Transcript Introduction to the Presidents of the Republic of Texas

Introduction to the
Presidents of the
Republic of Texas
{
And Their Problems and Important Issues
Presidents of the Republic of
Texas
Sam Houston
(1836 - 1838)
• 1st President of the
Republic of Texas
Mirabeau B Lamar
(1838 - 1841)
• 2nd President of the
Republic of Texas
• Known as the
“Father of Education
in Texas”
Sam Houston
(1841 -1844)
• 3rd President of the
Republic of Texas
Dr. Anson Jones
(1844 - 1846)
• 4th and final President
of the Republic of Texas
• President when Texas
became a state of the
United States
The Election of 1836
The election was held FIVE MONTHS after the Battle of San Jacinto in September of
1836.
Results of the Election of 1836
President:
Sam
Houston
Vice-President:
Mirabeau
Lamar
Constitution:
Yes! Texans voted to approve
the Constitution of 1836
Congress:
Elected Senators and
Representatives
Annexation:
Texans decided they were willing to
give up their independence and seek
annexation from the United States
In addition to electing new leaders, the Texans had TWO OTHER ISSUES on their
ballot.
• The Constitution of 1836 (written at the Convention of 1836 back in
March) – The ballot asked the Texans, “Do you approve the Constitution the
leaders wrote at the Convention of 1836?”
• Annexation – The ballot asked the Texans, “Do you want to try to remain
independent OR try to be annexed into the United States?”
Problems Houston faced during his
first term:






Texas Military – A lot of Texan soldiers
want to start another war with Mexico! Ack!
Recognition - How to get the U.S. to
recognize that we are independent so they
will work with us
Native Americans – They are attacking Texans… Sam has to
deal with them somehow
Debt - $1.25 million when he STARTS ($2 million by the end
of his first term) PLUS we need money to run the new
government
The Texas Capital – Temporarily in Houston… gotta build
it… what about a permanent one?
Relations with Mexico - They just can’t accept that we are
gone! That could mean trouble!
Houston was cautious.
 He wanted to prevent another war with
Mexico or a new war with Native Texans.
 Houston limited government spending.

Overall… Houston thought the best
solution to ALL of these problems was
annexation by the United States!
The Election of 1838
The election was held in December of 1838… the new president started his job in
January of 1839.
Houston supporters tried to get Peter W. Grayson, Houston’s Attorney General (a
member of Houston’s cabinet) elected… but he committed suicide in Tennessee on
the way back from a trip to Washington D.C.
THEN Houston supporters tried to get Chief Justice James Collinsworth elected,
but while on a boat in Galveston Bay, he fell overboard and died.
So…
Results of the Election of 1838
President:
Mirabeau
Lamar
Vice-President:
David G.
Burnet
Congress:
Elected Senators and
Representatives
Category
Lamar’s Problems
Lamar’s Solutions
Capital
Houston had only been approved as
capital of Texas for three years. Lamar
had to choose and build a new capital.
SO Lamar moves the capital to Austin…
yay!
Indians
(Cherokee)
Lamar did not trust the Cherokee and
believed they had no claim to their land.
Lamar ordered the Cherokee out of
Texas. They agreed to leave after their
harvest. However, Lamar would not
wait and sent the military in to force
them out. Chief Bowles (Houston’s
friend) was killed in the battle.
Indians
(Comanche)
The Comanche were raiding Texas
settlements and kidnapping Texas
settlers.
The Comanche agreed to try to work out a
peace deal with the Texans, but when they
got to San Antonio with the Texan captives, a
misunderstanding led to a fight. This caused
more Comanche raids. Lamar responded with
military action. (COUNCIL HOUSE FIGHT)
Expansion
Lamar believed that Texas should expand
to the Pacific Ocean, but Mexico and the
Disputed Territory is in the way.
Lamar tried to start this expansion by
sending Texas troops to “invite” Santa
Fe to join the Republic. The Texans were
captured by Mexican troops and sent to
prison. (SANTA FE EXPEDITION)
Debt
Lamar wasn’t too concerned about Texas’
debt
There was no solution. Lamar increased
Texas’ debt by spending a lot on
increasing the military, fighting the
Indians and the Santa Fe Expedition.
Republic of Texas Debt
10
9
Houston’s 2nd Term AND
Anson Jones
7
6
5
4
3
During the Revolution
Millions of Dollars
8
Lamar
Houston’s
1st Term
2
1
0
1836
1837
1838
1839
1840
1841
Years
1842
1843
1844
1845
1846
Debt – Houston tried to decrease
the Republic’s debt ($1.25 million $2 million)
Native Americans – Houston tried
to make peace with the Indians
(both the Cherokee and the
Comanche)
Military – Houston reduced the
size of the TX military
Expansion – Houston did not
believe TX should expand to the
Pacific Ocean
Capital – Houston thought
Houston should be the capital of the
Republic
Annexation – Houston worked for
Texas annexation to the United
States
Recognition
Both
presidents
knew that
TX needed
recognition
from other
nations to
survive
Debt
Native Americans (Cherokee and Comanche)
Military
Expansion
Debt – Lamar didn’t care too
much about TX debt. It increased
by $6 million while he was
president ($2 million to $8
million)
Native Americans – Lamar
believed the Indians should be
run out of Texas. He spent a lot
of money fighting them.
Military – Lamar increased the
size of the military
Expansion – Lamar believed TX
should expand to the Pacific
Ocean
Capital – Lamar wanted Austin
as the capital of Texas
Annexation – Lamar did not
think TX should be annexed to
the US
Capital
Annexation
Recognition
Comparing Presidents
 Compare
and contrast problems faced
in Houston’s first presidency with
Lamar’s presidency.



Brainstorm before you write!!! A Venn Diagram is good for
Compare/Contrast writing… in the brainstorming decide whether the
two things you are comparing are MORE different or MORE similar.
State this in your FIRST SENTENCE
Start with a GENERAL statement about their differences or
similarities and get MORE SPECIFIC in the following sentences
Your FIRST SENTENCE in ALL compare/contrast writing assignments
should be a GENERAL statement about BOTH subjects of discussion
(so your first sentence should mention BOTH subjects and tell the
reader if they are mostly the same or different)
***Remember to use the APE format for writing a paragraph!!!!
(See the handout in your notes for a reminder of what APE is…)
Cause and Effect Events Started by the Santa Fe
Expedition (Lamar)
• Lamar’s Santa Fe Expedition CAUSED several other
conflicts between TX and MX.
• The EFFECTS of the Santa Fe Expedition were seen
during Houston’s 2nd term in office.
Santa Fe
Expedition
(Lamar)
Vasquez (MX)
invades TX
Houston’s 2nd
Woll (MX) invades
TX
Houston’s 2nd
Mier Expedition
Houston’s 2nd
Archives War
Houston’s 2nd
Black Bean
Drawing
Houston’s 2nd
Houston and the Native
Americans of Texas
As more and more Anglo settlers move into the new nation of
Texas, more and more Indians resent them.
What do they do to express
their resentment? Attack!!!
Settlers begin to ask their
new president for help.
Houston could be
tough with the Indians
when he needed to…
BUT…
Help!
Houston called on the Texas
Rangers to patrol Central
Texas in order to keep the
Indians from killing more
settlers.
Problems Lamar faced
during his first term:





Capital – Houston had only been approved as capital of Texas
for three years. Lamar had to choose and build a new capital…
SO Lamar moves the capital to Austin… yay!
Native Americans (Cherokee) - Lamar did not trust the
Cherokee and believed they had no claim to their land… SO
Lamar ordered the Cherokee out of Texas. They agreed to leave
after their harvest. However, Lamar would not wait and sent the
military in to force them out. Chief Bowles (Houston’s friend)
was killed in the battle.
Native Americans (Comanche) – The Comanche, who had been raiding, agreed to
talk about a peace treaty with the Texans. They met in San Antonio and were
supposed to bring their white captives.

Council House Fight
Relations with Mexico – Lamar felt that Texas should extend all the way to the
Pacific Ocean… what was in the way? Umm… Mexico (and the Indians)
Debt – At the end of Houston’s first term, we were $2 million in debt…