Republic of Texas

The "Republic of Texas" was an sovereign stateindependent state in North America, bordering the United States and Mexico, that existed from 1836 to 1845.

Formed as a break-away republic from Mexico by the Texas Revolution, the state claimed borders that encompassed an area that included all of the present U.S. state of Texas, as well as parts of present-day New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, and Wyoming based upon the Treaties of Velasco between the newly created Texas Republic and Mexico. The eastern boundary with the United States was defined by the Adams-Onís Treaty between the United States and Spain, in 1819. Its southern and western-most boundary with Mexico was under dispute throughout the existence of the Republic, with Texas claiming that the boundary was the Rio Grande, and Mexico claiming the Nueces River as the boundary. This dispute would later become a trigger for the Mexican-American War, after the Texas Annexationannexation of Texas.

History
Establishment

The Republic of Texas was created from part of the Mexican state Coahuila y Tejas as a result of the Texas Revolution. Mexico was in turmoil as leaders attempted to determine an optimal form of government. In early 1835, as the Mexican government transitioned from a federalismfederalist model to centralized governmentcentralism, wary colonists in Texas began forming Committees of Correspondence and Safety. A central committee in San Felipe, TexasSan Felipe de Austin coordinated their activities.. In the Mexican interior, several states revolted against the new centralist policies.. The Texas Revolution officially began on October 2, 1835, in the Battle of Gonzales. Although the Texians originally fought for the reinstatement of the Constitution of 1824, by 1836 the aim of the war had changed. The Convention of 1836 declared independence on March 2, 1836, and officially formed the Republic of Texas.

1836-1845
The first Congress of the Republic of Texas convened in October 1836 at Columbia, TexasColumbia (now West Columbia, TexasWest Columbia). Stephen Fuller AustinStephen F. Austin, known as the List of people known as the father or mother of something'Father of Texas', died December 27, 1836, after serving two months as Secretary of State for the new Republic.


The first flag of the republic was the 'Burnet Flag' (a gold star on an azure field), followed shortly thereafter by official adoption of the Lone Star Flag.

In 1836, five sites served as temporary capitals of Texas (Washington-on-the-Brazos, Harrisburg, TexasHarrisburg, Galveston, TexasGalveston, Velasco, TexasVelasco and Columbia, TexasColumbia) before president Sam Houston moved the capital to Houston in 1837. In 1839, the capital was moved to the new town of Austin, TexasAustin by the next president Mirabeau B. Lamar.

Internal politics of the Republic were based on the conflict between two factions. The nationalist faction, led by Mirabeau B. Lamar, advocated the continued independence of Texas, the expulsion of the Native Americans in the United StatesNative Americans, and the expansion of Texas to the Pacific Ocean. Their opponents, led by Sam Houston, advocated the annexation of Texas to the United States and peaceful co-existence with Native Americans.
The Texas Congress even passed a resolution over Houston's veto claiming Las Californiasthe Californias for Texas.
Fehrenbach,
The 1844 presidential election split dramatically with the newer western regions of the Republic preferring the nationalist candidate Edward Burleson while the cotton country, particularly east of the Trinity River (Texas)Trinity River, went for Anson Jones.
Fehrenbach,

The Comanches were the main Native American opposition to the Texas Republic. In the late 1830s Sam Houston negotiated a peace between Texas and the Comanches. In 1838 Lamar replaced Houston as president and reversed the Indian policies. He launched a genocidal war against the Comanches and invaded Comancheria itself. In retaliation the Comanche attacked Texas in a series of raids. After peace talks in 1840 ended with the massacre of 34 Comanche leaders in San Antonio the Comanches launched a major attack deep into Texas, known as the Great Raid of 1840. Under command of Potsanaquahip (Buffalo Hump), 500-700 Comanche cavalry warriors swept down the Guadalupe River (Texas)Guadalupe River valley, killing and plundering all the way to the shore of the Gulf of Mexico, where they sacked the towns of Victoria, TexasVictoria and Linnville, TexasLinnville. Houston became president again in 1841 and, with both Texans and Comanches exhausted by war, a new peace was established..

Although Texas governed itself, Mexico refused to recognize its independence.. On March 5, 1842, a Mexican force of over 500 men, led by Rafael Vásquez, invaded Texas for the first time since the revolution. They soon headed back to the Rio Grande after briefly occupying San Antonio. 1,400 Mexican troops, led by the French mercenary general Adrian Woll launched a second attack and captured San Antonio on September 11, 1842. A Texas militia retaliated at the Salado_CreekBattle_of_Salado_CreekBattle of Salado Creek. However on September 18, this militia was defeated by Mexican soldiers and Texas Cherokee Indians during the Dawson Massacre. Retrieved Sep.24, 2006. The Mexican army would later retreat from the city of San Antonio.

Among the effects of Mexico's attacks on Texas was the intensification of conflicts between political factions, including an incident known as the Texas Archive War. To 'protect' the Texas national archives, President Sam Houston ordered them removed from Austin. The archives were eventually returned back to Austin, albeit at gunpoint. The Texas Congress admonished Houston for the incident, and this episode in Texas history would solidify Austin as Texas's seat of government for the Republic and the future state.

Government
After gaining their independence, the Texas voters had elected a Congress of 14 senators and 29 representatives in September 1836. The Constitution of the Republic of Texas allowed the first president to serve for only two years. It set a three year term for all later presidents.

The first Congress of the Republic of Texas convened in October 1836 at West Columbia, TexasColumbia (now West Columbia). Stephen F. Austin, sometimes called the 'Father of Texas,' died December 27, 1836, after serving two months as Secretary of State for the new Republic. Due mainly to the ongoing war for independence, five sites served as temporary capitals of Texas in 1836: (Washington-on-the-Brazos, TexasWashington-on-the-Brazos, Harrisburg, TexasHarrisburg, Galveston, TexasGalveston, Velasco, TexasVelasco and West Columbia, TexasColumbia). The capital was moved to the new city of Houston, TexasHouston in 1837. In 1839, the capital was moved to a tiny frontier settlement on the Colorado River (Texas)Colorado River named Waterloo. A new city was laid out, and Waterloo was renamed Austin, TexasAustin.

The court system inaugurated by Congress included a Supreme Court consisting of a chief justice appointed by the president and four associate justices, elected by a joint ballot of both houses of Congress for four-year terms and eligible for re-election. The associates also presided over four judicial districts. Houston nominated James Collinsworth to be the first chief justice. The county-court system consisted of a chief justice and two associates, chosen by a majority of the justices of the peace in the county. Each county was also to have a sheriff, a coroner, justices of the peace, and constables to serve two-year terms. Congress formed 23 counties, whose boundaries generally coincided with the existing municipalities.

In 1839 Texas became the first nation in the world to enact a homestead exemption, under which a person's primary residence could not be seized by creditors.

Boundaries
The Texan leaders at first intended to extend their national boundaries to the Pacific Ocean, but ultimately decided to claim the Rio Grande as boundary, including much of New Mexico, which the Republic never controlled. They also hoped, after peace was made with Mexico, to run a railroad to the Gulf of California to give 'access to the East Indian, Peruvian and Chilean trade.'George Rives, The United States and Mexico vol. 1, page 390
When negotiating for the possibility of annexation to the U.S. in late 1836, the Texan government instructed its minister Wharton in Washington that if the boundary was an issue, Texas was willing to settle for a boundary at the watershed between the Nueces River and Rio Grande and leave out New Mexico.Rives, p. 403
Diplomatic relations
On March 3, 1837, US President Andrew Jackson appointed Alcée Louis la BrancheAlcée La Branche as American chargé d'affaires to the Republic of Texas, thus officially recognizing Texas as an independent republic. France granted official recognition of Texas on September 25, 1839, appointing Alponse Dubois de Saligny to serve as chargé d'affaires. The French Legation was built in 1841 and still stands in Austin as the oldest frame structure in the city., French Legation Museum.

The Republic also received diplomatic recognition from Belgium, the Netherlands, and the Republic of Yucatán. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and IrelandUnited Kingdom never granted official recognition of Texas due to its own friendly relations with Mexico, but admitted Texan goods into British ports on their own terms. In London, the original Embassy of the Republic of Texas still stands. Immediately opposite the gates to St. James's Palace, Sam Houston's original Embassy of the Republic of Texas to the Court of St. James's is now a hat shop, but is clearly marked with a large plaque and a nearby restaurant is called Texas Embassy.

Presidents and vice presidents

( class'wikitable' aligncenter
+ "Presidents and Vice Presidents of the Republic of Texas with election results"
! From
! To
! President
! Vice president
! Presidentialcandidates
! Pres.votes
! Vice pres.candidates
! V.P.votes
-
alignright March 16, 1836
alignright October 22, 1836
aligncenter David G. Burnet (interim)
aligncenter Lorenzo de Zavala interim
 
 
 
-
alignright October 22, 1836
alignright December 10, 1838
aligncenter Sam Houston
Mirabeau B. Lamar
aligncenter Sam Houston Henry Smith (Texas Governor)Henry Smith Stephen F. Austin
alignright 5119 743 587
Mirabeau B. Lamar
alignright  
-
alignright December 10, 1838
alignright December 13, 1841
aligncenter Mirabeau B. Lamar
David G. Burnet
Mirabeau B. Lamar Robert Wilson
alignright 6995 252
David G. Burnet
alignright  
-
alignright December 13, 1841
alignright December 9, 1844
aligncenter Sam Houston
Edward Burleson
Sam Houston David G. Burnet
alignright 7915 3619
Edward Burleson Memucan Hunt
alignright 6141 4336
-
alignright December 9, 1844
alignright February 19, 1846
aligncenter Anson Jones
Kenneth Lewis AndersonKenneth L. Anderson
Anson Jones Edward Burleson
alignright
Kenneth L. Anderson
alignleft  
-

)

Statehood


On February 28, 1845, the Congress of the United StatesU.S. Congress passed a bill that would authorize the United States to annex the Republic of Texas. On March 1, President of the United StatesU.S. President John Tyler signed the bill. The legislation set the date for annexation for December 29 of the same year. Faced with imminent American annexation of Texas, Charles Elliot and Alphonse de Saligny, the British and French ministers to Texas, were dispatched to Mexico City by their governments. Meeting together with Mexico's foreign secretary, they signed a 'Diplomatic Act' in which Mexico offered to recognize an independent Texas, with boundaries that would be determined with French and British mediation. Texas President Anson Jones forwarded both offers to a specially elected convention meeting at Austin, and the American proposal was accepted with only one dissenting vote. The Mexican proposal was never put to a vote. Following the previous decree of President Jones, the proposal was then put to a national vote.

On October 13, 1845 a large majority of voters in the Republic approved both the American offer and the proposed constitution that specifically endorsed slavery and emigrants bringing slaves to Texas.http://tarlton.law.utexas.edu/constitutions/text/DART08.html This constitution was later accepted by the U.S. Congress, making Texas a U.S. state on the same day annexation took effect, December 29, 1845 (therefore bypassing a territorial phase). One of the motivations for annexation was that the Texas government had incurred huge debts which the United States agreed to assume upon annexation. As part of the Compromise of 1850, in return for this assumption of debt ($10,000,000), Texas dropped claims to territory, now parts of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Wyoming, which Texas had never controlled and which the Federal government had captured directly from Mexico early in the Mexican–American WarMexican War and governed directly.

The annexation resolution has been the topic of some historical myths—one that remains is that the resolution granted Texas the explicit right to secede from the Union. This is a right argued by some to be implicitly held by 'all' states. The resolution did include two unique provisions: first, it said that up to four additional states could be created from Texas' territory, with the consent of the State of Texas (and that new states north of the Missouri Compromise Line would be free states). The resolution did not include any special exceptions to the provisions of the US Constitution regarding statehood. The right to create these possible new states was not 'reserved' for Texas, as is sometimes stated. Second, Texas did not have to surrender its public lands to the federal government. While Texas did cede all territory outside of its current area to the federal government in 1850, it did not cede any public lands within its current boundaries. This means that the only lands owned by the federal government within Texas have subsequently been purchased by the federal government. This also means that the state government has control over oil reserves which were later used to fund the state's public university system through the Permanent University Fund., Texas State Library & Archives Commission. In addition, the state's control over offshore oil reserves in Texas runs out to 3 league (unit)leagues (10.357 miles, 16.668 km) rather than three miles (4.828 km) as with other states.

See also


Timeline of the Republic of Texas
History of Texas
Texas LegationThe Texas Legation
French Legation (Austin, Texas)The French Legation
Republic of Yucatán
Republic of the Rio Grande
West Florida
Fredonia Republic of East Texas


Notes


References
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, published 1841
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Further reading


en.wikipedia.org