1. Independence for Texas By Connor Gustafson, Evan Chiaro, and Josie Nordrum

2. Why did Americans want to settle Texas? Americans wanted to settle in Texas because Texas was good for growing cotton and for raising cattle. Also Moses Austin wanted to start a colony for Americans in Texas.

3. What Problems did Americans and Mexicans Have in Texas? Americans brought slaves to Texas, but Mexican law did not allow slaves. Mexico made a new law saying that Americans could no longer come to live in Mexico, which made Americans angry. Texans did not like the Mexican laws. They did not like that Texans must speak Spanish. Another Mexican law said that settlers must be Catholic. So now Texans were angry too.

4. How did Texas become free from Mexico? Since the Texans were not following Mexican law, Mexican soldiers started fighting the Texan soldiers. The Texans used the Alamo as a fort. The Texans lost, but later they won the fight at the San Jacinto River. The Texans called their war against Mexico the Texas Revolution. Texas then became a republic.

5. People Texans were the people that lived in Texas. Stephen F. Austin was the person that started an American colony in Texas in 1821. Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna was the Mexican president. He led his army against the Texans and went to the Alamo. Suzanna Dickinson was a wife brought to the Alamo. Santa Anna told her to tell the Texans to stop fighting. Lorenzo de Zavala was a person who signed the Texas Declaration of Independence, and he later helped write a new constitution for Texas.

6. People (Continued) Sam Houston became the general of the Texas army. He led the Texans against Santa Anna’s army and 18 minutes later Santa Anna surrendered to Sam Houston.

7. Places The Alamo was a place in Texas used as a fort in the Battle of the Alamo. The Republic of Texas was an independent country that had its own president and was located between the United States and Mexico.

8. Words A fort is an army post. A republic is an independent country. The Texas Revolution is what the Texans called their war against Mexico.

9. Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOo0FxktiPA