Rising Tensions in Mexican Texas

1. Rising Tensions in Mexican Texas Causes of the Texas Revolution

2. 1821 Mexico gains independence from Spain.

3. 1821 In the 1820’s thousands of Anglo-American immigrants moved to Texas. They brought with them ideas and customs that were NOT like the Tejano way of life. A Tejano is a Texan who has MEXICAN ancestors. After 1821, moving to Texas meant you became a citizen of Mexico. The new Anglo-American immigrants in Texas had to follow Mexican laws.

4. 1823 Anglo settlement begins in Texas.

5. 1823 Anglo settlers wanted to live under a democracy, a form of government in which people rule by making decisions themselves or by choosing leaders to make decisions for them. Even though Mexico claimed to be a democracy, leaders of the Mexican government did not follow them. Anglo-Americans had promised Mexico that they would become Catholic if allowed to move to Mexico. Most, did not become Catholic. Many Anglos did not know Spanish. Because of this, Mexicans and Anglos had a hard time talking about their differences.

6. 1823 What were some of the problems between Anglo settlers and the Mexican government?

7. 1824 Coahuila y Tejas The new Mexican Constitution encourages settlement in Coahuila y Tejas.

8. 1826 The Fredonia Rebellion In 1826, Haden Edwards (pictured) and his brother Benjamin Edwards led a rebellion against Mexico. They tried to start their own country which they called “Fredonia.” The Mexican government put a stop to this rebellion, but it made Mexico begin to worry that other settlers might try to split from Mexico.

9. 1826 The Fredonian Rebellion ends quickly. The flag of the short-lived Fredonian Republic.

10. 1828 The Mexican government sent General Mier y Terán to learn more about Mexican lands north of the Rio Grande. Mier y Terán warns Mexico that Texan settlers could rebel. In a report, he stated that he feared that Anglo-Americans would soon take control of Texas.

11. Mier y Teran wrote this about American immigrants to Texas: “[A]mong these foreigners are fugitives from justice, honest laborers, vagabonds and criminals, but honorable and dishonorable alike travel with their political constitution in their pockets, demanding the privileges, authority, and officers which such a constitution guarantees.”

12. 1829 Mexico bans slavery. Texans protest.

13. The Law of April 6, 1830 President Bustamante’s Decree of April 6th, 1830, was passed to stop Americans from settling in Texas. It made Anglo settlers angry. They wanted their families in the United States to come to Texas. This law also did not let settlers bring any more slaves to Texas. It made the settlers pay taxes on any goods imported from the United States. 1830

14. 1831 In the summer of 1832, groups of colonists fought with Mexican soldiers in the towns of Anahuac and Velasco. During this time the government of Mexico was changing. An officer named Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna led a revolution against President Bustamante. Remains of Fort Anahuac

15. Santa Anna becomes president. 1833 Anglo colonists decided to write petitions to the new Mexican government. They asked Santa Anna to let immigrants settle in Texas once again. The settlers chose Stephen F. Austin to deliver their petitions to the leaders of the Mexican government. Austin hoped Santa Anna would work peacefully with the settlers.

16. The Conventions of 1832 and 1833 are held in Texas. 1832-1833 Letter to Mexican president asking for statehood.

17. After waiting for months for an answer to the petitions, Austin gave up hope. He wrote letters to the settlers in Texas and told them to start a new state government without Mexico’s permission. 1833 Near the end of 1833, Santa Anna finally answered the petitions. He agreed to most of the things the settlers wanted. However, the Mexican government discovered Austin’s letter, and he was arrested for working against the Mexican government. Stephen F. Austin

18. Stephen F. Austin is jailed for treason against Mexico. 1834 -1835

19. 1835 The Battle of Gonzales On October 2, 1835, fighting broke out at the town of Gonzales. The battle began when Mexican soldiers were sent to the town to take back a small cannon that belonged to Mexico. They had given it to the Texans years ago to fight Native Americans.

20. 1835 The Texans refused to return the cannon. Instead they hung a flag on the cannon with the words “Come and Take It.” When the Mexican soldiers tried to take it back, about 160 Texans stopped them. The Mexican soldiers returned to San Antonio without the cannon. The Battle of Gonzales became known as the first battle of the Texas Revolution.

21. PICTURE CREDITS Stephen F. Austin http://www.tspb.state.tx.us/SPB/Gallery/HisArt/15.htm Wagon http://docsouth.unc.edu/nc/king/king.html Nacogdoches courthouse http://www.co.nacogdoches.tx.us/ips/export/sites/nacogdoches/gallery/courthouse/courthouse1-c.jpg Stephen F. Austin http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/people/a_c/austin.htm View of Mexico City http://www.historicaldocuments.com/GadsdenPurchase1.jpg Santa Anna http://historicaltextarchive.com/sections.php?artid=159&op=viewarticle Members of the Consultation http://www.tamu.edu/ccbn/dewitt/consultations4.htm Law office of William B. Travis http://www.saludaschistorical.org/public_html/saludaschistorical/the_alamo/mary-s_alamo_story.html Turtle Bayou Resolutions http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/treasures/republic/turtle/turtle-1.html George Fisher http://www.tamu.edu/ccbn/dewitt/fishergeorge.htm View of Colonial Mexico http://www.esri.com/news/arcnews/fall04articles/fall04gifs/p19p1-lg.jpg Remains of Fort Anahuac http://www.texasalmanac.com/history/highlights/forts/anahuac/ William Wharton’s letter from the Convention of 1832 http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/exhibits/navy/wm_wharton_july4_1832_1.jpg