1. Sam Houston’s First Presidency
Unit 6 (Ch. 12 Section 1)

2. Houston Forms a Government
September 1836 Texans elected Sam Houston president and Mirabeau B. Lamar as vice president.
Texans approved the Constitution of 1836 and proposed that Texas join the United States.
Houston was chosen as the capital for three years.

3. President
Sam Houston
Vice President
Mirabeau Lamar

4. Trouble with the Army
Army commander Felix Huston wanted to invade Mexico.
President Houston intervened and sent most of the soldiers home on furlough (extended leave)

5. Texas Favor Annexation
Most Texans wanted immediate annexation to the United States
Many Texans had come from the U.S.
Texas heavily in debt from war
Mexico still a threat and Texans wanted U.S. protection.

6. The United States Delays Annexation
Annexation was delayed because the U.S. did not want to damage relations with Mexico.
Antislavery groups in the United States did not want Texas to join the Union as a slave state.

8. Recognition as a Nation
On March 3, 1837, U.S. President Andrew Jackson granted official recognition of Texas as a nation.
Houston appointed J. Pinckney Henderson Texas ambassador to foreign nations
Henderson arranged trade treaties with France and England.
J. Pinckney Henderson
Ambassador of the
Republic of Texas

9. Native American and Texan Conflicts
Comanches resented Anglo Americans settling in Central Texas
They led series of raids from 1836 to 1837
In 1836, Texas negotiators promised Cherokee titles to their land if they signed a treaty to remain peaceful during the Texas Revolution
Later, the Texas Senate refused to honor the treaty, and each day more settlers took Cherokee land.

11. Texas Debt Soars
The Texas Congress wants to collect owed debt and take care of unpaid bills from the Texas Revolution.
To raise money, they create:
Tariffs on imported goods
Taxes on property
Taxes on businesses
Fees on land title registration

12. Texas Debt Soars
The taxes were difficult to collect, and the government continued to spend more than it collected.
Interest payments also
cause debt to
continue to soar

13. The Release of Santa Anna
Santa Anna was released in Nov
He returned to Mexico aboard the Republic of Texas ship Invincible

14. Santa Anna’s Comment Upon Release
"My Friends: I have been a witness of your courage on the field of battle, and know you to be generous. Rely with confidence on my sincerity and you shall never have cause to regret the kindness shown me. In returning to my native land, I beg you to receive the sincere thanks of your grateful friend. Farewell! Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna." 

15. Santa Anna’s Return to Mexico
Upon return, he immediately renounced the promises he had made in Texas.
He refused to recognize Texas’s independence.
Tried in Mexican court for losing Texas
The court removes him from office and he goes into exile