The Build Up to

1. The Build Up to The Texas Revolution

2. Stephen Austin I. Stephen Austin: the Founder of Texas A. Stephen Austin travels to Mexico City to persuade the Mexican government to let him start an American Colony in Tejas. B. The Mexican government agrees to let Austin start his settlement under a few conditions 1. Settlers had to become Mexican citizens 2. Settlers had to become members of the Roman Catholic Church. 3. Settlers had to learn Spanish.

3. Allure of Texas II. Persuading the people to come A. Stephen Austin had to persuade people to move to his new colony. B. Why people chose to move to Texas. 1. Attractive forest in the east 2. Rich soil for growing corn and cotton 3. Great grassy plains for grazing animals like cows 4. Each family would get 150 to 300 acres of land C. Originally 300ish families move to Texas D. By 1830 Americans outnumber Mexicans living in Texas

4. The Texas Revolution • Read the following about the Texas Revolution and think about the questions. • In the 1820s, Stephen Austin won the Mexican government's approval to bring American families into the sparsely settled region of Tejas (Texas). Enormous land grants would be awarded to the settlers if Austin could get 300 families to move into the area and assure Mexican officials that the families moving in would: Be loyal to the Mexican government, learn to speak Spanish and, convert to Roman Catholicism

5. Only the earliest Texans paid much attention to these requirements and the vast distance from the Mexican central government left the settlers free to follow their own rules and regulation. This area's great attraction was the fertile soil ideal for growing cotton. By the early 1830s, transplanted Americans, many of them slave owners, outnumbered the Tejanos. The Mexican government soon understood that it had committed a great error by encouraging the migration of U.S. citizens into Mexican territory.

6. At first, the settlers were content to live under Mexican rule, but several events helped to persuade the Texan people toward gaining independence: • In 1831, Mexico abolished slavery, following the lead of most western nations. This loss of unpaid labor, if actually enforced in Tejas, would have been a severe blow to the region's emerging cotton economy. It also reminded many transplanted citizens of the tolerant official view of slavery held by the United States.

7. As a further means to loosen the ties between the U.S. and Tejas, Mexico enacted heavy taxes on imported goods especially from the United States. • In 1833, General Antonio López de Santa Anna came to power in Mexico, pledging to consolidate power and strengthen national unity. The increase in Mexican nationalism was viewed with alarm in the north, where the Texans preferred to continue their near autonomy. Question How did slavery play a role in the Texas Revolution?

8. Unrest became rebellion on October 2, 1835 when Mexican forces tried to take possession of the town cannon in Gonzales, east of San Antonio. The locals prevailed in this incident. • In December 1835, a group of disgruntled settlers took control of the Alamo, an old mission in San Antonio. Santa Anna moved his army of several thousand men into the area and decided to make an example of the rebels. Only a few dozen fellow settlers arrived from other areas in Texas to reinforce their compatriots in the Alamo.

9. The defenders, hoping to be rescued by Samuel Houston’s forces, refused to surrender. The siege of the Alamo lasted two weeks and ended in hand-to-hand fighting on March 6, 1836. More than 180 defenders lost their lives, including such notables as William Travis, James Bowie, and Davy Crockett. Losses among the Mexican forces were estimated at 600. On Santa Anna’s orders, all prisoners were executed; the only survivors were a woman, her infant child, and a slave, who were directed to take word of the Mexican victory to other Texan rebels. Question: How did the events at the Alamo help encourage Texans to Fight for Independence?

10. Later in March, a second momentous event occurred. Santa Anna's army managed to force the surrender of 342 Texans near Goliad. After some initial wavering, Santa Anna ordered the execution of all of the unarmed prisoners. • The two massacres, the Alamo and Goliad, served to bring bickering Texans together in opposition against Santa Anna. On April 21, 1836, the Mexicans were surprised by an inferior Texan force and completely routed in the Battle of San Jacinto.

11. Many Mexican prisoners were executed in retaliation for the previous Mexican acts. Santa Anna was captured, but released when he agreed to give the people of Texas their independence and established the border between Texas and Mexico at the Rio Grande. Santa Anna quickly went back on his word in the months following his surrender at San Jacinto. Question: What was the importance of the Battle of San Jacinto?