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Home , Anson Jones, Battle of Plum Creek, Edward Burleson, James Collinsworth, Republic of Texas, Sam Houston

A NEW NATION

The of Victory of SAN JACINTO

➔ After the , Santa Anna had hidden but then found a day later by the Texans and took him as a prisoner. ➔ refused to let the soldiers kill the defeated Mexican general. ➔ In exchange for his life, Santa Anna agreed to order the Mexican troops to leave Texas ➔ The Texans then brought Santa Anna to Velasco (the temporary capital of TX) and took him to ad interim President, David G. Burnet. ➔ On May 14, 1836, they both signed two . One was public, the other was a secret. Treaties of Velasco

The treaty that was made public...

1. The war between & TX was officially over, making TX independent. 2. Santa Anna would not try to fight against TX 3. All Mexican forces would clear out beyond the 4. Prisoners would be returned to their homes 5. Mexicans would return all captured property 6. TX Leaders would promptly return Santa Anna to Mexico Treaties of Velasco (cont.)

The treaty that was made secret…

1. In exchange for Santa Anna’s immediate release, He would try to persuade Mexican leaders to recognize Texas Independence. 2. Santa Anna would promote the Rio Grande as Mexico’s border with TX. Refusal to honor the Treaty’s Terms

By the Texans…

➔ Texas army refused to return Santa Anna to Mexico, instead keeping him prisoner at Velasco.

By the Mexican government…

➔ Santa Anna, as a prisoner of war, was no longer the President & had no authority to sign a treaty.

As a result of both sides refusal…

➔ Texas won their freedom but Mexico refused to acknowledge that fact. The Election of 1836

➔ With the Constitution of 1836, Texas had to form a new government by voting in their officials. ➔ Stephen F Austin, , & Henry Smith ran for the Presidency of Texas. ➔ Houston was the most popular of the 3 for leading Texas to victory at the battle of San Jacinto. ➔ Houston won President, and Mirabeau B. Lamar became the Vice President on October 22, 1836. ➔ 30 Representatives & 14 Senators were also elected for the new congress. ➔ Texans also officially voted to keep the Constitution of 1836 & expressed a desire to pursue U.S. annexation (to formally join one political region to another) Sam Houston’s First Term

➔ Some of Houston’s goals as President were.. ◆ The need for peace with American Indians ◆ The need to stay alert & guard TX against an attack from Mexico ◆ He supported an annexation of TX to the U.S. ◆ Reduction of debt from revolution. ➔ Houston created a cabinet, which were trusted advisers and veterans of the Revolution. ➔ Houston also created a court system. ◆ A Supreme Court (led by ) ● 4 District Courts ○ 23 County Courts & Justice Courts Isues Facing the Republic

➔ The Republic of TX did not have clear boundaries ➔ No permanent capital (until 1837, when the town of Houston was named the new capital) ➔ U.S. was uninterested in annexing TX. ➔ Military was undisciplined ➔ The republic was in debt. (Too much spending, not enough income) Some Resolutions...

➔ For Undisciplined Army: ◆ Houston replaced the commander of the army who wanted to keep attacking Mexico & placed all but 600 troops on leave & never recalled them ➔ For Defense and protection along borders: ◆ Houston formed the Texas Rangers on November 24, 1835 to maintain the peace along the frontier, and they had to be ready at all times. He also formed the Texas in 1836 ➔ For Debt: ◆ The Republic’s land policies hoped to bring money in by taxing it, encouragement of immigration was obtained by establishing a new colonization policy in the similar to the Mexican system. Houston’s American Indian Policy

➔ Some of the land distributed under the Republic’s land policy, was already inhabited by American Indians which led to conflict ➔ Texans demanded for Indians to be removed by force if needed but Houston opposed that action ➔ Houston had negotiated a treaty with the that guaranteed them land in East TX but the senate refused to ratify it. ➔ In an attempt to maintain peace, Houston urged Indians to be patient ➔ Texans were angered at Houston’s actions because they wanted the Indian’s lands to themselves. President Mirabeau B. Lamar

➔ In September 1838, Texans elected new leaders since the constitution stated the President could not serve consecutive terms ➔ Texans elected Mirabeau B, Lamar as President and David G. Burnet as V.P., both disagreed with Houston’s policies ➔ Lamar stressed the need for a public education system & passed education acts in 1839 & 1840 which set aside land for the establishment of public schools and universities. ➔ Lamar established Austin as the new capital to strengthen the Republic’s control of the Region & perhaps to allow the republic to expand westward Issues faced by the Lamar Administration

➔ Public debt increased because of Government spending for the military, and currency began to fall more ◆ Action: Government tried fixing this by issuing paper money called Redbacks ● Result: worthless within 3 years because of rising national debt ➔ Land Policy ◆ Action: Passed Homestead Law ● Result: Protected Texans’ homes & up to 50 acres from seizure for debts (Land couldn't be confiscated to sell & help pay for debt) ➔ Conflict between Texans & American Indians ◆ Action: Declared war on American Indians ● Result: Removed Cherokees from East TX, pushed North & West, increased debt Conflict between Texans & American Indians

➔ At the Battle of the Neches, there was more than 100 Cherokees dead ➔ When the Texans saw there were only a few captives, the Council House Fight broke out ➔ Other Comanches heard about this massacre and killed their captives & raided Linnville and Victoria ➔ Texans then called for revenge & the broke out killing more than 130 Comanches ➔ This destroyed any chance of peace. Results of Lamar’s Policies

➔ Despite their victory, Texans still feared the Comanches & continued to kill and push them out of Texas. ➔ After Lamar’s term was over, he achieved his goal of removing most American Indians ➔ More land & safer frontier pleased many ➔ American Indians lost much of their land & suffered many casualties ➔ Some Texans were concerned about the increase fighting & the expense ➔ Debt rose from $3.3 million, to $8 million ➔ Texans were ready for change once again Houston’s Return to Office

➔ In 1841, when Texans returned to the polls, they elected Houston over Burnet as President because they were unhappy with Lamar’s Indian policy, worthless redbacks, & rising debt. Burleson was elected V.P. ➔ Houston struggled to reduce the growing national debt ➔ He hoped to achieve a balanced budget, where spending would not exceed revenue. Houston’s Plans to fix the debt

➔ Houston cut… ◆ Government jobs ◆ Salaries ◆ Size of Texas Army ◆ Size of Texas Rangers ➔ He also persuaded Congress to sell the navy but the sale was never carried out ➔ New paper money notes was issued & he restricted how much was issued to maintain its value but eventually fell The Return of the Peaceful American Indian Policy

➔ Established more frontier trading posts to encourage trade with Texas Indians to promote friendship with them ➔ In March 1843, nine Indian groups met with Texas Officials to agree to stop fighting ➔ They planned a larger peace council to be held in September in Fort Bird on the & there they signed a treaty to end fighting ➔ The Comanches were still angered by the massacre at the Council House & did not meet ➔ On October 1844, they finally established peace and trade with them under the Treaty of Tehuacana Creek. Election of 1844

➔ In December 1844, Houston wanted the next President to continue his policies. ➔ & were elected as candidates. ◆ Anson Jones shared similar views on most issues while Burleson didn’t. ◆ Houston sided with Jones while Lamar sided with Burleson. ➔ Jones easily won the election because Texans were still mad at Lamar for making the Republic’s problems bigger ➔ Jones continued Houston’s policy of limited government spending ➔ Continued to work for peace with Texas Indians President Anson Jones

➔ Jones was also working toward getting Mexican recognition of their independence otherwise it would result in bigger conflict with Mexico since majority of Texans wanted annexation with U.S. ➔ After the rejection of the annexation treaty, The U.S. passed a joint resolution for their intent of annexation ➔ Jones held the Convention of 1845 to discuss the U.S. offer which was quickly approved ➔ On December 29, 1845 U.S. President Polk signed the Texas Admission Act making it the 28th state.