Ch.16, Sec.1- The Spanish West and Southwest

Life in Northern New Spain New Spain’s northern frontier was made up of California, New Mexico, and Texas, with Santa Fe being the capital. Spanish colonists in California were known as Californios.

Early Texas By the mid-1700s only a few thousand Spanish settlers called Tejanos were living in what is now Texas.

Mexico Gains Independence In September 1810 about 80,000 poor American Indians and mestizos in joined in revolt against Spanish rule. Father Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla led the rebellion. The rebels hoped that independence would improve their living conditions. In 1811, the Spanish defeated the rebels and killed the priest. Father Jose Maria Morelos y Pavon continued the revolution. Morelos fought until he was captured in 1815. Then in 1821, under Agustin de Iturbide, the rebels defeated the Spanish, winning independence for Mexico. Iturbide made himself emperor, but was forced by the army to step down 2 and a half years later. A new congress created the Constitution of 1824, which made Mexico a republic. The country included what is now Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, and Utah. It also contained parts of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Wyoming.

Sec.2- Texas Gains Independence

American Settlers in Texas The new Mexican republic wanted to attract more people to Texas. Mexico hired empresarios, or agents, to bring settlers to Texas. In exchange, they received land, as much as 67,000 acres for every 200 families. In 1821, Stephen F. Austin selected a colony site on the lower Colorado River and began carefully choosing settlers. These first 300 families became known as the Old Three Hundred. By 1834, more than 20,000 Americans had moved to Texas.

Trouble in Texas By 1821 Mexico had set requirements for all foreign immigrants. They had to become Mexican citizens, obey Mexican laws, and support the Roman Catholic Church. However, most U.S. settlers were not interested in adapting to Mexican culture or becoming Mexican citizens. These settlers often ignored Mexican laws. The Mexican government limited American immigration in 1830. Officials worked to keep settlers from bringing slaves, which concerned settlers who were slaveholders. Tariffs on goods from the U.S. were raised, and Mexico sent more soldiers to Texas. Stephen F. Austin tried to keep the peace, but in 1833 when he went to Mexico with a petition asking for more self-government, he was thrown in jail. General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna was also elected president of Mexico that same year. When Austin was released from jail after a year and a half, he called on Texans to rebel against Mexico.

The Texas Revolution Begins The Texas Revolution started in the town of Gonzales in October 1835, when the Mexican army tried to remove a cannon there. In a brief battle, Texans defeated the Mexican soldiers. In November 1835 a group of Texans formed a temporary government with the goals of defeating Santa Anna and restoring Mexico’s republican constitution. Texas volunteers soon captured the towns of Goliad and San Antonio. Led by William Travis and Jim Bowie, Texans occupied the Alamo. Santa Anna was determined to put down the rebellion and led an army of about 1,800 troops to San Antonio.

The Texas Revolution Begins cont. Other famous fighters at the Alamo were Davy Crockett and Juan Seguin. When Santa Anna arrived on February 23, 1836, Travis had only 189 troops. For 13 days the Mexican troops surrounded the Alamo. On March 6, 1836, the Mexican army attacked. Although the Mexicans suffered heavy losses, they soon overpowered the Texans. All the defenders of the Alamo were killed. Santa Anna spared the lives of a few people not involved in the fighting.

The Texas Revolution Begins cont. Following the victory at the Alamo, Mexican forces attacked the Texas troops near the town of Goliad. At the Battle of Goliad, the Texans were greatly outnumbered and Texas commander James Fannin chose to surrender. Santa Anna then ordered the execution of Fannin and almost all of his soldiers. This shocked some of the Mexican troops and angered many Texans. Francita Alavez, a nurse, hid several of Fannin’s men, leading to her being known as the Angel of Goliad.

Texas Becomes a Republic Four days before the Battle of the Alamo, Texas delegates had met to declare independence from Mexico. Within 2 weeks they had written a constitution. Both the Texas Declaration of Independence and Constitution were modeled on those of the U.S. A major difference though was they made slavery legal. David Burnet was elected temporary president and Lorenzo de Zavala as vice president.

Texas Becomes a Republic cont. Sam Houston became commander in chief of the new Texas army. His soldiers were outnumbered and untrained, but they made a stand at San Jacinto, near present day Houston. Santa Anna had become too confident in his victory and chose a campsite carelessly. On April 21, 1836, while the soldiers were resting, Houston’s forces attacked the camp shouting “Remember the Alamo, Remember Goliad!” This was known as the Battle of San Jacinto, and they defeated Santa Anna’s troops, destroying his army. Texans captured Santa Anna and forced him to sign a treaty giving Texas its independence. Santa Anna was then thrown out of power. Although the fighting was over, many Mexican officials did not accept that Texas was independent.

Sec.3- The Lone Star Republic

Texas Faces the World The independent nation of Texas was called the Republic of Texas. Its capital was Houston. Voters elected Sam Houston as president. Mirabeau Lamar was chosen as vice president. In 1837, the new government asked the U.S. to annex, or take control of, Texas. The majority of Texans hoped Texas would eventually become a U.S. state. Most Texas leaders also supported this. Members of the U.S. Congress wanted to annex Texas, but President Jackson was concerned because Texas supported slavery, and this would upset the balance between free states and slave states. Also, Jackson did not want to go to war with Mexico over Texas.

American Indians and Tejanos Sam Houston lived with the Cherokee in Tennessee which led him to support a peaceful relationship with American Indians. However, in 1838 when Mirabeau Lamar became president, he demanded that American Indians leave their homelands and follow Texas laws, or he would use military action. This led to fighting between the 2 forces. When Houston was elected to a second term as president in 1841, fighting slowed, but Texans had already forced most American Indians from their lands. Tejanos also were treated unfairly by the Texans.

New Immigrants To increase the republic’s population, Texas leaders decided to offer land grants to American and European settlers. The Texas population grew by about 100,000 from 1836-1847. Most of these immigrants were from the southern states in the U.S. Because slavery was legal in Texas, there were almost 70,000 slaves there by 1845. In 1840 the Texas Congress passed a law that banned free African Americans from immigrating to Texas. The law stated that free African Americans living in Texas would have to leave within 2 years or be sold into slavery. As a result of this by 1850 there were fewer than 400 free African Americans living in Texas.

Struggles of the Republic In 1835, the Texas Rangers were a frontier defense that later acted as law officers as well. In 1844, Texas and Mexico signed a peace treaty.

Sec.4- Oregon and the Far West

The Fur Traders Most of the first non-American Indians who traveled to the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Northwest were fur traders and trappers that were known as mountain men. One of the largest businesses that bought furs from trappers was the American Fur Company owned by John Jacob Astor.

Oregon Country In 1811 John Jacob Astor founded Astoria as a center for fur trade. It was one of the earliest American settlements in the region later called Oregon Country.

The Missionary Spirit Missionaries were among the first Americans to settle in Oregon Country. In 1836, missionaries Marcus and Narcissa Whitman went there to convert American Indians to Christianity. The Whitmans settled in Walla Walla, in present day Washington State. They founded a mission called Waiilatpu. Settlers stopping at Waiilaptu brought diseases that led to an epidemic that killed many Cayuse children. In anger a group of Cayuse killed the Whitmans and at least 10 others.

The Oregon Trail Many of the settlers moving to Oregon Country and other western areas followed the Oregon Trail, which stretched more than 2,000 miles across the northern Great Plains and the Rocky Mountains. Pioneers started their journey in Independence or St. Joseph, Missouri, or Council Bluffs, Iowa. After it crossed the Rockies, the trail split into two paths, one to Oregon Country and one to California. The trip lasted about 6 months. It took a family of 4 about $600 to make the trip.

Sec.5- California and the Southwest

Going to California In the 1830s and 1840s California was still under Mexican rule. The main route to California started with the Oregon Trail. At the Snake River in present day Idaho, the trail split. Settlers who wanted to go to California took the southern route known as the California Trail. The Donner Party was a group of western travelers with bad luck and poor judgment. The party began its journey in the spring of 1846 and got lost when trying to find a shortcut. When they reached the Sierra Nevada, they became trapped by heavy snows. A rescue party found them in February 1847. Out of 87 of them, 42 had died. In 1839, John Sutter started a colony called Sutter’s Fort, located near the Sacramento River and soon became a popular rest stop for many American immigrants.

Other Southwestern Trails The Mexican government allowed American merchants to come to New Mexico, which led to the Santa Fe Trail. The trail ran from Independence, Missouri to Santa Fe, New Mexico. They would trade cloth and other manufactured goods in exchange for horses, mules, and silver.