimum standard of living initially
 By the early 1830s, Anglos began to plant cotton and began to
make a profit
 Slaves and imported technology greatly helped
 1834 estimates: 7,000 bales of cotton sent to New Orleans valued at
$315,000
 This is a great improvement over subsistence farming

3. Anglos
• Education
 Numerous schools established in the 1820s and 30s
 Patterned schools after those in the Southern U.S.
 Private enterprise paid for children’s education
 No public schooling during this era
 Limitations
 Not many instructors
 Subpar educational facilities
 Colonists who had money typically sent their children to
schools in the United States

4. Anglos
• The Press
 Started in 1810 with the printing of “La Gaceta de
Tejas”, a publication promoting republican ideals to help
Mexico liberate itself from Spain
 First successful press started in 1829 in Austin’s colony
 Godwin Brown Cotton was the proprietor of the Texas Gazette
 Started a trend of Anglos producing their own newspapers
 Another instance of Anglos distancing themselves from Mexico

5.  Anglos
• Religion
 Mexican citizenship required all citizens to observe
Christianity (Catholicism)
 Very few Anglos actually did this
 The Catholic Church had very few priests
 Treated Anglos as a second priority
 Anglos held illegal church services as a result
 Conducted their own civil ceremonies in the 1830s
 Father Michael Muldoon was the clergyman for Austin’s colony
 He often reported colonists as faithful to Catholicism, but regularly
wed couples outside the Catholicism
 Anglos were cautious initially, but after 1834, the Mexican
government granted them “freedom of conscience”

6.  Anglos
• The Local Militias
 These were the first lines of defense for the colonists
 Authorized by the Mexican gov’t as alternatives to the
standing army
 Mexican gov’t could not adequately provide protection for all the
settlers
 Only Austin’s colony had an efficient and sizable militia
 Other colonies failed to establish militias
 Which was required by Mexican law
 They simply relied on volunteer companies of a very temporary
nature
 These volunteer companies evolve into an early form of the
Texas Rangers by 1835

7. Blacks (the peculiar institution)
• Slavery perpetuates
 Anglos bring in slaves under the pretext of contract
labor; “perpetual contract labor”
 By 1836, 5000 slaves in Texas
 Most lived on Anglo plantations along the Brazos, Colorado,
and Trinity Rivers
 Anglos argued that development of Texas depended on
slave labor
 Tejanos and liberals agreed
 Anglos attempted to recreate slavery as it existed in the
Southern U.S.

8. Blacks (the peculiar institution)
• The Slave Condition
 Whites attempted to use policy and corporal
punishment to control the slave population
 Slave attempted to run away when possible
 They typically sought refuge among Indian tribes in East Texas
or in Mexican settlements in Mexico

10. Tejanos
• Settlements
 Descendants of the first Hispanic colonists lived in the
ranching areas of Central and South Texas
 Others lived in the older cities already established
 Population Statistics
 San Antonio: 2500 (1835)
 Goliad: 700 (1834)
 Nacogdoches: 537 (1835)
 Victoria: 248 (1830)
 Larado: 2000 (1835)

11. Tejanos
• Social Divisions
 Opportunities in commerce, ranching, and politics
fragmented society
 The Elite:
 Government bureaucrats
 Successful merchants/ranchers
 Others from prominent families

12. Tejanos
• Gender Divisions
 Similar to liberties and restrictions in Spanish Texas
 Rights:
 Could sue for military survivors’ benefits
 Could buy/sell land
 Restrictions:
 Could not hold political office or vote
 Religion discouraged divorce
 Society ostracized women adulterers
 However, it turned a blind eye to men adulterers

13. Tejanos
• Education
 Was a growing concern in the Tejano community
 Tejanos used fund-raisers to support education locally
 Laredo and Nacogdoches opened schools in the 1820s
 Bexar and Nacogdoches had the highest proportion of
students per capita in Texas
 However, education declined due to economic
conditions and the turmoil of the 1830s

14. Tejanos
• Militias
 Primary form of defense for Tejanos
 Led by local officials and followed an offensive
strategies
 Frequently attempted to displace Indians
 Very different from Anglo militias
 Tejanos had strategy and order
 Anglos haphazardly formed militias for retaliatory purposes
 By the 1830s, Tejano militias were highly efficient

15.  Native Americans
• Eastern Indians decimated by war and disease
 With Spanish missions defunct, the Karankawas lost their
last sources of refuge
 Karankawas became targets of Anglos who wanted their land
 Austin’s colony launched an offensive against them in 1827,
pushing them farther south along the coast
 During the 1830s, the Karankawas numbered less than 800
 They survived by stealing from Anglos and sometimes
working for settlers as laborers or domestic servants

16.  Native Americans
• Plains Tribes maintained traditional ways
 Comanches, Apaches, and Nortenos still retained their
traditional lifeways
 Relied on hunting and small-scale fishing for survival
 Gender differences
 Women gathered food and tended crops
 Men (Warriors) sabotaged Anglo settlements to stop whites
encroaching on their land and stole livestock
 Trading
 Plains Indians traded with the Anglos
 Indians specifically wanted American-made weapons
 Anglos bought livestock and other property that the Indians
previously stole

17.  Native Americans
• Decline of the Caddos
 Traditionally lived in farming communities
 Anglo encroachment:
 Provided alcohol to the Caddos; began to destroy their society
 Anglo empresarios began to establish colonies in Caddo territory
 Survival
 Attempted to farm
 Also traded beaver, deer, and otter pelts for weapons and
household goods in Louisiana
 By the late 1820s, the Caddos numbered less than 300
families

18.  Native Americans
• Arrival of the Cherokee
 Pressure from Americans in Georgia and Alabama forced
Cherokees to migrate to northeastern Texas
 Cherokee Chief Bowles located the tribe along the Trinity
River
 Issues with the Plains Indians forced the Cherokees to move
to present-day Van Zandt and Cherokee counties
 Around 80 families arrived by the late 1820s
 Cherokees farmed, raised livestock, and traded with settlers
in Nacogdoches
 Chief Bowles attempted to acquire legal titles to their land
from the Mexican government
 They never received it

19. Cherokee Chief Bowles (Duwali)

20.  Centralists back in power
• Santa Anna returns from retirement in 1834
 Removes the acting President of Mexico
 Vice President Valentin Gomez Farias
 Santa Anna left Farias in charge, but felt he was way too liberal
 Farias was forced to flee to the United States
 Comes back to power with a Centralist agenda
• Santa Anna abolishes the Federalist Constitution of
1824
 Holds election of a new congress ran by Centralists
 Turns all former states into military departments
• Liberals denounce his new regime
 Several revolts occur
 Santa Anna’s military crushes opposition unmercifully

21. Santa Anna Farias

22. Centralists back in power
• Liberal Response
 Attempt to raise money to oppose the Centralists in
1835
 Two laws are passed to sell 400 leagues of public land
to raise money to oppose Santa Anna
• Texan Response
 Many disapproved of investors acquiring real estate
simply for profit
 Centralists feared that the investors would raise a militia
to oppose Santa Anna’s gov’t

23.  Travis’ Anahuac raid
• William B. Travis leads a raid on Anahuac after
getting news that Mexico was preparing to send
troops into Texas
• Forces the surrender of 44 Mexican troops
• Reasons for invading
 Immediate cause: Travis had issues with import
tariffs that left many unable to pay for needed goods
 Social cause: Travis, a member of the War Party,
felt that the Anahuac raid would rally people to
support Texas independence from Mexico
• Response:
 Some responded favorably to Travis’ actions
 However, committees of correspondence were still
divided about Texas independence (sounds a lot like
the Second Continental Congress)
 Most in Texas were still waiting for Mexico’s
response before making a decision

24. Mexico’s Response
• Many Centralist political and military leaders saw
Travis’ raid as clear indication of a Texan revolt
 The local Anahuac gov’t refused to arrest Travis
• Liberal Mexican leaders go into hiding
 Lorenzo de Zavala, now a prominent Federalist fled to
Texas
 To escape arrest by the Centralist regime
 Wanted to be close to his East Texas land possessions

25.  Relations unravel
• Committees of correspondence
 August 1835 – communities call meetings
to decide whether to work with the
Mexican gov’t or openly rebel
 September 1835 – Stephen F. Austin
arrives in Texas, recently released from
prison
 Threw his support behind the War Party and
separation from Mexico
• General Cos arrives
 20 September 1835 – Cos and troops
land at Copano Bay
 March to Goliad and reinforce it
 Continue marching to Bexar
 Rumors circulate that Cos and Centralist
forces intend to free slaves, oppress
Texans, and lay waste to the region

26.  Battle of Gonzales
• 30 September 1835 – Mexican Lieutenant Castanada arrives at Gonzales to
take a cannon the Mexicans loaned the settlers to fight Indians
• Castanada feared crossing the Guadalupe River would cause a conflict
 Attempted to negotiate by shouting across the river
 Finally gave up as Texans refused to comply and left
• 2 October 1835 – Texans fire on Centralist troops with the cannon in question;
a small skirmish ensues
• Texans drape a flag stating, “COME AND TAKE IT!” on the cannon
• Mexican forces do not fare well; Texans call for Mexican surrender
 Castanada is forced to retreat
• The incident becomes largely perceived as the “Lexington of Texas” by
Americans
• One week later, the Texans take Goliad and obtain a large cache of military
supplies

31. Texans Capture San Antonio
• Late Oct. 1835 -- Austin and Texan volunteers
move into San Antonio
 Quarantine the city which was under the control of
General Cos (800 to 1200 troops)
• 5 December 1835 – Ben Milam and Edward
Burleson lead 550 men on a surprise attack
 Milam dies during the battle
• 11 December 1835 – Cos’ army is defeated
 They were cut off from supplies and reinforcements
 Cos retreats to Mexico and promises to honor the
Constitution of 1824

32. Edward Burleson Benjamin Milam

33.  Consultation of 1835
• 3-14 November 1835 -- 58 delegates from 12 Texas
communities met at San Felipe de Austin
• Branch T. Archer elected president of the Consultation
• Sam Houston elected as Commander of the Regular Army
• Declared commitment to federalism (based on the
Constitution of 1824)
 Wanted to win support from Mexican liberals and assistance
from the U.S.
• Texans affirmed the need for Texas’ independence
• Consultation empowered the new gov’t to seek financing for
the expected war

34. Samuel Houston Branch T. Archer

35.  Mexican Army Moves into
Texas
• February 1836 – Mexico hastily
recruits soldiers for the impeding
conflict
 Lowe classes, political opponents of
Santa Anna, and 300 Mayan Indians
recruited
• March1836 – Santa Anna and
General Jose Urrea move their
armies toward Texas
 Santa Anna moves toward San
Antonio
 Urrea moves toward GoliadJose de Urrea

36.  Texas Military Issues
• Officers had issues maintaining order and discipline
• Enlisted men showed more respect for immediate, local leaders
 Did not follow chain of command
• Army was primarily volunteers
 Fought when needed, but left to care for their families and property
after a crisis ended
 Texas Government Issues
• Problems in the military echoed problems in gov’t
• Individualistic Texans could not agree on the best course of action
for independence
 Some still felt sympathy for Mexico
 Some did not know whether to join the War or Peace Parties
 Some argued land claims were the paramount issue

37. Felix Huston, Brigadier
General Fatigues
Texas Army Uniform, Fall 1836,
variant 2
Texas Army Uniform, Fall 1836,
variant 1

38.  Texas Declaration of Independence
• 1 March 1836 – Delegates met to declare independence,
adopt a new gov’t, and constitution
• Grievances in the Declaration
 Santa Anna had overthrown the Constitution of 1824,
substituted it with tyranny
 Mexican gov’t subjugated Texas to Coahuila and Texas did not
have a voice in gov’t
 Denied Texans a right to a trial by jury
 Denied Texans the right to religious freedom
 Denied Texans the right to bear arms
 Mexican failed to establish a system of education for Texans
• The Declaration went further to denounce Santa Anna for
using military justice to supplement civilian justice

39. Causes of the War
• Traditional Interpretation – the Texas rebellion was
a courageous act of liberty-loving Texans against
an intolerant and undemocratic Mexican gov’t
• Constitutional Interpretation – the Texas rebellion
was primarily a constitutional conflict against the
Centralist Party, which consistently followed a
discriminatory policy against the Texans
 Revoking the Constitution of 1824 meant war

40.  Causes of the War
• Economic Interpretation – “land-trafficking thesis”; influential
men moved to Texas to turn a profit on land transactions
 When Mexico moved against Texas in 1835, those men threw
their support behind the rebellion to maintain and preserve their
land interests
• Economics/Federalism thesis – war was started to preserve
long-standing political values and recent economic
achievements
 Federalism fostered immigration, political liberty, slavery, and
economic progress
 Santa Anna’s Centralist gov’t threatened Texas’ notion of gov’t by
the people and individualist entrepreneurship
 Thus, the rebellion intended to protect individual liberty, slavery,
and agricultural advances Anglos made in Texas

41. Causes of the War
• Inferiority Thesis
 Anglos refused to assimilate or conform to Mexican
rules, customs, and Catholicism
 Relatively isolated, the Texans attempted to govern
themselves
 They refused to pay duties, objected to troop increases
in the Mexican army (designed to make Texans respect
Mexico’s laws)
 Ethnocentrism (racism) was the cause of the conflict
 Texans viewed Mexicans as a politically and culturally inferior
people living under a broken gov’t

42. Causes of the War
• Inferiority Thesis
 Anglos arrived in Texas conditioned to think negatively of
Mexican people
 Mexicans’ darker skin and Catholicism set off U.S. Anglos’
views that they were biologically inferior and culturally flawed
 Anglos were conditioned to believe in the U.S.
interpretation of “Manifest Destiny”
 Their job was to “rescue” the underdeveloped region from a
backward people and an instable government
 Basically, the goal was to make Texas a state in the U.S. as
quick as possible

43. Causes of the War
• War and Racism thesis
 Racism was not an issue until the war started
 People lived so removed that contact between Anglos and
Tejanos coexisted fairly well; had the same economic and
political goals
 The war itself spurred anti-Mexican prejudice
 The conflict made Anglos view Mexicans as decadent,
brutal, and subhuman. (Santa Anna certainly did not
help correct this)
 Prejudice evolved from a need to justify the conflict and
domination over Tejanos

44. Fall of the Alamo
• Mexican Forces: Santa Anna (18,000)
• Texan Forces: William B. Travis (182 to 189)
• 23 February 1836 – Santa Anna arrives in San
Antonio to find the Alamo fortified by Texan forces
 He begins to lay siege for a final assault
• 6 March 1836 – around 0500, 1800 of Santa
Anna’s troops begin moving toward the Alamo
 The deguello, a bugle call signaling “no quarter” is
sounded

46.  The Alamo
• Texans were armed with 21
artillery pieces and a team of
expert marksmen led by
volunteer Davy Crockett
• Texans repelled the first wave of
Mexican troops that attempted
to breach the walls
• Within 10 minutes, Santa Anna
was forced to commit his
reserves as Texans continued to
fend off Mexican forces

48.  Fall of the Alamo
• Mexican reserves finally overtook
the Alamo and Texan volunteers
were forced to fall back inside the
compound
• The battle ended within 20
minutes
• Mexicans continued to slaughter
Texan survivors for another hour
after the battle ended
• Santa Anna gave orders to spare
no one’s life, but several from the
Alamo survived
• Susannah Dickinson, her child,
and a black slave belonging to
Travis survived

49. Fall of the Alamo
• Within minutes of the battle’s end, Santa Anna
captured and executed 6 or 7 Texas volunteers
 Among them was Davy Crockett
• Overall, Santa Anna lost 500 to 600 men in the
siege
• At least 180 Texans were killed

51.  The Goliad Massacre
• Mexican Forces: Urrea
• Texan Forces: James W.
Fannin
• Urrea was advancing toward
Goliad from Matamoras
 His army had already met
resistance at San Patricio, Agua
Dulce, and Refugio
• 19 March 1836 – Fannin
decided to abandon the
garrison at Goliad and move
his army toward Victoria
 Lack of supplies at Goliad made
for a bad defense
James W. Fannin

52.  The Goliad Massacre
• As Fannin and his army retreated, they were
intercepted by Urrea at Coleto Creek
• 20 March 1836 – Fannin was forced to surrender.
Urrea marched the Texan army back to Goliad
• Urrea sends a request to Santa Anna for clemency
for the Texas prisoners
 Santa Anna responds with an execution order
• 27 March 1836 – Urrea’s men executed 340 Texas
 Fannin was forced to watch his men executed and was the
last to die
 30 Texans managed to escape
 The bodies were stacked and burned

54. Texan Response to the Alamo and Goliad
• Old allegiances to immediate leaders were
dissolved
• Sam Houston received a greater deal of respect
and unity of command was acknowledged
• Houston was training troops in mid-March 1836,
began to move away from Santa Anna’s army
• Troops began to rally around the Texan cause
 “Remember the Alamo” and “Remember Goliad”
became common themes

55. The “Runaway Scrape”
• Anglos and Tejanos began a mass exodus from
their homes and property in Central Texas
 Taking only what they could easily carry and limited
amounts of livestock
• They headed toward the Texas-Louisiana border
seeking refuge
• Cold weather, floods, and mud intensified the
refugees’ hardship as they attempted to stay
ahead of the Mexican army

56. The Battle of San Jacinto
• Mexican Forces: Santa Anna (1,360)
• Texan Forces: Sam Houston (910)
• 20 April 1836 – Santa Anna caught up with Sam
Houston’s forces at the San Jacinto River
 Santa Anna effectively boxed in Texan forces, but was
shut off on 3 sides by Texans
 The San Jacinto was on Santa Anna’s right and was
surrounded by swampy terrain behind him
 Orderly retreat for Santa Anna was almost impossible

59.  The Battle of San Jacinto
• 21 April 1836 – 1530 to 1600, Houston and Tejano
forces led by Juan Seguin attacked Santa Anna’s army
• Within 18 minutes, Houston’s men had full control of
Santa Anna’s camp
 The Mexican army became disorganized and lost ground
 Texans chased them as they fled into the river and swamp,
killing any Mexican soldier they could find
• During the battle, Texans rallied behind the battle
cries, “Remember the Alamo” and “Remember Goliad”

61. The Battle of San Jacinto
• Texans killed Santa Anna’s men until nightfall
• Mexican casualties: 630 dead, 208 wounded, 730
prisoners
• Texan casualties: 8-9 injured, 17-30 injured
• Santa Anna was forced to surrender

62.  Treaties of Velasco
• 22 April 1836 – Santa Anna was captured by Sam
Houston’s army
 Began negotiating an agreement to spare Santa Anna’s life in
exchange for Mexican retreat from Texas
• 14 May 1836 – Santa Anna signs the Treaties of Velasco
 Acknowledging Texas’ independence from Mexico
 Vowed to remove all Mexican forces from Texas
 Accepted Texas’ boundary at the Rio Grande River
 Promised to ensure Mexico’s recognition of Texas
• Mexico refused to accept the Treaties
 However, they did not have the means to wage another
offensive
• Texas independence had been won