A Brief History of Texas from American Settlement to Annexation, 1820-1845
Copyright © 2005-6, Henry J. Sage

The history of Texas is among the most colorful histories of all American states and territories. With its diverse population of Mexican, Mexican-American, Native American and Anglo-Saxon inhabitants, its culture is rich and varied. Spain first arrived in Mexico in 1519, and Nueva Mexico was part the vast territory known as New Spain. Spanish rule in America was very different from that of British rule in North America. Where the British saw each colony as a separate political entity to be governed more or less independently, Spain tended to govern its entire empire from the center. That tradition was passed on to the Mexican government once the Mexican revolution against Spain was complete, and virtually all of Mexico was governed from Mexico City. The individual provinces of Mexico, which included the province of Coahuila, of which Tejas—Texas—was a part, had very little self-determination. That situation was challenged by the arrival of an immigrant American population who came to obtain land grants being generously offered by the Mexican government.

Following the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, Americans began to look hungrily at the land just across their southwest border, and the Mexican government, following the lead of Spanish authorities, granted colonization rights to the American Moses Austin in hopes of creating a buffer territory against unilateral encroachment by the land-hungry Americans.

Moses Austin died before his colonization project became a reality, but the mission was taken over by his son, Stephen F. Austin. In 1821, with permission from the Mexican government, Stephen Austin brought 300 families across Sabine River to the region along the Brazos River, where the first American colony in Texas was established. In exchange for the generous land grants, the Mexican government attached certain conditions to those grants as part of its plan to use Texas as a buffer. Each settler had to agree to become a Mexican citizen, to adopt the Roman Catholic religion, and to give up the practice of slavery. Since the Texas colony was governed very loosely, much as the American colonies had been only loosely controlled by Great Britain during the century and a half before the American Revolution, The Mexican government turned a blind eye to violations of the agreements. The status of Mexican citizenship changed very little in terms of the loyalties of the American settlers; they were Americans first, Mexicans second. And so far as the Catholic religion was concerned, there were no Catholic priests in the province, and therefore attendance at confession and mass could not be demanded nor controlled in any way. As to slavery, the Mexican government was willing to accept a compromise in authorizing the practice of lifetime indentured servitude. The difference between that status and slavery was, of course, only technical, but it satisfied both sides. The Texans were also obliged to pay taxes to the Mexican government, but there were also no tax collectors in the Texas province, so that point was also moot.

In other words, the situation of the Americans in Texas was similar to that of the American colonists on the east coast of North America. They were treated with benign neglect, and the Texans possessed a de facto sense of self rule if not outright independence. The men and women who came to Texas tended to be a rough and ready lot. Many who emigrated were of Scots-Irish descent from the Shenandoah and other regions west of the Appalachians. Adventurous American women learned that if they came to Mexico and married in a Mexican citizen they could gain very generous land grants and have significant rights to the titles. Thus a complex society emerged, a mixture of Mexican and American along with with Comanche, Apache, Kiowa and other Indian tribes on the edges of the Texas colony. They developed a small but robust society.

Texas was, however, subject to the political affairs of greater Mexico. Mexico had adopted a constitution in 1824 under which the Texans believed that their rights were more or less assured. And as long as they were left alone, they were free to create a society according to their own designs. When revolution began in Mexico, however, things began to change for the Texans. In 1830 the Mexican government reversed itself and prohibited further immigration into Texas. Mexican dictator Antônio Lopez de Santa Anna, somewhat after the fashion of his counterpart, King George III, decided that it was time to make the Texans toe the line. What happened in Texas is typical of situations in which people get used to doing things their own way and are suddenly forced to obey the dictates of others. The Texans rebelled.

They formed an army and began creating the rudiments of government. The had the American Revolution and Constitution as examples to follow, but they also had their own peculiar issues. Their task was as difficult as that of the partiots on 1776, and their resources were, if anything, ever scarcer. But they were willing to fight, and after a few brief skirmishes, Santa Anna personally led an army or 2,000 into Texas to put down the insurrection. The Texas army, which never numbered more than 700 and had little experience in war, faced a daunting task. The most famous clash took place at an old Spanish mission at San Antonio de Bexar early in 1836, the last year of the administration of Andrew Jackson, who was a close friend of Sam Houston.

In the recent film, “The Alamo,” with Dennis Quaid and Billy Bob Thornton, a lot of verbal sparring preceded and followed the standoff at the Alamo itself. Some critics would have preferred to see less talk and more action, but the political machinations going on off the battlefield were in many ways just as important as what happened at the Alamo. The situation between Texas and Mexico was in certain rtespects more complex than that of the American colonies; for the inhabitants of Texas, the Americans, had voluntarily sworn allegiance to Mexico, and actually had moved into Mexican territory to make their homes. Santa Anna, however, unwittingly aided the Texan cause by branding the revolutionaries as outlaws and criminals and treating them as such. While the Texans were deciding on their Declaration of Independence and considering the political future of Texas, Santa Anna slaughtered Texan soldier prisoners at Goliad and at the Alamo, showing no quarter to any of them. His arrogance led him to carelessness, and Sam Houston, who had been sharply criticized for failing to go to the relief of the Alamo or to attack the Mexican Army, bided his time waited for the opportunity, and when it came he struck with startling swiftness. He caught up with Santa Anna on the San Jacinto River, found him unprepared, and the Texans swept over the Mexican army and won a stunning victory in 18 minutes, suffering few casualties themselves.

Santa Anna was captured, and though there were many who wanted to execute him on the spot for what they saw as his crimes against prisoners at Goliad, Houston instead forced Santa Anna under considerable duress to grant Texas independence. Although Santa Anna later rescinded his agreement unilaterally, the genie could not be put back into the bottle, and Texas remained free. At that juncture the future of Texas turned on the issue of whether or not Texas would be annexed to the United States. Given America's propensity to gather up land wherever it was available, the outcome seemed to a certain extent foreordained. But Presidents Jackson, Van Buren and Tyler wanted to avoid war with Mexico, and it was likely that if Texas were annexed, that would be the result. Nevertheless Texas pursued her goal of annexation, actually using a veiled threat to perhaps join Great Britain or France if the United States continued to spurn her approaches, and finally, when James K. Polk won the 1844 election on an expansionist platform, Texas was annexed in 1845 as the last significant act done by outgoing President John Tyler.

The lone Star Republic lasted ten years and gained a further identity, so that when Texas finally did join the union they came in with a history of their own, and Texans have held that history in high regard ever since. The Alamo remains a Texas shrine, as does the San Jacinto battlefield. The capital is named for Stephen Austin, the largest city for Sam Houston, and other places in Texas also recall the names of heroes of the Texas Revolution. As feared, the annexation of next Texas led more or less directly to war with Mexico in 1846.

Resource Links

• Link to Timeline of Texas History
• Giants of Texas History
• Texas Primer
• The Six Flags the Flew Over Texas

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