1. The Convention of 1836 1

2. Texas Declares Independence
While the Texans fought at the Alamo…
Constitutional Convention of 1836
Texas delegates met a Washington-on-the-Brazos on Mar. 1, 1836
They voted on declaring independence & their declaration was based off the U.S. declaration of independence
Mar. 2, 1836 Declaration of Independence
Vocab
Delegate: a person who represents
Began Mar. 1, 1836 just days before the Alamo’s fall
Delegates included: Sam Houston, Lorenzo de Zavala, George Childress

3. Lorenzo de Zavala Had served in the Mexican Congress
Helps write the TX Declaration of Independence & design the ad interim gov’t at Washington-on-the-Brazos
Elected Vice President of the new republic

4. George Childress
Part of the committee in charge of writing the TX Declaration of Independence
Primary author of the TX Declaration of Independence
After approving the declaration, the convention turned its attention to writing a constitution for the new republic
Vocab
Republic: a gov’t in which citizens rule through elected representative

5. A few days later, the delegates learned of the siege of the Alamo and wanted to leave to go to the aid of the Alamo defenders.
Sam Houston convinced the
delegates to stay because
Texas needed a constitution
to form a legitimate
government.

6. The Constitution of 1836
Modeled after the U.S. constitution & contained a Bill of Rights
Created a government with three branches
Executive Branch
Legislative Branch
Judicial Branch
The constitution established a republic government in which the representatives and leaders are elected by the people.
Delegates elect Sam Houston as the commander of the army
They didn’t have a lot of time to write the Declaration of Independence or Constitution, so they decided to use other documents as their models

7. But the constitution also legalized slavery, and required free blacks to petition Congress for permission to stay in Texas.
It also required all males 17 to 50 to serve in the Texas army
Delegates offered land grants of 1,280 acres to those who volunteered for the arm & remained in service until the war ended
Among those who had to make a petition was Samuel McCulloch Jr., the first Texan to shed blood in the Revolution.

8. The Constitution of 1836
Since Texas was at war and could not hold elections
Wrote a constitution to form an ad interim gov’t (temporary) for the Republic of TX
Ad interim: a Latin term meaning “for the time between”
A few days later delegates met to put together a constitution.
Delegates elect Sam Houston as the commander of the army
B/c of Santa Anna’s progress toward S.A., the delegates knew they needed to act quickly

9. President
Vice-President
David G. Burnet
Lorenzo de Zavala

10. Why didn’t Sam Houston save the Alamo?
Houston was on his way to Washington-on-the-Brazos when he found out about the siege of the Alamo.
The convention received frequent reports from the Alamo
Many wanted to leave to help, Houston insisted that Texas declare independence
Arrives at Gonzales on March 11th , too late to save the Alamo.
Houston left Mar. 6 to take command of the army of Gonzales, arriving there on Mar. 11.
By that time the Alamo had already fallen
Houston began to prepare to meet Santa Anna & his army
They took office Mar. 17, Convention hears that the Alamo has fallen
Later that day they fled after hearing that the Mexican army was near.
The gov’t set up again at Harrisburg, but was forced to flee again
Constantly on the move, the ad interim gov’t had to leave the future of the Republic in the Hands of Sam Houston and the army.

11. Runaway Scrape Sam Houston left the convention
In Gonzales , he heard rumors of
the fall of the Alamo and sent
scouts lead by “Deaf” Smith to
find out what happened.
Deaf Smith
Sam Houston left the convention
and headed for San Antonio.
The scouts found the Alamo survivors and brought
them back to Gonzales where they told the story
of the Alamo.

12. Word came that Santa Anna was approaching Gonzales, so Houston ordered the town burned and took his army east.
As the Texas army moved east, citizens also left their homes to escape Santa Anna.
Sam Houston used the retreat to gain time to train his army, as well as to tire out the larger Mexican force
chasing them.