The Road to the Texas Revolution Part 1

The Road to the Texas Revolution

Part 1

The Fredonian Rebellion

In 1825 Haden Edwards, a businessman from Kentucky, received an empresario contract. He had permission to settle families near Nacogdoches. When he arrived, he found that many people had been living on the land for years. 

Multiple Choice

What is an empresario?

• a man who received a land grant from the Mexican government in order to bring settlers into Texas

• a man who could do a salsa dance and sing at the same time

• a man who could serve as a barista in times of need

The Fredonian Rebellion, cont.

Edwards ordered the settlers to show their titles to the land. Many could not, and Edwards demanded that they pay him for a title or leave. The people protested to Mexican officials, who responded by canceling Edwards’s contract. Haden Edwards was very unpopular with many people living in the area who believed he was dishonest.

Poll

If you were living on Hayden Edwards' land, would you have moved off his land peacefully?

• Of course! It's the right thing to do!

• No. Why should I move? I was on the land first!

• I'm not sure. It's a tricky situation.

The Rebellion Ends

In 1826, Edwards and his brother, Benjamin, took action. They gathered a small band of settlers and claimed a part of East Texas as the Republic of Fredonia. Most Texans, including SFA, opposed the Fredonian Rebellion, which was quickly put down. The actions of Edwards and his brother, although unpopular with other settlers, made the Mexican government suspicious of Texans who had ties to the United States.

Multiple Choice

The rebellion was quickly crushed. True or False?

• True

• False

Read this primary source document and answer the questions that follow.

Multiple Choice

The quote on the previous slide expresses whose point of view?

• The Mexican Government

• The members of the Fredonian Rebellion

• American Soliders

Multiple Choice

According to the quote on the Rebellion, why did the Fredonians revolt?

• They didn't want to be stuck in east Texas.

• The Mexican government had oppressed and insulted them,

• The Mexican government sold them bad beef.

The Mier y Terán Report

The Fredonian Rebellion was a minor event, but it attracted a lot of attention.  Even newspapers in the United States carried stories about the revolt.  The American interest in rebellion greatly worried the Mexican government. As they had done before, the U.S. offered to buy Texas from Mexico in 1827.  Mexico was afraid that the U.S. had plans to take Texas away, possibly by encouraging Americans to settle there and stir up trouble with the Mexican government.

Multiple Choice

After the Fredonian Rebellion, the Mexican Government was nervous that the United States...

• wanted to make a vacation resort in North Texas.

• had plans to take Texas away and possibly make trouble for Mexico.

• wanted to sell Louisiana to Mexico.

Mier y Terán

In 1828, the Mexican government sent General Manuel de Mier y Terán to investigate conditions in Texas. Officially, his job was to examine the resources of Texas, learn about the Indians living there and to help the Mexican government determine the exact border between Texas and Mexico. But secretly, the general was asked to determine how many Americans lived in Texas and what their attitudes toward Mexico were. 

Multiple Choice

What was General Manuel de Mier y Terán SECRETLY asked to determine?

• the official border

• how many Americans lived in Texas and what their attitudes toward Mexico were.

• who ws in charge of the horses and army and whether or not the settlers had a Navy.

The Mier y Terán Report, Continued

In the Mier y Terán Report, he noted that Mexican influence in Texas decreased as one moved northward, away from the Rio Grande, and eastward from San Antonio. He recommended that trade between Texas and Mexico be increased in an effort to discourage trade with the United States. He also recommended that more soldiers be sent to Texas and that Mexicans and Catholic Europeans be encouraged to settle in Texas to dilute the influence of settlers from the United States. 

Multiple Select

Check ALL that apply. General Manuel de Mier y Terán recommended....

• that more soldiers be sent in to Texas

• Mexicans be encouraged to move to Texas

• Catholic Europeans be encouraged to move to Texas

• More Americans with strong ties to the United States should be encouraged to move to Texas.

Read this primary source document and answer the questions that follow.

Multiple Choice

The quote expresses whose point of view?

• The Fredonians'

• The Mexican Emperor's

• General Mier y Teran's

• The settlers' point of view

Multiple Choice

Based on the context clues, what do you think "antagonism" means?

• kindness and love

• hostility or friction

• business

• ranching and farming

Multiple Choice

What is Mier y Teran trying to tell the Mexican government about Texas?

• Teran is telling the Mexican Government that they need more Anglos who love the US.

• Teran is telling them that everything is okay.

• Teran is telling them that they need to give up Texas.

• Teran is telling the Mexican government that they need to check the power of the Anglo settlers in Texas or they are going to cause trouble.

Poll

If you were an official in the Mexican Government, how would you have responded to Mier y Teran's report?

• I would have ignored it.

• I would have listened to him and taken action.

• I would have freaked out!!!!