Claiming
Texas

When Mexico overthrew Spanish control in 1821, the newly formed Mexican government encouraged more U.S. residents to move into Texas, hoping to expand settlement on its northern frontier. Some families, like the one led by Moses Austin, acquired huge tracts of land and then resold land titles to other American families. These settlers were mostly interested in the rich farmland they found, and they brought their slaves with them to cultivate cotton and other plantation-style crops (Document 10.6). Throughout the 1830s, conflicts erupted between these recent settlers and the Mexican government over control of the region. By 1836 open rebellion broke out in east Texas, and in March of that year U.S.-born Texans declared their region an independent republic (Document 10.7). But after declaring independence, rebels at the Alamo in San Antonio were overrun by Mexican forces, who killed all 250 men stationed there. Stories of the heroic efforts of Americans at the Alamo reached the eastern United States, including letters such as the one from Colonel William Travis (Document 10.8), who pleaded for reinforcements in a desperate attempt to hold the fort. Although reinforcements arrived too late to save the Alamo, hundreds of volunteers flocked to Texas from the United States. They helped General Sam Houston win a decisive victory against Mexican forces just a month later at the Battle of San Jacinto. Still the Mexican government refused to recognize Texas as an independent republic, and the U.S. government refused to annex Texas, fearing it would lead to war with Mexico.

As an independent republic, Texas had to resolve both the issue of slavery and relations with Indians. Leaders drafted a constitution in 1836 that legalized slavery, and many new settlers supported the provision. In response, abolitionists in the United States opposed statehood for Texas. Documents 10.9 and 10.10 demonstrate opposing sides of this debate, one that continued even after Texas was admitted as a state in 1845. At the same time, Texas sought to ensure its stability by sometimes seeking peace with and at other times making war on the numerous Indian tribes on its borders. Likewise, Comanche, Caddo, Shawnee, and other Indian nations alternately traded with and raided the Texas settlements. After years of broken treaties, hostage taking, and warfare, Texas officials and Indian chiefs finalized a treaty in October 1844 to ensure peace and improve trade in the region (Document 10.11).