1. First President of Texas

2. Sam Houston Leader of the Texas Army during the Texas Revolution Elected as first President of Texas and Mirabeau B. Lamar as his Vice President.

3. Problems Houston Faced The Mexican government refused to recognize Texas’ Independence Needed recognition of their independence from other nations Financial Problems $1 million in debt; issued promissory notes No money to repay the debts they owed Native Americans Were peaceful during the revolution Now threaten war on the Texans

4. Houston’s Policies Very cautious because of so many problems Did not want another war with Mexico or to begin one with the Native Americans Limited government spending so they did not fall deeper into debt Believed in Annexation Joining the United States The U.S. could solve all of Texas’ problems

5. Houston’s Cabinet All were well known people of Texas Secretary of State Stephen F. Austin Secretary of the Treasury Henry Smith Secretary of War Thomas J. Rusk (same position he held under Governor Smith during the ad interim gov’t) All these men supplied stability within the new gov’t

6. Death of Stephen F. Austin December 27, 1836, Stephen F. Austin passed away In his memory, a 30-day mourning period was proclaimed.

7. A New Capitol Columbia was the capitol city during the ad interim government The government officials believed the town to be too small to function as a government headquarters. The Augustus Brothers built a new capitol, Houston. Houston, TX Government buildings were log cabins and the streets were muddy. Complained about heat, humidity, diseases, and mosquitoes. Houston remained the capitol throughout Sam Houston’s 1 st term

8. 1 st Attempt at Annexation Since most Texans had immigrated from the U.S. annexation seemed logical. The addition of Texas to the Union would allow for Western Expansion. A bill was introduced to accept Texas as a state John Q. Adams blocked the passage of the bill Slavery would be allowed in Texas if it was annexed Did not want slavery to spread anywhere else The debate dragged on until Houston withdrew his support

9. Trouble in the Army Felix Huston, commander of the Texas army Wanted to go back to war with Mexico Prevention of war Houston tried to replace Huston with Albert Sidney Johnston When Johnston tried to take command of the Army, Huston challenged him to a duel. Johnston was injured and was Huston still in command Houston sent 600 soldiers home so Huston would not start another war!

10. Native Texan Policy Native’s resent the large numbers of Anglo’s moving onto their land. The TX Congress refused to accept a treaty that Houston and the Native’s had signed during the Revolution. In return for keeping peace during the Revolution the Cherokees promised some of their land in East Texas Rich farmland Fought back with raids. Houston asked the Texas Rangers for help…attacks continued.

11. Election of 1838 Texas Constitution limited the first president to a 2 yr. term Later presidents will serve for 3 yrs. No president could be elected 2 times in a row 1838 Mirabeau B. Lamar becomes the 2 nd president of the Republic of Texas

12. Lamar’s Plan for the Republic of Texas Lamar’s plan: 1. Clear Texas of all Native Americans 2. Spend large sums of borrowed money on military expeditions. 3. Wanted Texas to remain independent and expand its territory.

13. Clashes with Native Texans Lamar wanted to kill or force Native Americans out of Texas. The Cherokees became his first targeted group. 1839 – Lamar ordered Chief Bowles to lead the Cherokees out of Texas. Chief Bowles refused to leave. Lamar sent General Douglass to drive them out! Douglass’ militia attacked the Cherokees near the Neches River on July 16, 1839. Chief Bowles was killed and the Cherokees were forced to move to Oklahoma.

14. Clashes with Native Texans Lamar’s next target were the Comanche's in Southwest Texas. Comanche’s agreed to a meeting in San Antonio to discuss peace. Comanche's promised to surrender all Anglo captives. Only delivered one girl, Matilda Lockhart, who looked as though she might have been tortured. Texans were furious! The Texans demand that they release all captive's. The Comanche’s protested stating that those captive’s were being held by leaders who were not present at the meeting.

15. Clash with the Native Texans When the Comanche's leaders tried to leave, the Texans attacked. This conflict became known as the Council House Fight. Led to the deaths of 7 Texans and many Comanche leaders, who were outnumbered and unarmed. When news reached the other Comanche tribes, they were furious! In response the Comanche’s killed the remaining Anglo captives and raided the towns of Linnville and Victoria in South Texas.

16. Battle of Plum Creek August 11, 1840, the Comanche's and the Texans fought in what became the Battle of Plum Creek. More than 100 Comanche's were killed. Bad feelings between the Comanche's and Texans continued for decades, but the raids had ceased.

17. Relations with Mexico Lamar’s attempts at improving relations between Texas and Mexico were ineffective. Lamar’s vision of a larger Texas also created conflicts with the present-day state of New Mexico. The Treaties of Velasco placed the border between Texas and Mexico at the Rio Grande, as far north as the present-day state of Colorado.

19. Santa Fe Expedition The Rio Grande as the boundary would include the city of Santa Fe and the Pueblo colonies as part of Texas. The U.S. Congress refused to allow troops to be sent to New Mexico. Lamar ignored the refusal and sent General McLeod and 270 men to Santa Fe to convince the people that they were Texans.

20. Santa Fe Expedition Once the troops arrived, the people refused to become part of Texas. Without supplies to get back home, the Texas troops surrendered to New Mexican authorities and were marched back to Texas. Effects of the Santa Fe Expedition: 1. wasted money Texas did not have 2. increased tensions between TX and Mexico 3. resulted in a loss of life

21. A New Capitol for Texas In 1839, TX congress authorized the capitol to be moved to a location along the Colorado River. This new city was named Austin, in honor of Stephen F. Austin.

22. Education Lamar is best known for his contributions to education in the Republic of Texas. He wanted to create a public school system in Texas. He believed a strong educational system would make Texas a great nation. Texas Congress set aside 18,000 acres of land to build public schools. Also set aside 220,000 acres for 2 universities. Because of these actions, Lamar became known as the “Father of Education in Texas.”

23. Financial Difficulties The financial situation worsened during Lamar’s term as President of Texas. The use of bills known as “redbacks” (due to the color of ink used on the back). The redbacks went down in value and became worth almost nothing. As a result of Lamar’s spending, Texas increased the public debt to almost $7 million.

24. Sam Houston Returns Sam Houston returned to the Texas Presidency in 1841. Houston still wanted to be annexed to the United States and spend very little money.

25. Mier Expedition 1842-1844 – the most disastrous of all border confrontations between TX and Mexico. About 300 Texans, under the command of William Fisher, moved into and occupied the city of Mier, Mexico. The troops left the city when the alcalde (mayor) promised to deliver supplies to the Texas troops. The supplies were never delivered so on Christmas Day, the Texas troops again entered Mier by force.

26. Mier Expedition Heavy fighting ensued. Texas suffered 31 killed and wounded Mexicans suffered 600 killed and 200 wounded Texans eventually surrendered due to lack of supplies. Texas prisoners were at first sentenced to executed but the sentence was later reversed. 176 prisoners were sentenced to death after an attempt at escape.

27. The Black Bean Episode 176 Texas prisoners were sentenced to death by Santa Anna. However, Santa Anna eventually changed the sentence to 1 in every 10 men would be executed. Who was executed depended on what color bean they pulled from the jar. Each prisoner was blind folded and forced to choose a bean out of the jar. 17 prisoners that drew a black bean were blind folded and executed.

28. Houston Attempts Annexation…Again! New US president, John Tyler, wanted to allow Texas annexation. Vote went to the Senate and the ballot fell short by 1 vote. Texas annexation became a key component to future US presidential campaigns.

29. Election of 1844 Dr. Anson Jones was elected as the 4 th President of the Republic of Texas. James K. Polk won the US Presidency. This was great news for Texas and annexation!

30. Texas Becomes a State February 26, 1845, Texas officially became the 28 th state of the United States. Congress approved annexation with a joint resolution.