Transcript Chapter 8 “Growing Tensions”

Chapter 8
“Growing Tensions”
Differences Create Tension
Differences between Mexicans and
Anglo-American Texans in the
1820’s and 1830’s may have led to
misunderstanding and conflict.
Different Languages
Different Religions
Disagreements over the
issue of slavery
Mexicans suspected that Anglos
remained loyal to the United States.
Anglo-Americans were
unfamiliar with Mexican laws.
Texans under the Mexican
Federalists before 1829 were
left alone to do as they pleased.
• More and more settlers received land titles,
cleared their fields, and built homes.
• They established schools and newspapers.
• Settlers brought in slaves,
which the Mexican
government opposed.
Texans under the Mexican
Centralists after 1829, were
under many strict regulations.
• It issued regulations to bring the states
and provinces of Mexico more under the
authority of the national government.
• Most Anglo Texans considered these
regulations unnecessary and unfair.
The Republic of Fredonia
The first clash between colonists
and Mexican authorities. (1829)
The state government allowed the
empresario Haden Edwards to settle
800 families in the Nacogdoches area.
Edwards learned that many settlers
were living without legal titles on his
land. He was told that he could not
charge these settlers for new land titles.
Edwards responded by declaring
his colony, The Republic of
Fredonia, independent from
Mexico.
Edwards received no support
from other Texan colonies or
from the United States, and
Mexican troops quickly put the
revolt down. Thirty or so
Fredonians fled to the United
States.
At approximately the same time,
the U.S. ambassador to Mexico,
Anthony Butler, proposed that
Mexico sell Texas to the United
States.
The Mexicans were convinced
now that the Fredonian Revolt
was part of an American
scheme to acquire Texas.
Their fears and
suspicions grew.
The Americans
cannot be
trusted!
#1 NOTES: FREDONIAN REVOLT
Where? Nacogdoches
What happened? Hayden Edwards was
angry with squatters & Mexico so he
declared his colony free from Mexico.
Result? When Mexico attacked, most
Fredonians fled to the U.S.
Mexico sent an inspection party,
led by General Mier y Teran, to
investigate.
Mier y Teran reported that AngloAmerican influence in East Texas
was strong, since Anglo settlers
outnumbered Mexican settlers
five to one.
He also noted that slavery was
growing in Texas, …
…and that American settlers were
entering Texas without permission
or contracts.
http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~mharrsch/OregonTrail.html
Mier y Teran made it clear to
the Mexican government that
if it did not act at once, Texas
would be
#2 NOTES: Inspection of Mier y Teran
Where? East Texas
What happened?
* found Anglos 5 to 1 over Mexicans
* influences from U.S. too strong
Result? Recommended that Mexico
take action against the Anglos
"Remember, if
Christmas isn't
found in your
heart, you
won't find it
under a tree."
- Charlotte
Carpenter
Meanwhile, the Anglo American
colonists were also becoming
concerned. Those colonists who
held slaves were worried about
government efforts to abolish
slavery.
In 1829 the president of Mexico
issued a decree, or order,
abolishing slavery. He was
persuaded to exempt, or excuse,
Texas from the decree, but many
of the Anglo American
slaveholders believed that it was
only a matter of time before the
decree would apply to them, too.
The Law of April 6, 1830
was issued by the new
Centralist government, who
no longer trusted the Texans.
This new law:
A. Stopped immigration from the
United States.
B. Encouraged immigration from
Mexico and Europe.
C. Placed customs duties on
goods made in foreign
countries in order to discourage
trade with the United States.
D. Set up new forts in Texas to
enforce these customs duties.
•
http://www.floridafrontiersmen.org/FtGun.jpg
One result of the Law of April 6,
1830: Each side began to
distrust the other side and
skirmishes occurred
in different
settlements.
#3 NOTES: Law of April 6, 1830
Where? For Texas
What happened?
* stopped immigration from U.S.
* customs duties on goods from U.S.
* new forts to enforce the above taxes
Result? Texans were angry.
Mexicans did not trust Texans.
Physical Conflicts between
Texans and Mexicans occurred
at the towns of Anahuac and
Velasco because of these
customs duties.
ANAHUAC
A fight began when merchants
protested having to travel long
distances to pay taxes on goods
coming across the border. When
two Texans, William B. Travis and
Patrick C. Jack, were arrested,
several men went to Brazoria to get
a cannon to fight.
#4 NOTES: Tax Protests at Anahuac
Where? Anahuac, Tx
What happened?
* Texans protested customs duties (taxes)
* Some men were arrested and jailed
Result?
* Texans angry
* Some went to get cannon to release
those jailed
VELASCO
Mexican officials would not let
the cannon, now loaded on a
ship, pass Velasco on its way to
Anahuac. Both Texans and
Mexicans died in the skirmish
over the cannon.
While the colonists in Anahuac
waited on the cannon, they
issued a series of statements
known as the Turtle Bayou
Resolutions. They claimed that
in fighting, they were not
rebelling against Mexican
authority…
but instead were supporting the
Constitution of 1824 and the
revolutionist Santa Anna, who
was leading a rebellion against
the Centralist President
Anastasio Bustamonte.
Page 1
of the
Turtle
Bayou
Resolutions
#5 NOTES: Velasco Skirmish
VELASCO:
* Skirmish over cannon
* Men on both sides killed
TURTLE BAYOU:
* Some Texans made resolutions
pledging loyalty to Mexico, Constitution
of 1824, and Santa Anna
In 1832, the Centralist President
Anastasio Bustamonte,
resigned. Antonio Lopez de
Santa Anna became president.
Most Texas colonists were
pleased. They thought Santa
Anna would support Texas
because he was a Federalist.
The Convention of 1832
With new optimism, Texans called a
convention to discuss changes needed in
Texas. 58 delegates assembled in San
Felipe on October 1, 1832. Stephen F. Austin
was elected president of the convention.
The convention made several resolutions
to discuss with President Santa Anna:
The Convention of 1832
• Texas should be made a separate Mexican
state.
• Immigration from the United States should
be permitted again.
• Exemption from certain import taxes
• Improved educational facilities
• Better protection from Native Americans
*** For various reasons, these resolutions
were never presented to officials in Mexico.
The Convention of 1833
A few months later, a second convention
convened at San Felipe. The Convention of
1833 adopted the same resolutions as those
adopted in 1832. However, they also
prepared a constitution for the proposed
Mexican state of Texas. Of the three
delegates chosen to carry the resolutions to
Mexico City, only Stephen Austin was able to
make the trip.
#6 NOTES: Conventions at San Felipe
Where? San Felipe
What happened?
* Men voted on improvements wanted for
Texas (ex: immigration from U.S. ;
less taxes; Texas a separate state)
Result?
* Stephen Austin was to take the
resolutions to Santa Anna in Mexico
City
In April of 1833, Stephen Austin
traveled to Mexico City to discuss
the many concerns of Texas with
the new president, Santa Anna.
Austin was unable to obtain
an audience with Santa Anna for
several months. One reason for
this delay was a cholera epidemic
which killed thousands in Mexico.
By October, Austin was
becoming discouraged. He
wrote a letter to authorities in
San Antonio describing the
difficulties he faced. In that
letter, Austin encouraged
Texans to begin forming their
own state government.
Finally, in November of 1833,Austin
was allowed to meet with Santa
Anna. Santa Anna agreed to the
following:
1. Citizens may immigrate from the U.S again.
2. Mexico will improve Texas court and postal
systems.
BUT:
3. Texas may not become an independent
Mexican state.
Stephen Austin left to return to
Texas, pleased with his
accomplishment.
In January 1834, Austin reached the
town of Saltillo in northern Mexico. The
letter he had written to authorities in
San Antonio, authorizing
them to draw up a
constitution for the new
Mexican state of Texas,
had been intercepted.
Austin was arrested
and taken back to
Mexico City.
http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/mex-war/santa-anna-1.gif
In 1834, Santa Anna’s promised
reforms had begun in Texas:
A. English became an official business
language.
B. Immigration from the United States
was once again allowed.
C. The Texas court system was
improved.
D. The number of Texas
representatives was increased from
one to three in the legislature.
E. Religious tolerance for
non-Catholics was granted.
After one year in prison, Austin was
released on Christmas Day, 1834.
He was required to stay in Mexico
City for six months and wait on a
final decision on his case. Austin
returned to Texas on September 1,
1835. He had been away from his
colony for two years and four
months.
Notes #7: SFA Arrested
Where? Saltillo & Mexico City
What happened? Stephen Austin was
arrested for treason b/c he had written a
letter advising Texans to write a constitution for the “Mexican state of Texas.”
Result?
* In prison for 1 year
* Away from his colony for 2 years & 4
months
Early in 1835, trouble between
Mexicans and Texans erupted
again around Anahuac.
Residents in Anahuac again
quarreled about customs duties
(taxes on imports).
William Travis and others
refused to pay the tax until the
law was enforced equally.
They also forced the Mexican
commander there to leave
Texas.
Local leaders of the Peace Party from
several towns did not approve of the
actions taken by Travis. Those at San
Felipe wrote an apology to General
Martin Perfecto de Cos, Santa Anna’s
brother-in-law and commander of the
Mexican forces in Coahuila.
General Cos was in no mood for an
apology. He was upset by the fiery
words of the Texans, and
demanded the arrest of those
involved, including Travis.
In doing so, he was acting on
Santa Anna’s orders. Santa Anna
was no longer a Federalist; he had
become a Centralist.
After long consideration,
Stephen Austin had become
convinced that Santa Anna was
becoming a dictator (a ruler with
absolute power.) He urged
Texans to unite against him.
“War is our only recourse.
There is no other remedy.
We must defend our
rights, ourselves,
and our country by
force of arms.”
http//www.latinamericanstudies.org/19-century/austin-1.jpg
Notes #8: Arrests at Anahuac
Where: Anahuac
What happened: More protests &
arrests at Anahuac over taxes.
Mexican officials there run out of
town.
Result: Some Texans try to
apologize but General Cos is
furious with the Texans.
A Mexican Army Arrives in Texas
• In 1835, tension continued to build in
Texas.
• Mexican officials felt that Texian
radicals like William B. Travis were
becoming disloyal, and that more
soldiers were needed.
• General Cos arrived with additional
troops. This brought the number of
Mexican soldiers in San Antonio to 650.
The presence of the Mexican soldiers in
Texas caused concern among the Texas
settlers. Towns formed Committees of
Correspondence – local groups that shared
political and military information – to keep
the colonists informed. Patrols watched the
roads to give
warnings of
approaching
troops.
Notes #9: Cos brings soldiers to Tx.
Where? San Antonio
What happened? Gen. Cos brings
650 troops to San Antonio to control
and arrest rebellious Texans.
Result?
Very concerned Texans form
committees to monitor actions of
soldiers.
Gonzales – The
Lexington of Texas
The first conflict
between
Mexican troops
and Texan
colonists came
at Gonzales on
October 2,
1835.
Why was Gonzales known as
the Lexington of Texas?
• The first battle of the American Revolution
had taken place at Lexington,
Massachusetts, when British soldiers had
attempted to take arms and ammunition
away from the people.
• The battle of Gonzales had a similar
beginning.
Surrender
Give us
your
the cannon!
artillery!
The Mexican commander at San
Antonio, Colonel Ugartechea,
ordered the people of Gonzales to
surrender their small brass cannon.
When the citizens refused, Colonel
Ugartechea ordered about 100
soldiers to take the cannon by
force.
When the Mexican troops arrived at
Gonzales, they faced about 160
armed Texans, who had decorated
the front of the cannon with a white
flag that bore the words “Come and
Take It.” The fighting lasted only
a few minutes. One Mexican
soldier was killed. No Texans died
in the confrontation. The Mexicans
withdrew toward San Antonio.
Notes #10: Battle of Gonzales
Where: Gonzales
What happened: Settlers refuse to
hand over a small brass cannon
loaned to them to fight off Tonkawa
Indians. Tell 100 Mexican soldiers to
“Come and Take it!”
Result: One Mexican killed. Santa
Anna considered this as the outbreak
of war. October 2, 1835.
At San Antonio, General Cos regarded
the actions at Gonzales as the
outbreak of war. Many Texas colonists
who had been indifferent about the
prospect of fighting were now
enthusiastic.
We can
take ‘em!
The Consultation of 1835
While Texan militia troops camped
near San Antonio to keep an eye on
Mexican soldiers, other Texans
representing 14 towns and districts
met in San Felipe to consult on a
plan of action.
War Party delegates favored an
immediate declaration of independence from Mexico.
Peace Party delegates favored a
declaration that Texans were loyal
Mexican citizens and that they were
fighting for the Mexican Constitution
of 1824, which Santa Anna had
overthrown.
The Texans final declaration to the
Mexican government stated that
Texans were no longer united with
the current Mexican dictatorship and
urged Mexican citizens to fight with
them for a democratic government.
Notes #11: Consultation of 1835
Where? San Felipe
What happened? 58 Texan delegates met
to form a plan and compose a statement
to present to Santa Anna.
Result? Texans stated that they were
loyal Mexican citizens, but declared war
on Santa Anna and his dictatorship.