Revolution and Republic Unit 6, Section 3.2 Notes – The Republic of Texas

New President In September of 1838, Texans elected new leaders. The constitution did not allow for a president to serve consecutive terms, or two terms in a row, so Houston did not run for re- election. Even if Sam Houston could have run again, he probably would have lost. People were angry with him about many things, but especially his stance on the rights of American Indians.

Lamar in Office Mirabeau B. Lamar, the former vice president, was chosen as the new president, and David G. Burnet was picked for the spot of vice president. Both men disliked Sam Houston and were excited to change things in Texas.

Mirabeau Lamar David G. Burnet

Lamar’s Education Goals After taking office in 1839, President Lamar announced that Texas needed a public education system. Congress then passed education acts, or laws, that set aside 17,712 acres of land to be used for public schools. They also set aside 231,400 acres for future public universities. The first college to receive a charter, or document allowing operation, was Rutersville College, near La Grange, Texas. Though Lamar’s efforts pretty much failed (no public schools were built while he was president), he is now known as the Father of Texas Education.

Rutersville College Main Building, Opened in 1840

A New Capital Lamar and many other people did not like that Houston was the capital of Texas. They thought that it needed to be closer to the center of the nation. So, they created a committee that was to pick a better place for the capital. In 1839, they decided on the town of Waterloo, Texas, located on the Colorado River. They renamed the city Austin, in honor of Stephen F. Austin!

Keep Austin Weird A judge named Edwin Walker was sent by President Lamar to design the town and build government offices, including a temporary capitol. The main street was named Congress Avenue. By 1840, more than 850 people lived in Austin, including diplomats from France, Great Britian and the United States. It is just as diverse today!

1904

1940

Just Because It’s Cool: Bats at Congress Bridge The Congress Avenue Bridge spans Town Lake in downtown Austin and is home to the largest urban bat colony in North America. The colony is estimated at 1.5 million Mexican free-tail bats. Each night from mid-March to November, the bats emerge from under the bridge at dusk to blanket the sky as they head out to forage for food. This event has become one of the most spectacular and unusual tourist attractions in Texas. The most spectacular bat flights are during hot, dry August nights, when multiple columns of bats emerge.

Bats at the Congress Avenue Bridge

Austin: You can’t please everyone! Still, not everyone was happy! Though the land in the area was beautiful, many people thought that Austin was too close to Mexico and would be easily attacked. Others didn’t like that the town was in Comanche territory. The capitol building had to be surrounded by walls to be protected. Eventually many people moved to Austin and it became a safer place to live and not so difficult and dangerous.

Land and Economic Policies As Texas’ financial problems worsened, Lamar’s administration attempted to help people by passing homestead laws. They also began printing more paper money, called red backs. But as the Republic debt became larger, the red backs became worthless. Lamar made the national debt rise by spending $1.5 million on the military, part of which was spent on new ships for the navy. During Sam Houston’s term, he only spent $881,000 on the military.

“This money came in denominations of $5, $10, $20, $100, and $500. Change notes also existed.” -From the Library of the Daughter of the Texas Revolution Red Backs

Lamar’s American Indian Policy Unlike Houston, Lamar disliked the Native Americans in Texas. He wanted them removed, believing that war was the only option. He said during his inaugural address, “The white man and the American Indian cannot dwell in harmony together. Nature forbids it. …Push a rigorous war against them; pursue them to their hiding places without mitigation (relief) or compassion.”

Cordova Rebellion After the Texas Revolution, many Americans moved to the Texas city of Nacogdoches, where the population was mostly Mexican. Some of the Mexicans living in Nacogdoches remained loyal to Santa Anna. A man named Vicente Cordova was a Mexican loyalist, and along with some Native Americans loyal to Santa Anna, began to round up a group of 400 people to fight the Texans. Before anything could happen, the loyalists were stopped.

Result of the Cordova Rebellion Though no fighting occurred and no one was harmed, this minor rebellion made the people in Texas weary of Mexicans around them. It made them think that all Tejanos were loyal to Santa Anna, even though many were not. Also, it made many people feel that all Native Americans needed to be removed from Texas because they could join any other group to get rid of Anglo settlers in the area. Lamar was one who wanted to force the Indians out of Texas.

Battle of the Neches In 1839, Lamar ordered the Cherokee to leave Texas. They refused, so Lamar sent 500 soldiers to remove them. The Battle of Neches broke out in July near the Neches River. After several days of fighting, 100 Cherokee were killed, including Chief Bowles. The rest were forced out of Texas, along with the fearful Caddo and Shawnee.

The Council House Fight After many fights between the Texas settlers and the Comanche, the two groups finally agreed to peace talks. On March 19, 1840, 65 Comanche arrived at the Council House in San Antonio. They were supposed to bring all their captives, but they didn’t. The peace chief, Muk-wah-ruh, said that he didn’t have the authority to release the captives. Fighting then broke out and at the end of the battle, 35 Comanche were dead, including women and children. At least 7 Texans were killed. This also killed any prospect of peace.

Battle of Plum Creek When the other Comanche tribes heard about the massacre, they were very angry! They executed all of their Texas captives and then a large raiding party attacked settlers in Linnville and Victoria. They killed 20 settlers, burned down houses, and stole supplies and livestock. A group of Texan volunteers, soldiers, and Texas Rangers vowed revenge and searched for the Comanche. The Texans found the Comanche on August 11, 1840, and more than 130 Comanche were killed. Only 1 Texan was killed.

This painting shows the Battle of Plum Creek and the Comanche Indians as they raided Texas settlements. They stole the clothing and hats of the settlers and wore them as they continued on to the next town.

The Result of Lamar’s Policies Though they defeated the Comanche, many Texans feared them. The Texans continued to attack the Comanche until they were forced north of the Red River. Many people in Texas were happy that Lamar had gotten the Comanche and Cherokee off their land, which left more land for Texans! Still, the American Indians wars had cost the Republic $2.5 million. During his term, the debt rose from $3.3 million to $8 million (over $107 million today). Texans were again ready for a change.

Houston Returns to Office In 1841, Sam Houston ran again for president against David G. Burnet and was re-elected as the President of the Republic of Texas. Texans also chose Edward Burleson was the vice president. Burleson had led many volunteer soldiers during the Texas Revolution and fought at the Battle of San Antonio and at San Jacinto.

Edward Burleson

Side Note: The Texas Navy During Houston’s first administration, Texas acquired a navy. The Texas Navy protected Texas’ coast, but it cost the new nation a lot of money. In order to afford the ships, President Lamar bought bonds to pay for them. They were often used to conduct peace negotiations between Texas and Mexico, but all of them were unsuccessful. Most Texas naval officers were recruited from the U.S. In all, it was not very useful.

Balancing the Budget First, Houston attempted to balance the nation’s budget. To save money, Houston cut government jobs and spending. He also cut the size of the Texas Army and Texas Rangers. He even tried to sell the navy, but it never happened. As a result, spending dropped from $4.8 million during Lamar’s presidency to $500,000 under Houston. Still, the debt rose to $12 million by He even printed more money, but it was not seen as valuable, and so it wasn’t!

American Indian Policy President Houston also returned to the peaceful American Indian policy from his first term in office. He built more trading posts to increase positive relations with the Indians and signed peace treaties. In August 1842, the Caddo signed a treaty with the Texans and agreed to help persuade 20 other Indian groups to attend a peace council, or meeting.

Trouble with Settlers in East Texas Just as Indian-Texas relations began improving, East Texas settlers in Shelby County began fighting one another. This region, known as the Redlands, was known for having few law enforcement officers, so many bandits and outlaws moved there. The war, known as the Regulator-Moderator War, all started with a feud!

Alfred George and Joseph Goodbread Two men, Alfred George and Joseph Goodbread, began a feud in 1840 over fake land titles. George convinced another man, Charles W. Jackson, to kill Goodbread. Jackson organized a group, called the Regulators, to “fight crime,” which was really a cover to attack Goodbread. In turn, Joseph Goodbread’s supporters created a group called the Moderators.

The Regulator – Moderator War These two groups attacked each other and anyone who got in their way. Local officials could not stop the feud, especially since many of them joined sides. People were shot, judges were threatened, prisoners were hanged without trials, houses were burned, and people were driven out of their homes. Eventually, each side had hundreds of people fighting one another. In 1844, Houston finally sent troops to stop the feud, which was eventually ended.