Republic of Texas
The Republic of Texas was a sovereign state in North America, established on March 2, 1836, through the Texas Declaration of Independence adopted at Washington-on-the-Brazos amid the Texas Revolution against Mexico.[1][2] It operated as an independent republic until its annexation by the United States on December 29, 1845, becoming the 28th state.[1][3] Governed under a constitution modeled on that of the United States, the republic elected Sam Houston as its first president in September 1836, followed by Mirabeau B. Lamar, who pursued aggressive expansionist policies including military campaigns against Native American tribes.[4][5] The nation claimed expansive territory bounded by the Rio Grande to the south and extending northward to the 42nd parallel, encompassing areas now part of several U.S. states, though effective control was limited primarily to central and eastern regions due to disputes with Mexico and indigenous resistance.[1][6] With an estimated population of around 30,000 Anglo-American settlers and smaller numbers of Tejanos and Native Americans at independence, the republic struggled with chronic financial debt, reliance on customs duties for revenue, and vulnerability to Mexican invasion threats.[1] Despite internal divisions over annexation to the U.S. versus continued independence, the republic secured diplomatic recognition from the United States in 1837, followed by France, the United Kingdom, and Belgium, enabling limited trade and loans but failing to deter Mexico's refusal to acknowledge its sovereignty.[6][7] Key achievements included establishing a functioning government, minting currency, and fostering settlement growth, while defining controversies encompassed boundary overreach, ethnic conflicts with Comanche and other tribes, and fiscal insolvency that nearly led to bankruptcy.[1][8] Annexation resolved immediate survival pressures but precipitated the Mexican-American War, as Mexico viewed it as an act of aggression over disputed lands.[3]Historical Background
Spanish Colonization and Early Settlement
Spanish exploration of the Texas region began in 1519 when Alonso Álvarez de Pineda mapped the coastline, claiming it for Spain as part of the Gulf Coast survey from Florida to Veracruz.[9] Subsequent expeditions, including those by Pánfilo de Narváez in 1528 and Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, who survived a shipwreck and traversed the interior from 1528 to 1536, provided early accounts of indigenous peoples but did not lead to permanent settlements due to harsh conditions and native hostility.[9] The Spanish viewed Texas primarily as a buffer zone against French encroachments from Louisiana, prompting initial colonization efforts focused on missions to convert Native Americans to Catholicism and integrate them into colonial society through agriculture, crafts, and sedentary living.[10] In response to the French establishment of Fort St. Louis near Matagorda Bay in 1685 by René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, Spain launched expeditions under Alonso de León in 1689 and 1690, leading to the founding of the first mission in East Texas, Nuestra Señora de los Dolores de los Tejas (also known as San Francisco de los Tejas), on May 22, 1690, near the Neches River to counter French influence and evangelize the Caddo peoples.[11] This mission, along with others established between 1690 and 1693, faced repeated failures from disease, Apache raids, and native reluctance, resulting in their temporary abandonment by 1699.[10] Renewed efforts in 1716 under Francisco de Jesús María saw the reestablishment of six missions in East Texas, including Nacogdoches, but persistent native resistance and logistical challenges limited success.[11] The establishment of San Antonio in 1718 marked a pivotal shift, with Mission San Antonio de Valero (later the Alamo) founded on May 1, 1718, by Franciscan Fray Antonio de San Buenaventura y Olivares, alongside Presidio San Antonio de Béxar to provide military protection.[9] This complex served as a midway point between East Texas missions and the Rio Grande settlements, facilitating supply lines and becoming the administrative center of Spanish Texas.[11] Additional San Antonio missions followed: San José y San Miguel de Aguayo in 1720, Concepción in 1731, San Francisco de la Espada in 1731, and San Juan Capistrano in 1731, aimed at converting local Coahuiltecan groups through communal living, farming, and livestock raising.[10] Presidio La Bahía, established in 1721 near the Gulf and relocated to Goliad in 1749, protected against Karankawa raids and supported ranching operations.[12] Early civilian settlement was minimal, with the founding of Villa de San Fernando de Béxar in 1731 by 15 Canary Island families—totaling about 200 settlers—who received land grants and formed the first formal Spanish town in Texas, emphasizing self-sufficient agriculture and defense against Comanche and Apache threats.[13] By the late 18th century, Spanish Texas remained sparsely populated, with non-indigenous inhabitants numbering around 3,000 to 5,000, concentrated in San Antonio and a few presidios, reliant on cattle ranching and subsistence farming amid ongoing native conflicts that hindered expansion.[14] Missions gradually secularized after 1790 due to declining native populations from epidemics and warfare, transitioning lands to private haciendas, though Spanish control persisted until Mexico's independence in 1821.[10]Mexican Texas and Anglo Immigration
Following Mexico's achievement of independence from Spain in 1821, Texas transitioned from Spanish colonial rule to Mexican administration, with an estimated population of around 2,500 residents, predominantly Tejanos of Mexican descent and scattered Native American groups.[15] To secure its sparsely populated northern frontier against Comanche raids and perceived threats from the United States, the Mexican government pursued active colonization policies. The Imperial Colonization Law of 1823 and the subsequent National Colonization Law of 1824 established the empresario system, authorizing land contractors known as empresarios to recruit and settle groups of 200 Catholic families per contract, in return for substantial premium lands—typically 67,000 acres per 200 families settled.[16][17] In 1824, under the Mexican Federal Constitution, Texas was merged with Coahuila to form the state of Coahuila y Tejas, with its capital initially at Saltillo; the state's Colonization Law of March 24, 1825, further incentivized settlement by offering individual families up to 4,428 acres (one league) for nominal fees payable over six years, contingent on oaths of allegiance to Mexico and adoption of Catholicism.[15] Stephen F. Austin emerged as the preeminent empresario, inheriting and expanding his father Moses Austin's 1820 Spanish-era contract; by 1825, he secured authorization for 300 families, eventually settling approximately 966 families across his colonies by 1834.[18] Other significant contracts included Green DeWitt's for 400 families and Martín De León's Hispanic-focused enterprise, contributing to over 20 total empresario grants that founded 21 new towns by 1835.[18][16] The majority of immigrants were Anglo-Americans from the southern United States, drawn by cheap land and economic opportunities in cotton and ranching; these settlers often arrived with enslaved laborers, circumventing Mexico's 1829 emancipation decree through a temporary Texas exemption and contracts disguising slaves as indentured servants, resulting in an estimated 5,000 slaves by 1836, nearly all in Anglo areas.[15][18] While Mexican law mandated cultural assimilation—including Spanish language use and Catholic observance—enforcement proved lax, allowing Protestant practices and English dominance to persist, which fostered resistance to integration.[18] This immigration surge rapidly transformed Texas's demographics: by 1830, Anglo-Americans numbered about 16,000, vastly outpacing the roughly 3,500 native Mexicans and establishing a 4-to-1 majority in the northern districts of Coahuila y Tejas.[17] By 1834, Anglo settlers approached 20,000 according to official surveys, and by the mid-1830s, they totaled nearly 30,000 against approximately 4,000 Tejanos, creating an English-speaking, slave-holding society increasingly at odds with Mexican governance.[15][19] In response to these shifts, the federal Law of April 6, 1830, sought to halt Anglo influx by prohibiting further U.S. immigration, banning slave imports, and deploying military garrisons, though inconsistent application and partial repeal in 1833 permitted continued, albeit slowed, settlement.[17][15]Escalating Conflicts Leading to Revolution
The Mier y Terán Report of 1829, submitted by Mexican general Manuel de Mier y Terán after inspecting Texas, warned of excessive Anglo-American influence, noting that settlers were adopting U.S. customs over Mexican ones and that U.S. trade dominated the region, potentially leading to absorption by the United States; Terán urged military reinforcement and restrictions on further immigration to preserve Mexican sovereignty.[20] In response, the Mexican government enacted the Law of April 6, 1830, which prohibited further Anglo-American immigration into Texas, banned the importation of enslaved people, suspended unfulfilled empresario contracts for colonization, and deployed customs enforcers and troops to the area, actions that halted population growth reliant on U.S. migrants and alarmed settlers dependent on slavery-based agriculture.[21] Tensions escalated in 1832 with the Anahuac Disturbances, sparked by Mexican customs collector John Davis Bradburn's aggressive enforcement of tariffs and his arrest of Anglo-American lawyers William B. Travis and Robert Potter on charges of advocating smuggling and inciting unrest; Bradburn, operating from Fort Anahuac, also refused to return fugitive slaves to owners, citing Mexico's antislavery stance, which further inflamed local slaveholders.[22] Settlers, numbering around 150 under leaders like Travis, mobilized against Bradburn's forces, leading to armed standoffs; the conflict spread when Bradburn arrested additional civilians, prompting a larger Texian force to besiege Anahuac until Mexican reinforcements withdrew following the Battle of Velasco on June 26, 1832, where Texian volunteers under Henry Millard defeated a detachment led by Domingo de Ugartechea, resulting in 7 Mexican deaths and 14 wounded, with Texians suffering 5 casualties.[23] Amid these clashes, on June 13, 1832, Texian settlers at Turtle Bayou drafted resolutions affirming loyalty to the Mexican Constitution of 1824 and federalist principles while condemning Bradburn's actions as violations of that document; the resolutions criticized centralist encroachments by President Anastasio Bustamante's administration and called for restoration of federalism, separation of Texas from Coahuila, exemption from the 1830 law, and permission to own slaves, framing their grievances as defense of constitutional rights rather than rebellion.[24] These events coincided with the Conventions of 1832 (October 1–13 at San Felipe de Austin) and 1833 (January–April), where delegates petitioned for Texas statehood separate from Coahuila, repeal of immigration restrictions, better land titles, and trial by jury, sending Stephen F. Austin to Mexico City to negotiate; however, the centralist shift under Antonio López de Santa Anna, who assumed effective power in 1833, rejected these demands.[25] The arrest of Austin in January 1834 marked a critical turning point; after submitting petitions, Austin privately wrote on October 2, 1833, that Texas should seek separate statehood if federalism failed, a letter intercepted by Mexican authorities who charged him with sedition, imprisoning him without formal trial in Mexico City for eight months until his release on December 19, 1834, under bond.[26] This prolonged detention, amid ongoing disputes over customs, land, and slavery, eroded trust in Mexican governance; upon Austin's return in September 1835, he advocated war, declaring the federal constitution abolished and centralism imposed, galvanizing Texian militias as skirmishes intensified, culminating in the first shots of the revolution at Gonzales on October 2, 1835.[27]Formation and Early Independence
Texas Declaration of Independence
The Texas Declaration of Independence was unanimously adopted on March 2, 1836, by delegates to the Convention of 1836 assembled at Washington-on-the-Brazos in what is now Washington County, Texas, amid the ongoing Texas Revolution against Mexican centralist forces led by General Antonio López de Santa Anna.[28][29] The convention had convened on March 1, with delegates representing 12 settlements and municipalities, fleeing eastward to evade Santa Anna's advancing army after initial clashes such as the October 1835 Battle of Gonzales and the December 1835 capture of Goliad.[28][30] This document formally severed Texas from Mexico, citing violations of the Mexican Constitution of 1824, which had promised federalism, local autonomy, and protections for Anglo-American settlers encouraged to immigrate under empresario contracts granting land in exchange for allegiance and conversion to Catholicism.[29][31] Drafting was assigned by convention president Richard Ellis to a five-member committee chaired by George C. Childress, a Tennessee native and recent immigrant who is credited as the primary author, with assistance from James Gaines, Edward Conrad, Collin McKinney, and Bailey Hardeman.[28][29] The declaration's structure closely mirrored the United States Declaration of Independence, beginning with a preamble asserting natural rights to liberty and self-government derived from the Creator, followed by a detailed indictment of Mexican governance.[31] It enumerated over 20 specific grievances, including the 1834 suspension of the 1824 federal constitution in favor of a centralized dictatorship, arbitrary imprisonment without trial, suppression of jury trials and freedom of the press, military invasion of Texas without provocation, and denial of immigration rights to U.S. citizens despite earlier Mexican invitations to populate the sparsely settled province of Coahuila y Tejas.[31] These charges reflected causal breakdowns in the original colonial compact, where Mexico's shift from federal republicanism to military authoritarianism under Santa Anna nullified the mutual obligations that had drawn approximately 30,000 Anglo settlers by 1835, outnumbering Tejanos and creating untenable ethnic and political tensions.[29][30] The document concluded by declaring Texas "free, sovereign and independent" with full powers to levy war, conclude treaties, and establish commerce, rejecting any subordinate ties to Mexico while expressing willingness for amicable relations as a separate nation.[31] Minor errors in the initial printing prompted formal signing by 59 delegates on March 3, including figures like Childress, McKinney, and Lorenzo de Zavala, the latter a Mexican federalist and the convention's vice president who provided legitimacy through his defection from Santa Anna's regime.[28][32] This act not only justified the revolution's armed resistance—occurring parallel to the siege of the Alamo—but established the legal foundation for the Republic of Texas, though Mexico never recognized it, viewing the declaration as an illegitimate rebellion by filibusters and slaveholders seeking to expand U.S.-style institutions, including slavery exempted from Mexico's 1829 abolition decree.[30][29] The declaration's emphasis on empirical breaches of contract over abstract ideology underscored a realist assessment that Mexico's internal instability and policy reversals had rendered continued union impossible without subjugation.[31]Adoption of the Constitution
The Convention of 1836, comprising 59 delegates representing Texian municipalities, convened at Washington-on-the-Brazos on March 1, 1836, amid the ongoing Texas Revolution against Mexico.[33] Following the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on March 2, the delegates turned to framing a constitution for the prospective republic, working under pressure from advancing Mexican forces.[28] A committee presented the first draft on March 9, after which revisions were debated and incorporated over the subsequent days.[34] The constitution was unanimously approved by the delegates on March 17, 1836, the final day of the convention, which adjourned hastily as reports arrived of the Mexican army's proximity.[4] [35] This document established a presidential republic modeled partly on the United States Constitution, with provisions for a bicameral legislature, an independent judiciary, and protections for slavery, reflecting the delegates' priorities for stability and economic continuity.[36] The ad interim government, elected that same day under the new framework, included David G. Burnet as president.[33] Interim President Burnet called for a popular referendum on July 23, 1836, to ratify the constitution alongside electing permanent officials and voting on annexation to the United States.[4] Voters approved the constitution on the first Monday in September 1836, with turnout reflecting broad support among the Texian population, thereby formalizing the governmental structure of the Republic of Texas effective October 22, 1836, upon the inauguration of Sam Houston as president.[4] This ratification process ensured legitimacy beyond the convention's wartime exigencies, though the republic's boundaries and international recognition remained contested.[36]Provisional Government and Stabilization
The ad interim government of the Republic of Texas was formed on March 16, 1836, by delegates at the Convention of 1836 in Washington-on-the-Brazos, immediately after the Texas Declaration of Independence. David G. Burnet was elected interim president, Lorenzo de Zavala vice president, Samuel P. Carson secretary of state, Thomas J. Rusk secretary of war, David Thomas secretary of the treasury, and Bailey Hardeman secretary of the navy. This temporary executive body lacked legislative or judicial branches, focusing on wartime administration and diplomacy until a permanent constitution could be implemented.[37][1] As Mexican forces under General Antonio López de Santa Anna advanced into Texas, the provisional government participated in the Runaway Scrape, evacuating eastward from March to April 1836 to evade capture, with officials relocating successively to Harrisburg, Galveston, Velasco, and Columbia while safeguarding documents like the Declaration of Independence. Burnet coordinated with military commander Sam Houston, issuing orders amid the retreat, though tensions arose over strategy, including Burnet's criticism of Houston's retreat policy. The government's mobility reflected the precarious state of Texan control, with civilians fleeing en masse and suffering hardships from famine and exposure.[38][39][37] Following the Texan victory at San Jacinto on April 21, 1836, Burnet negotiated the Treaties of Velasco with the captive Santa Anna on May 14, 1836; the public treaty mandated cessation of hostilities, Mexican troop evacuation beyond the Rio Grande within eight weeks, and Texan provision of transport, while the secret treaty required Santa Anna to secure Mexican recognition of Texas independence and refrain from further aggression until crossing the Rio Grande. These agreements facilitated initial stabilization by prompting partial Mexican withdrawal, though Mexico later repudiated them and Santa Anna failed to honor the secret provisions. The government then organized elections for September 5–6, 1836, oversaw constitution ratification, and transitioned to permanent rule with Sam Houston's inauguration as president on October 22, 1836, marking the end of the ad interim phase and enabling consolidated governance amid ongoing border threats and internal disarray.[40][37][41]Government and Politics
Executive Branch and Presidents
The executive branch of the Republic of Texas was vested in a president serving as chief executive and commander-in-chief of the military forces, as established by the 1836 Constitution.[42] The president was responsible for executing laws, appointing officials with Senate confirmation, conducting foreign relations, and vetoing legislation subject to congressional override.[1] Elections occurred by popular vote in each county, with returns certified by Congress; the initial term was two years, subsequent terms three years, and presidents were ineligible for immediate reelection to prevent entrenchment.[42] A vice president, elected similarly, assumed duties upon presidential vacancy and succeeded if needed.[43] David G. Burnet served as the first ad interim president from March 16, 1836, to October 22, 1836, appointed by the Convention of 1836 amid the revolution's chaos following the fall of the Alamo and Goliad massacres.[44] His provisional government negotiated the Treaties of Velasco on May 14, 1836, compelling Mexican forces under Antonio López de Santa Anna to withdraw and recognize Texas independence, though Mexico later repudiated the agreements.[1] Burnet's term focused on stabilizing the fledgling republic, evicting Mexican troops from key areas like Galveston, and organizing basic governance structures despite ongoing threats.[45] Sam Houston, hero of the Battle of San Jacinto, was elected the first full-term president on September 22, 1836, defeating Stephen F. Austin and Henry Smith with 5,119 votes, and inaugurated October 22, 1836, serving until December 10, 1838.[46] His administration prioritized fiscal restraint, reducing the army from over 3,000 to about 600 men to cut costs, negotiating peace treaties with Native American tribes like the Cherokee in 1836 to secure frontiers, and pursuing annexation to the United States as a means of economic and military support.[1] Houston vetoed expansive land policies to avoid speculation-driven debt, fostering initial stability but drawing criticism for perceived inaction against Mexico.[46] Mirabeau B. Lamar, Houston's vice president, succeeded him after winning the 1838 election with 6,995 votes over Peter W. Grayson, serving from December 10, 1838, to December 13, 1841.[1] Lamar pursued an expansionist agenda, rejecting immediate U.S. annexation in favor of building an independent empire extending to the Pacific; he authorized the Santa Fe Expedition in 1841 to claim New Mexico territory, which ended in capture by Mexican forces, and escalated military campaigns against Native tribes, expelling Cherokees in the 1839 Battle of Neches and aiming for their removal to open lands for settlement.[47] His policies, including public education initiatives and a national bank, ballooned the public debt from $1.2 million to over $7 million by issuing unbacked currency and bonds.[48] Houston returned for a second non-consecutive term after the 1841 election, defeating James W. Van Zandt with 7,492 votes, serving from December 13, 1841, to December 9, 1844.[43] Facing Lamar's inherited debts and Mexican incursions, he reined in expenditures, reestablished credit through specie payments, and renewed annexation efforts, culminating in a joint resolution by U.S. Congress in 1845.[46] Houston's pragmatic diplomacy included treaties with tribes and European powers, though border raids persisted. Anson Jones, elected in 1844 over Houston loyalists, served from December 9, 1844, to February 19, 1846, when annexation took effect.[43] Known as the "Architect of Annexation," Jones navigated dual recognitions from the U.S. and Mexico via the 1845 Adams-Onís border adjustments and secured Texas entry as a state on December 29, 1845.[1]| President | Term | Vice President | Key Election Vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| David G. Burnet (ad interim) | March 16, 1836 – October 22, 1836 | Lorenzo de Zavala | Appointed by convention[43] |
| Sam Houston | October 22, 1836 – December 10, 1838 | Mirabeau B. Lamar | 5,119 votes[46] |
| Mirabeau B. Lamar | December 10, 1838 – December 13, 1841 | David G. Burnet | 6,995 votes[1] |
| Sam Houston | December 13, 1841 – December 9, 1844 | Edward Burleson | 7,492 votes[43] |
| Anson Jones | December 9, 1844 – February 19, 1846 | Kenneth Lewis Anderson (until death, Dec. 1845) | Elected 1844[43] |