Born in San Antonio, Juan Seguin was exposed to politics at an early age. His father, Juan Jose Maria Erasmo Seguin, helped create the Mexican Constitution after Mexico won its independence with Spain in 1821. Stephen Austin saw this as an opportunity to ask the Mexican officials if they would allow settlements from English-speaking families, and with the help of Juan Seguin’s father and Juan Seguin, he was able to get that approval. Once Seguin was old enough, he became involved with local politics ranging from alderman to the mayor of San Antonio in 1833. However, by…
Territory of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California, Nevada, Utah were all apart of Mexico’s northern frontier. Mexico opted for a free trade policy away from Spain, and a desire to trade with the US. This stimulated commercial prosperity but encouraged expansionist to move in. A trade route was formed from Missouri to santa fe new Mexico, William Becknell encountered a company of Mexican soldiers, and was escorted to santa fe to do business. Troubles in Texas prompted Mexican authorities to curtail the Santa fee trade. Texas becomes a target for American adventures (illegal settlers). With Mexico struggling to attract migration to Texas they feared it would soon be lost to the U.S. Moses Austin, applied for a land grant on which to settle 300 law abiding families. Risking in inviting the US but the Spanish took the chance. Stephen Austin followed his dad. And American squatters continued to cross, with this increase the Mexico anglo Mexican relations grew tense. As Texans grew increasingly…
The New Western Territories after the Mexican War (1846-1848) American President James K. Polk intended to invade and hold the territories he wanted, so he sent General Stephen Kearny west from Fort Leavenworth with 1,700 men to invade and hold New Mexico and California. Kearny captured Santa Fe and then divided his forces, sending a large contingent south under Alexander Doniphan. Doniphan would eventually take the city of Chihuahua. Meanwhile, the war had already begun in California.…
Texas land was opened-up to Anglo Americans when the State Colonization Law of March 24, 1825 was passed in an effort to people the land that is now known as Texas. While the Mexican government sought to encourage its own people to migrate north into Texas, it also allowed the immigration of Anglo Americans into Texas. This 1825 legislation was also strategically passed to promote the farming and ranching and…
After the United States settled Oregon, they wanted to obtain in more territories. The United States started to make their claim on Texas as part of the Louisiana Purchase, but there were mostly Spanish settlers. Thus, they had to drop the claim on the state because the Spanish settlers forced them to. After this, more American settlers came to Texas, but it upset Mexico. Mexico issued an official order that stopped all immigration from the United States and they also placed a tax on American trade goods.…
The Mexican government wanted to stop new people coming to Texas so that way it would be easier to control. This is were the idea of the Bustamante Decree began to surface from Mexican authorities. They did not want to lose control of Texas so that’s why they started the laws, the 11 th article states to restrict who comes into Texas and not to let immigrants joining Texas. So this would cause families to fall apart if the rest of their family can’t come in to Texas to live with them. As well as not letting new people in , it would make Texas slow at advancing and growing to become a better state. That is what Stephen f Austin believed and I absolutely agree with his argument towards The Decree.…
No ports, shallow water, hostile natives. No wonder the Spanish nearly failed to settle Texas. In 1682, the Spanish first arrived in Texas, hoping to successfully colonize it. They built their first mission, and continued to settle and colonize Texas. The main reasons Texas almost failed as a Spanish colony is because of rough geography, unstable population, very poor government and uncontrollable hostile natives.…
Mexico did not like the idea of Anglos overpopulating Texas, so they attempted to pass strict laws controlling slavery to discourage people from immigrating. People still emigrated from the US and brought slaves with them.…
Around the 1840s, the US aspired to annex Texas and incorporate it as a state within the Union. However, gaining Texas had its consequences as it lead a war with Mexico. William Ellery Channing, an abolitionist and pacifist, saw that the policy regarding obtaining Texas would led the “nation into war” as it severed as “encroachment,” and a way “to propagate the curse of slavery.” (Doc 2) The annexation of Texas was seen invading Texas’ link to Mexico as in document one, the American Review stated the annexation “shall dissolve the slight bounds that now link the province to Mexico” (Doc 1) This served as a situation for Mexico, who had refused to recognize Texas’ independence and its takeover by the United States, although President James Polk, a strong supporter of the annexation of Texas as seen in his Inaugural Address- where he stated “none can fail to see the danger to our safety and future peace if Texas remains an independent states,” attempted to aid Mexico in coming to an understanding. Therefore, the Mexican War broke out, out of the effort for Texas to break free its bond to Mexico. Eventually, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ended the war, and came to an agreement that included setting boundaries for Texas and the acquisition of new territory- California, Utah, Nevada, Arizona,…
Sam Houston was born from Scottish-Irish decent. His forefathers were immigrants that had settled in Pennsylvania and migrated south towards Virginia. Houston’s grandfather, John Houston, established the successful Timber Ridge plantation and his father, Samuel Houston, was a member of the revolutionary army, attaining the rank of major. Sam Houston was born in 1793 the middle child of eight siblings. Sam’s father military service took its toll on the Houston’s plantation causing it to be neglected, and in 1806 the plantation went bankrupt. Sam’s father sold Timber Ridge and the moved west to Tennessee. Samuel Huston did not survive the trip and passed away during the traveling. The rest of Houston family made the move. Tennessee was frontier country, but had been settled for over a decade.…
The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo is an agreement, signed on February 2, 1848, at Guadalupe Hidalgo, which is a city north from the capital of Mexico, between the United States and Mexico that marked the end of the Mexican War. With the defeat of the troops and the fall of the Mexican capital on September 1847, the Mexican government surrendered to the United States and wanted negotiations between the United States to end the war. Signing the treaty was only the beginning of the process because it still had to be approved by the congresses of both the United States and Mexico. No one could tell how the Polk administration would receive a treaty negotiated by an unofficial agent, and could they know the goods and the negative things of the Mexican political scene for the next few months. In both the U.S. and Mexican governments there was opposition to the treaty. In the United States, the northern abolitionists opposed the annexation of Mexican territory. In the Mexican congress, a sizable minority was in favor of continuing the fight. Both countries ratified the document. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo marked the end of the war.…
Texas took the victory for its independence from Mexico in 1836, the Mexican president General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna promised, “that any move by the Unites States to annex Texas” would face with military force. Nevertheless, Texas became the 28th state of the United States, state officials demanded that the actual border between Texas and Mexico was the Rio Grande River. Mexicans, yet contemplate the Nueces River to be the border. Polk decided that the United States had a duty to protect Texas's grounds and he placed U.S warships off the coast of Texas. Nonetheless, Mexico refused to answer militarily. So, November 1845, Polk removed another approach, trying to force Mexico into selling not only Texas but also California and New Mexico…
For two reasons “to provide a buffer against illegal U.S. settlers, who were creating problems in east Texas even before the grant was made to Austin, and to help develop the land, since only 3,500 native Mexicans had settled in Texas”…
The Texas Revolution occurred because of a series of events that began long before the first shots fired at the Battle of Gonzales. In the summer of 1820 a 59 year-old Missourian named Moses Austin asked the Spanish Authorities for a large land tract which he wanted to use to attract American Pioneers. To manys surprise in early 1821 the Spanish government gave him permission to settle 300 families. Spain had welcomed Americans to help develop the land and to provide a buffer against the illegal U.S. immigrants who were causing problems. Although Moses Austin died and was not able to see his goal reached his son Stephen F. Austin stepped into his shoes and promised to carry out his fathers goal of colonizing Texas. By the end of 1824 Austin had attracted over 242 colonists to Texas and persuaded the Mexican government that the best way to attract Americans was to give out land grants. By the 1830's there were 16,000 Americans settled in Texas. As the population grew, the Mexican government grew skeptical of the growing American population. Mexico had feared the U.S. was planning to gain the province by revolution. Due to the diverse differences in language and culture their was bitter conflict between the Native Mexicans and the colonists. To reclaim the authority over Texas the Mexican government reestablished its constitutional prohibition against slavery, restricted trade with the United States, and put a end to further American Immigration. These actions possibly could have provoked the Texas Revolution. In 1832 General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna became Mexico's president. Many colonists hoped that Antonio would make Texas a self-governed state within the United States. Once in power, Santa Anna was less truthful than many Texans were led to believe. In mid 1834 Santa Anna overthrew Mexico's constitutional government, abolished state governments, and pronounced himself as dictator. When…
It was hard for the Mexican to make a decision either to stay in texas or to move back to their homeland Mexico.…