TEXAS REVOLUTION

AUSTIN

• Stephen F. Austin believed that Santa Anna was becoming a dictator.• “War is our only recourse. There is no other remedy. We

must defend our rights, ourselves, and our country by force of arms.”

MEXICAN ARMY

• General Cos brought more soldiers to San Antonio, bringing the number to 650.• What do you think was the reaction to this by the Texas

settlers?

• Officials were afraid of radicals like William B. Travis.• Rumors spread through Texas that Cos was

planning to arrest all Texan leaders and march them back to Mexico.

GONZALES

• October 2, 1835• Known as the “Lexington of Texas.”• Colonel Ugarthechea ordered the people of

Gonzales to surrender their small brass cannon.• The town official refused and sent runners to

gather more troops.• In response, Ugartechea ordered 100 soldiers to take the

cannon by force

• The townsfolk buried the cannon in a peach orchard until reinforcements arrived.• The Texan forces dug up the cannon an mounted

it on a wagon.• “Come and Take It”• 160 Texans commanded by Colonel John H.

Moore.• 1 Mexican soldier killed

• Mexican point of view?

• Texan point of view?

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHYWcBILxgk

SAN ANTONIO

• October 9, 1835• 120 Texans took the presidio at Goliad by surprise.• The only large Mexican Army left was in San Antonio,

commanded by General Cos.• Austin took command of 300 Texans at Gonzales and

marched to Texas.• Grew to 400 by the time they reached San Antonio• Army of the People• Cos commanded 750

• After a brief fight, the Texans laid a siege to San Antonio• ?

PEACE AND WAR

• War Party• Favored immediate declaration of independence

• Peace Party• Favored a proclamation saying they were only fighting for

the Mexican Constitution of 1824

• Consultation at San Felipe• November 6, 1835

THE GRASS FIGHT

• Stephen F. Austin left his command at San Antonio to ask for aid from the United States.• Edward Burleson chosen to command army.• The Texas forces went to intercept a caravan they

thought was carrying silver to pay Cos’s troops.• The caravan was only carrying grass for Cos’s horses

• With little action and Winter coming, many of the Texans returned home.

THE ASSAULT ON SAN ANTONIO

• The Siege of Bexar• “Who will go with old Ben Milam into San Antonio?”• Milam led a group of 300 volunteers to San Antonio.• Assault began on December 5, 1835• Lasted 4 days• Milam’s troops had the advantage because Mexican troops were

only equipped for fighting on open fields.• Milam killed in the fighting

• The Mexican army took refuge in the abandoned mission known as the Alamo.

• Cos asked for surrender and promised he would never again fight against the colonists or the Constitution of 1824.

• Cos and his soldiers were allowed to return to Mexico.• Significant victory• 400 Texans defeated 1000 Mexican troops• 2 Texans killed, 21 wounded• 150 Mexican troops killed, wounded, or captured

• With the capture of San Antonio and Goliad, Texas soil was free of Mexican troops.

PROVISIONAL GOVERNMENT

• Governor Henry Smith• Worked while the fighting was going on in San

Antonio.• Plans were made for a post office, navy, and army.• Also appealed to the U.S. for money, men, and supplies

• A convention was planned but Smith vetoed the proposal.

• Smith also vetoed a plan to capture the Mexican town of Matamoros.

• Nearly resulted in a breakdown from lack of cooperation.

• What should have the council been doing?

SANTA ANNA CROSSES INTO TEXAS

• The Texas provisional government made plans to meet again in March of 1836.• Didn’t think Santa Anna would march to Texas.• Why?

• February 1836, Santa Anna crossed the Rio Grande into Texas.• Headed straight to San Antonio

• The Texans still remaining in San Antonio moved into the Alamo.• Other Texans traveled to Washington-on-the-

Brazos.

INDEPENDENCE

• Washington-on-the-Brazos• A few cabins• Site for a convention of elected delegates• Meeting to decide, yet again, Texas’s future

• Delegates met in near-freezing temperature in an unfinished building.• Convention of 1836• Began working on March 1• 59 delegates• Only 2 of the members were native Texans

• Jose Antonio Navarro and Jose Francisco Ruiz

• Passed a motion to write a declaration of independence from Mexico.

• Written by George C. Childress (maybe)• The Texas Declaration of Independence was similar to the

U.S. Declaration of Independence.• Written 60 years earlier

• Texas DOI• Stated that Santa Anna had violated the liberties guaranteed under

the Mexican Constitution of 1824• Charged that the Texans had been deprived of freedom of religion, the

right to trial by jury, the right to bear arms, and the right to petition the government.

• Charged that Mexico had failed to provide a system of public education.

• Justified the use of force due to Mexico sending it’s armies first.

• “The people of Texas, in solemn convention assembled, appealing to a candid world for the necessities of our condition., do hereby resolve and declare that our political connection with the Mexican nation has forever ended; and that the people fo Texas do now constitute a free, sovereign, and independent republic.”• The Declaration of Independence was adopted by

unanimous vote on March 2, 1836.

CONSTITUTION

• After the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, the convention turned to writing a constitution.• Took two weeks to complete (March 16, 1836)

• Similar to U.S. Constitution• 3 branches of government• Legislative, executive, and judicial• Contained a Bill of Rights

• Guaranteed freedom of speech, press, religion, trial by jury, and other basic “civil rights.”

• Some parts of the constitution were based on practices common in Spanish-Mexican law.• Property was jointly owned by husbands and wives• Measures to help those in debt• Ministers and priests could not hold public office

• Slavery was made legal

AD INTERIM GOVERNMENT

• Ad Interim = temporary• Why would the delegates create an Ad Interim

Government instead of holding elections?• David G. Burnet chosen as President• Former Empresario• Early Texas settler

• Sam Houston was chosen as commander in chief of the army.• Put in charge of the volunteers and the regular army• Why would this be a big deal?

THE ALAMO FALLS

• March 15, 1836 – The convention learns that Santa Anna has taken control of the Alamo.• March 17, 1836 – Messengers arrived to report

that Santa Anna was marching toward Washington-on-the-Brazos.• The ad interim government moved to Harrisburg

and later Galveston.