1. Republic of Texas
Chapter 13; Lesson 3

2. President Sam Houston, pt. 2

3. Changing Directions
September 1841—Texans voted Sam Houston as President for a second time!
Houston’s first message to the Texas Congress I will undo the damage to Texas policies Lamar has done.
Houston’s plans:
Cutting costs of government
Making peace with the angry Native Americans
Pursuing annexation by the U.S.

4. Cutting Expenses
Working with Houston, Congress eliminated many government jobs & cut the salaries of those remaining.
Houston tried to sell the Republic’s Navy, but the angry citizens of Galveston blocked the sale!
Congress suspended payments on the public debt.
Even though all of these expenses were cut, the public debt continued to grow and almost reached $12 million by 1846.

5. Houston’s Peace Policy
Houston attempted to create peaceful and fair deals with the Native Americans.
Established trading posts to provide them with supplies;
Sent agents to try to convince them that Texans wanted peace;
Peace treaties and trade agreements were signed with many Native American groups.
October 1844—Houston met with leaders of the Comanche & 10 other groups in a grand council near Waco.
He explained that Lamar’s policies had ended:
“Six years ago I made peace with the Conamches; that peace was kept until a bad chief took my place. That chief made war on the Comanches and…on the Cherokees, and drove them from the country. Now this has to be mended, war can do us no good...I don’t want war.”

6. Grand Council

7. New Troubles with Mexico
President Houston hoped for peaceful relations with Mexico…
Many Texans still angry over the capture and imprisonment of the Sante Fe Expedition and called for war...and got it.

8. Invasions & The Archive War
March 1842—About 700 Mexican soldiers invaded Texas and captured San Antonio.
They soon withdrew to Mexico, but Houston ordered the governments “archives” be moved from Austin just in case the city was attacked as well
This made Austin citizens think Houston was planning to move the capital.
When the Texas Rangers arrived to move the archives, some residents fired on them
To avoid bloodshed, the Rangers did not fire back.
Result: the archives—and the capital— remained in Austin.
This event became known as The Archive War

9. San Antonio was Captured, again.
September 1842—Over Mexican troops seized San Antonio, again.
This time, Texas volunteers and a small band of Texas Rangers led by Jack Coffee Hays defeated the Mexican Army just east of San Antonio
This became known as the Battle of Salado Creek

10. The Mier Expedition
Angry Texans demanded Houston clear Mexican troops from North of the Rio Grande river
November 1842—Houston ordered General Alexander Somervell & over 700 volunteers into the region
General Somervell found no signs of the Mexican Army
December 1842—Somervell turned to go home
BUT about 300 of the troops refused to turn back our of anger with Mexico…and decided to invade Mexico.

11. The Mier Expedition
Led by Colonel William S. Fisher, they crossed the Rio Grande in late December and attacked the Mexican town of Mier.
The Texans expected an easy victory, but about 900 Mexican troops arrived to protect the town.
After two days of battle, the outnumbered Texans surrendered
The Mexicans began marching the Texan troops to Mexico City.
The Texans escaped, but 176 were re-captured about a week later
Santa Ana (now in power again) ordered every 10th Texan to be executed as punishment for the escape.
The prisoners had to draw beans from a jar.
Those who drew a black bean were shot.
Those who drew a white bean, went to prison in Mexico City.

12. The Regulator-Moderator War
Besides threats from Mexico, Houston also had to deal with trouble in East Texas.
Two groups of settlers (the Regulators and the Moderators) had been feuding since 1839
Both groups were originally formed to help keep law and order
By 1841, each group was mainly just protecting itself from the criminal acts of the other
Property was burned and there were numerous revenge killings
General state of unrest and lawlessness
August 1844—violence worsened & spread as armed bands of both groups attacked each other
Houston sent 600 soldiers to the region to bring about peace
Sure, the major fighting stopped…but smaller feuds related to these two groups continued for the rest of the century

13. Your Turn Answer the following using complete sentences:
Use the term archive in connection with Houston’s second term.
During Houston’s second term, how did he deal with the problems that had developed during Lamar’s presidency?
How were Houston’s Native American policies related to his efforts to cut the costs of government?
Why did the Mier Expedition take place?