Texas Revolution 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Grant W.

 

     Moses Austin was a banker and a businessman who’s dream was to start an American colony is Spanish Texas. After the Spanish officials granted Austin a huge tract of land in 1821, he suddenly died that year, and his son, Stephen continued his father’s dreams.

 

 

    

     When Stephen arrived at Texas, Mexico had declared independence from Spain. The Mexican officials had agreed to let Austin to start his colony, but only under certain conditions. Austin was only allowed to choose only moral and hardworking settlers. All settlers had to become Mexican citizens and join the Catholic Church. Austin agreed to these terms, and by 1827, he had attracted 297 families. They were known as the “old three hundred” to Texas.

 

     

     In 1830 there were about 25,000 Americans in Texas, compared to 4,000 Tejanos. Tensions between the two groups begun to rise. Since the Tejanos and Americans had complaints about each other, the Mexican government closed Texas to anymore Americans. They also called in troops to help enforce the law.

 

    

     The Americans in Texas resented these actions. The ones who called for a revolution, were called the Hot heads, which was led by a young lawyer named William Travis. The cooler heads was led by Stephen Austin, they asked if the Mexican government to reopen Texas to immigrating Americans, and to make it a separate Mexican state so the people of Texas could run their own affairs.

 

    

     When Austin went to Mexico to present to Texan’s demands to the new Mexican government, General Antonio Loped de Santa Anna. Instead of bargaining with Austin, Anna sent him to jail for two years. In 1835, when Austin got out of jail, the Texans rose in revolt. Determined to crush the Texans, Santa Anna sent 6,000 troops with him to Texas. A large part of Santa Anna’s army reached San Antonio, Texas in late February of 1836. The Texans had taken over an old mission called the Alamo. The town was defended by 180 Texan volunteers including eight Tejanos. Among the defenders were two famous people, Davy Crockett and James Bowie. James Bowie was sharing commander with William Travis.

 

  

    Santa Anna raised a black flag which meant “expect no mercy” and demanded that the Texans surrender. Travis answered with a cannon shot. Slowly the Mexican army surrounded the Alamo. Travis sent messengers to local towns pleading for help, but none came.

 

 

     Sam Houstin was trying to get enough men to help defended the Alamo. But he didn’t get them fast enough. For 12 days General Anna fired cannons at the Alamo’s walls. Then, on March 6, first light of dawn, Santa Anna ordered his men to attack the mission.

 

 

     The Americans were caught off guard. They were still sleeping. The Mexicans were close to the walls. The Americans tried to hold them off with a volley of rifle fire, then by cannon fire. But Generals Santa Anna’s men had surrounded the walls and had broken through. The battle had lasted for 90 minutes. All of the Texans who had fought, died.

 

 

     The General’s actions had enraged the Texan’s. Sam Houstin retreated further eastward into Texas, hoping that the General’s supplies would come harder to get and harder to keep his army ready. When the General finally caught up with Sam near the San Jacinto River, the General was expecting that the Americans would attack at dawn, so he kept his army awake. But when no attack came, Santa Anna went to take a nap.

 

 

     In late afternoon Houstin attacked. His army screaming “Remember the Alamo!” The Mexican army was over run in no time. Santa Anna fled, but was found the next day. In exchange for his and his army’s freedom, he would give up Texas.

 

 

     Texas was now an independent state. For 10 years Congress was trying to decide if Texas would be part of the United States or not. On 1845, James K. Polk was elected, Congress voted to allow Texas to become the 28^th state of the United States of America.