The Lone Star Republic: Houston Regains Presidency
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The Lone Star Republic : Houston Regains Presidency ________________________ A Policy of Economy ________________________ Sam Houston defeated David G. Burnet for the presidency. ________________________ Houston disliked Lamar’s policies and wanted to undo the damage. The ________________________ major issues during Houston’s second term were: ________________________ –The budget ________________________ –Threat of invasion from Mexico ________________________ –Annexation by the United States ________________________ Houston eliminated dozens of government positions and cut the size of the ________________________ navy. He tried to sell the navy ships, but angry citizens prevented the sale. ________________________ Despite these attempts to cut costs, the debt of the republic increased, largely ________________________ due because of the high interest that had to be paid. ________________________ ________________________ A Temporary Peace ________________________ Houston also tried to renew peaceful and fair dealings with Native ________________________ Americans. ________________________ In a letter, Houston wrote: “Neither the Indians nor the whites shall pass into ________________________ the territory of the other without lawful permission… should a white man kill ________________________ an Indian or commit any crime upon an Indian on his property… he shall be ________________________ punished by laws of the republic.” ________________________ Treaties signed with various Native American groups ensured a period of ________________________ calm for several years. ________________________ ________________________ Invasion Triggers the Archives War ________________________ In March 1842 a Mexican army of about 500 soldiers, commanded by ________________________ General Rafael Vasquez, invaded Texas and occupied San Antonio, Goliad, ________________________ and Refugio. ________________________ Although Vasquez with drew after several days, many Texans panicked. ________________________ President Houston declared a public emergency and tried to save the ________________________ government archives, or official documents, by moving them from Austin to ________________________ Houston. ________________________ Many Austin residents suspected that Houston intended to move the capital ________________________ from Austin permanently. ________________________ When government officials tried to move the archives, some Austin ________________________ residents, led by Angelina Eberly, fired on them. ________________________ This skirmish, called the Archives War, ended with the archives- and the ________________________ capital – remaining in Austin. ________________________ ________________________ Woll Invades Texas ________________________ In September 1842, Mexican forces of about 1,400 invaded Texas again and ________________________ occupied San Antonio. They were led by General Adrian Woll. ________________________ After some heavy fighting, Woll’s army was driven out of Texas. ________________________ The Mexican army trapped Captain Nicholas Dawson. Dawson and about 35 ________________________ volunteers were killed. ________________________ ________________________ ________________________ ________________________ ________________________ ________________________ ________________________ The Mier Expedition ________________________ The Woll invasion angered Texans and the citizens demanded that President ________________________ Houston take action. ________________________ In November 1842, Houston ordered General Alexander Somervell and a ________________________ militia of 750 to patrol the area from San Antonio to Laredo. ________________________ When Somervell's forces reached Laredo, they found no signs of the ________________________ Mexican army, so Somervell ordered his soldiers back to Gonzales. ________________________ About 300 soldiers did not agree with this decision and instead marched, ________________________ under Colonel William S. Fisher, to the Rio Grande and attacked a Mexican ________________________ town of Mier. ________________________ The Texans expected an easy victory, but surrendered after 2 days of ________________________ fighting. ________________________ ________________________ The Drawing of the Black Beans ________________________ The Mexican army began to march their captives to Mexico City, but the ________________________ Texans overpowered the guards and escaped. The Texans lost their way in the ________________________ mountains and some died of starvation and exposure. ________________________ Mexican troops recaptured the survivors about a week later. ________________________ Santa Anna ordered every tenth Texan executed as punishment for their ________________________ escape attempt. ________________________ To determine which men would be executed, the prisoners were ordered to ________________________ draw beans from a jar. ________________________ Those who drew black beans were shot; those who drew white beans were ________________________ marched to prison in Mexico City. ________________________ ________________________ Feuds Lead to Unrest in East Texas ________________________ Houston also had to deal with trouble that developed in East Texas from ________________________ 1839 to 1844 near the old Neutral Ground Territory. ________________________ The feud between the settlers- the Regulators and the Moderators – had been ________________________ fighting for several years. ________________________ Each group had formed to keep law and order because there were few local ________________________ officials available to do so. ________________________ As a result of the conflict, property was burned and several people were ________________________ murdered. ________________________ Local law enforcement tried but could not stop the feud. ________________________ In August 1844, the situation worsened and spread to surrounding counties in ________________________ Texas and Louisiana. ________________________ Houston sent 600 soldiers into the area to bring about peace. Houston himself traveled there and reminded the settlers that they were all Texans and should not fight each other. He persuaded both sides to end the Regulator – Moderator War. Summary: ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ .