The Road to Revolution

The Road to Revolution

Events Leading to the Texas Revolution​

By Mr. Gorena

The Fredonian Rebellion

• ​In 1825, Haden Edwards was granted an empresario contract by the Mexican government to settle families near Nacogdoches.

• Upon arrival, he found several people who had already been living on the land for several years. He asked them to show him their land titles and when they could not he ordered them to pay him for one or vacate the land immediately.

• These people protested to Mexican officials who responded by canceling Edwards' empresario contract.

• Haden ​​Edwards and his brother, Benjamin, were now extremely upset with the Mexican government so they decided to take action.

• They gathered a small band of settlers and claimed a part of East Texas as an independent nation called the Republic of Fredonia.

• Most Texans opposed the Fredonian Rebellion and within a year it would be put down for good.

• Haden Edwards and his brother fled to the United States.​

​The Fredonian Rebellion

Multiple Choice

Who was the leader of the Fredonian Rebellion?

• Santa Anna

• Stephen F. Austin

• Haden Edwards

• Erasmo Seguin

The Mier y Teran Report

• American interest in the Fredonian Rebellion worried the Mexican government. In 1828 they decided to send General Manuel ​de Mier y Teran to investigate conditions in Texas.

• The general was tasked with determining how many Americans now lived in Texas and what their attitudes towards Mexico were.

• He noted that American settlers now outnumbered Mexican settlers in Texas by at least 10 to 1.​​ He warned that American influence in Texas was growing stronger every day.

The Mier y Teran Report

• ​Mier y Teran sent a report to the Mexican president with several of his recommendations.

• First, he encouraged increasing trade between Texas and Mexico in order to discourage trade with the United States.

• Second, he argued that more soldiers needed to be sent to Texas to help keep order and increase control of the region.

• Finally, he felt Mexico should encourage more Europeans and Mexicans to settle in Texas​.

​

Multiple Choice

Which of the following was one of Mier y Teran's recommendations to the Mexican government?

• Send all soldiers in Texas back to Mexico

• Encourage more settlers from the United States to come to Texas

• Build more forts along the border of Texas and the United States

• Increase trade between Texas and Mexico

• ​​In response to the Mier y Teran report, the Mexican government passed the Law of April 6, 1830.

• It banned immigration from the United States and made it illegal for settlers to bring slaves into Texas.

• It suspended unfilled empresario contracts.

• It established a tax, or customs duties, on all imports into Texas from the United States​.

​The Law of April 6, 1830

​

Multiple Choice

The Law of April 6, 1830 banned all immigration into Texas from the United States.

• True

• False

Tensions at Anahuac

• The Mexican government stationed hundreds of troops in Texas to enforce the Law of April 6, 1830.

• In the fall of 1830, troops built a fort at the mouth of the Trinity River on Galveston Bay. This fort was located near an important trade route and allowed soldiers stationed there to enforce the new trade and immigration laws.

• The settlement was named Anahuac and Mexican colonel Juan Davis Bradburn was placed in charge.

• ​​Bradburn angered many Texans when he arrested a surveyor who was approving land titles for settlers in the region. Tensions grew as Bradburn continued to arrest more and more citizens.

• Eventually, a small force of 150 people, led by settler John Austin, would march toward the fort at Anahuac. After a quick exchange of gunfire between the two sides, the attackers withdrew to Turtle Bayou.

Tensions at Anahuac

​

Multiple Choice

How many settlers made up the small force that attacked the fort at Anahuac?

• 200

• 150

• 300

• 50

• ​​Upon arriving at Turtle Bayou, the settlers drew up several resolutions, or statements of a group's opinions.

• The Turtle Bayou Resolutions declared that the events at Anahuac were not a rebellion against Mexico. The settlers were simply defending their rights and the constitution.

• The settlers also expressed their support for General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, who was trying to otherthrow Mexican President Anastacio Bustamante​.

Turtle Bayou Resolutions

​

Multiple Choice

Texas settlers did not support General Santa Anna's efforts to overthrow President Bustamante and take control of the Mexican government.

• True

• False

The Battle of Velasco

• Soon after the events at Anahuac and Turtle Bayou, a Mexican force led by Colonel Jose de las Piedras arrived in Anahuac.

• Colonel Piedras placed blame on Colonel Bradburn for starting so many conflicts with the settlers in the region and recommended removing him from his command. Bradburn would eventually resign.

• With Bradburn gone, the settlers finally felt the threat to their freedoms was over. To help ease tensions even more, Piedras released several of the people Bradburn had imprisoned.

• ​​Unaware that the conflicts at Anahuac had been settled, John Austin's group began fighting with Mexican troops stationed at Velasco in June of 1832. After a short battle, Mexican soldiers ran out of ammunition and were forced to surrender. The colonists had won the Battle of Velasco.

• Most Mexican troops would eventually leave the region to take sides in the civil war being fought between General Santa Anna and President Bustamante​.

The Battle of Velasco

​

Poll

Do you believe Colonel Piedras was right in recommending that Colonel Bradburn give up his duties as commander of the soldiers stationed at Fort Anahuac?

• Yes

• No

• Not Sure

The Convention of 1832

• As Texans had expected, General Santa Anna defeated President Bustamante's forces in 1832. He was elected president in 1833.

• Texans were excited about the rise of Santa Anna because he had promised to restore the Constitution of 1824. Settlers hoped that the Mexican government would finally listen to their concerns.

• Texans called a convention in San Felipe de Austin to discuss possible reforms, or changes in policy, they would like to see happen in Texas.

The Convention of 1832

• Each district in Texas was asked to send delegates, or representatives, to San Felipe on October 1, 1832.

• Delegates from 16 districts attended the Convention of 1832.

• Leaders from San Antonio chose not to participate.

• Stephen F. Austin was chosen as president of the convention.

• During the six-day convention, delegates would adopt several resolutions they hoped to present to the Mexican government.

Allow legal immigration into Texas from the United States.​

​​Resolution #1​

​Allow Texas to split away from Coahuila and become its own separate Mexican state.

Resolution #2

​

Remove customs duties on imports from the United States for three years.​

Resolution #3​

​

​Provide land for public schools to be built on.

Resolution #4​

​

The Convention of 1832

• ​The convention selected William H. Wharton and Rafael Manchola to present their resolutions to the Mexican government.

• Partially because San Antonio refused to participate, though, the resolutions were never presented.

• Stephen F. Austin understood that for reform to take place, Texans had to work together. He decided to meet with city leaders in San Antonio to hopefully gain their trust and support.

Multiple Choice

Who was elected president for the Convention of 1832?

• Stephen F. Austin

• William H. Wharton

• Rafael Manchola

The Convention of 1833

• While Austin was meeting with officials in San Antonio, a group of impatient Texans decided to call for another convention​.

• ​The Convention of 1833 met in San Felipe on April 1.

• ​William H. Wharton was chosen as president of this convention.

• Among Wharton's supporters was delegate Sam Houston of Nacogdoches, a former member of the U.S. Congress and governor of Tennessee who had just arrived in Texas and wanted action.

• ​​Although he supported the convention, Stephen F. Austin was upset it had been called in his absence.

• ​In the end, this convention adopted many of the same resolutions as the previous convention had.

• ​They even wrote a new constitution for Texas just in case they were successful in getting Texas separated from Coahuila and made into its own state.

• ​Austin was selected to present their proposals to the Mexican government so he set out for Mexico City on April 22, 1833 to meet with Santa Anna.

The Convention of 1833

​

Multiple Choice

Which delegate at the Convention of 1833 was once a member of the U.S. Congress and governor of Tennessee?

• William H. Wharton

• Stephen F. Austin

• Sam Houston

• William Travis

• The trip to Mexico City took Austin 3 months. Once he arrived he faced several obstacles.

• Mexican officials were still trying to organize the new government and Santa Anna was out of the city

• Austin instead met with vice-president Valentin Gomez Farias. The vice-president promised Austin that he would present the proposals to the Mexican congress​, but it would take some time because the government currently had several other problems to deal with first.

Austin Arrives in Mexico City

​

Austin Arrives in Mexico City

• In September, Austin would meet with Gomez Farias again. He told the vice-president that Texas might go ahead and organize a state government without official approval. Gomez Farias took this as a threat and quickly ended their meeting.

• In October, an extremely frustrated Austin decided to write a letter to officials in San Antonio advising Texans to meet "without a moment's delay for the purpose of organizing a local government for Texas."

Austin Arrives in Mexico City

• Austin was finally able to meet with Santa Anna the following month and Santa Anna actually agreed to nearly all of the resolutions of the Convention of 1833.

• He agreed to allow immigration from the United States once again and also lower the taxes on imports. However, he refused to make Texas its own state.

• Austin left Mexico City on December 10, 1833 full of hope now that most of the resolutions proposed had been approved.

Multiple Choice

Santa Anna agreed to all of the following resolutions of the Convention of 1833 except...

• Allowing immigration from the United States

• Lowering taxes on imports from the United States

• Allowing Texas to break away from Coahuila and become its own state

• ​​In January of 1834, upon arriving in Saltillo, the capital city of Coahuila y Tejas, Austin was arrested.

• Mexican officials had intercepted the letter Austin wrote to San Antonio and felt that Austin had actually challenged Mexican authority.

• Austin was taken back to Mexico City and placed in prison without a trial. After nearly a year of imprisonment, he would be released on December 25, 1834. However, he was not allowed to return to Texas until July of 1835.

​Trouble for Austin

​

Concerns About Santa Anna

• In 1834, newly elected president Santa Anna officially declared that Mexico was not quite ready to become a republic.

• Despite several promises he had made during the civil war with former president Anastacio Bustamante, Santa Anna began to strengthen the power of the central government in Mexico.

• By creating a centralist form of government, he violated his pledge to restore the federal constitution of 1824 and angered many Texans who had previously supported him.

​All powers of the government centralized in the national government.

​State governments were transformed into military units led by political chiefs appointed by the president.​

​​Centralism

​

The national government, which had a legislative, executive, and judicial branch, works with the other levels of government to run the country.​​

States could establish laws and enact their own policies​

Federalism

Multiple Choice

What type of government did Santa Anna establish in Mexico?

• Centralist Government

• Federalist Government