EXPANSION IN TEXAS

A QUICK RECAP Because many Americans believed in manifest destiny, they believed that it was necessary to expand across North America. This expansion encompassed most of Texas, Nevada, Utah and most of New Mexico.

THE MISSION SYSTEM Spain created a system to come to modern day California, New Mexico, and Texas to try to convert the Native Americans to become Catholics. The Spanish wanted to move the Native Americans to the mission lands. The Spaniards put up presidios to protect the missions. -After Mexico won their independence, the Mission system was declined. -Some Native Americans were forced to do labor ( be a slave) others ran to the mission lands and living freely.

The Impact of Mexican Independence Mexico trading system increased with Mexico’s Northern Provinces and the United States.. They traded Tejano livestock, longhorn cattle, tallow (used for soap and candles made out of animal fat), hides (shelter), and goods to Santa Fe, New Mexico, north and west of Texas. The Government of Mexico wanted to improve their economy, so they had eased trading restrictions with Northern America and Northern Province. While Mexico was developing their Independence, they learned that running a country they did not need to have complete control over their country. Even though there was Chois with 2 Indian Tribes (Apache and Comanche), and Mexican Citizens in New Mexico and Texas were claiming their own territory. Jeanice ! Do you know where Marcus’s slide my bad Marus’s section? ide goes? Its cool his section goes after Austin In texas. Yeah i need to know which slide goes before his Between ?

MEXICO WELCOMES THE UNITED STATES Mexico decided to profit off of this vast land by offering massive land grants to agents known as empresarios. An Empresario is someone who bought the land for cheap prices in exchange for taking care of the settlers on the land. Because of this, many Americans saw this as an opportunity to expand their influence and settle in Spanish Texas. The number of English speaking settlers was so massive, that it surpassed the number of Tejanos who lived in Texas. Despite all of this, English and American settlers were considered Mexican citizens.

STEPHEN F. AUSTIN In 1825, Austin created a small colony between the Brazos and Colorado Rivers. Within the next 10 years, the colony rapidly expanded to become the largest colony in Spanish Texas. The amount of people moving to Texas became so large that Andrew Jackson attempted to buy it from Mexico in 1829 for $5 mil. Mexico flatly refused... Stephen F. Austin was the most important empresario in Spanish Texas.

STEPHEN F. AUSTIN (CONT.) Austin was born in Virginia He is responsible for issuing out over 297 land grants. He also had a military record, serving as an Army Officer. Not only was Austin’s colony the fastest growing colony, it was the first Anglo-American one. Austin essentially ran the colony by himself, serving as governor, diplomat, controlling immigration and establishing the judicial system.

TENSIONS As more and more Anglo (english speaking) settlers became Texan citizens, they began looking up to the American Government, and started to base their livelihood and principles off of that. Because most of the settlers in the region were American, they believed that they could base the Texas government off of the American one. This would later cause problems with Mexico’s Government, led by General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna.

ANTONIO SANTA ANNA Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna was the dominant political and military leader in Mexico for most of the 19th century. His brutal reign was opposed by most Texan citizens, which lead to most wanting a revolution against his regime. His tactics and military strategy were so efficient, that he was often referred to as “Napoleon of the West”.

THE REVOLUTION BEGINS Texan citizens decided that they were tired of the Mexican government led by General Santa Anna. Because most of the settlers were English/American, they favored the way the American government was run. The revolution officially began with the battle of Gonzales in October of 1835.

The siege and battle lasted 3 waves, with Santa Anna ordering his men to fire at anyone who wasn’t a soldier. Remember the Alamo General Santa Anna led an army of about 1,800 to quell a group of insurgents at the Alamo. 189 Texan rebels stood there waiting for Santa Anna’s army. On February 23, 1836, Santa Anna’s soldiers surrounded the Alamo

END OF THE ALAMO After defending themselves from a siege for 13 days, the Texan rebels were eventually overwhelmed by the Mexican government. Most documents and reports state that all Texan defenders perished in the battle. Despite this, there are a few documents that state no more than three Texan soldiers survived.

END OF THE REVOLUTION AND ANNEXATION The Texas revolution finally ended on April 21, 1836 with the Battle of San Jacinto. The end result of the revolution was the Treaty of Velasco. The treaty ensured Texas’s independence from Mexico and thus reformed into the Republic of Texas. Roughly 10 years after the formation of the Republic of Texas, on December 29, 1845 Texas is formally annexed into the Union. Despite officially being a United States territory, there were many subsequent struggles over which nation had control over Texas.