Reference
- Texas, Republic ofTexas, Republic of, was an independent country in what is now the eastern part of the state of Texas. The republic formed in 1836, during a revolt by American colonists against Mexican rule. It existed until 1845. That year, Texas became the 28th state of the United States. Disputes over Texas’s boundaries led to hostilities between Mexico and the United States.
Background. Starting in the late 1600’s, Spanish priests established Roman Catholic missions in what is now eastern Texas. In 1718, the Spanish founded San Antonio and built a fort and mission there. The city later became the seat of Spanish government in Texas. The mission became known as the Alamo. In 1821, Mexico gained its independence from Spain. Texas became part of Mexico.
Moses Austin was a Missouri mine owner. In 1821, he gained permission from Spanish officials in Mexico to start a colony of Americans in Texas. His son, Stephen F. Austin, organized the colony. Other American organizers also established colonies in the area. By the mid-1830’s, about 30,000 Americans lived in Texas.
Around 1830, Mexican officials attempted to halt American immigration to Texas. Relations between the American colonists and the Mexican government grew steadily worse. In 1834, Antonio López de Santa Anna, a Mexican general and politician, overthrew Mexico’s government. The following year, the American colonists in Texas revolted against Mexican rule. Many of the Mexican colonists in Texas also supported the revolt...
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Perspectives
The Texas Republic; a social and economic history.
In 1946 historian William Ransom Hogan, then a professor at the University of Oklahoma, published The Texas Republic: A Social and Economic History. The book became an instant classic of Texas historical literature. In an era when scholarly writing on Texas history still gave disproportionate emphasis to military and political history and "great men," this book emphasized the lives of ordinary people as well as of the legendary figures of the Republic period.
Hogan knew how to be a "revisionist" in the best sense of the term, offering up fresh interpretations that, as he put it, challenged the "pleasant myth" of "heroic" Texas history. Yet he also managed to balance his revisionism with an acknowledgment that the Republic era did indeed embody much that was heroic, even legendary.
Naturally The Texas Republic is a product of its time. If written today, it would undoubtedly pay more attention to African Americans and Tejanos, for example. But whatever shortcomings the book may have in the eyes of modern readers, even those shortcomings make the book valuable in the college classroom, because they serve as important points of discussion for students and professors.
Single Star of the West
2017 Book of the Year, Alamo Society Does Texas's experience as a republic make it unique among the other states? In many ways, Texas was an "accidental republic" for nearly ten years, until Texans voted overwhelmingly in favor of annexation to the United States after winning independence from Mexico. Single Star of the West begins with the Texas Revolution and examines the emergence of a Texas identity. Next, several contributors discuss how the Republic was defended by its army, navy, and the Texas Rangers. Individual chapters focus on the early founders of Texas--Sam Houston, Mirabeau B. Lamar, and Anson Jones. Texas's efforts at diplomacy, and persistence and transformation in its economy, also receive careful analysis. Finally, social and cultural aspects of the Texas Republic receive coverage, with discussions of women, American Indians, African Americans, Tejanos, and religion.
Life in the Republic of Texas
Before Texas was part of the United States, it was a nation of its own. After gaining independence from Mexico in 1836, Texas declared itself a republic. Interesting features, including a timeline and a map, guide readers through this conflict-filled period of Texas history.
Websites
- The Republic of Texas-Texas State Library and Archives CommissionBy 1835, Antonio López de Santa Anna had established himself as a dictator in Mexico. Among Anglo-American colonists and Tejanos alike, the call for Texas independence grew louder. On March 2, 1836, a delegation at Washington-on-the-Brazos adopted the Texas Declaration of Independence, and thus was born the Republic of Texas...
- Republic of Texas Currency-Texas State Library and Archives CommissionIn the early days of Texas, a variety of currencies served as cash, including Spanish and Mexican money, bank notes from various U.S. states, and currency issued by private companies (call shinplasters). The Republic of Texas first issued paper money in 1837. This currency was called "star money" for the small star on the face of the bill. The star money was not face value currency, but rather interest-bearing notes (similar to a treasury bill) that circulated by being endorsed over to the next payee. In 1838, Texas issued change notes with elaborate designs on the front and blank backs...
- The Texas Constitution of 1876-Texas State Library and Archives CommissionConstitutional government began in Texas under Mexican rule. During the Texas Revolution, delegates to the Convention of 1836 hastily drafted a new constitution for the fledgling Republic of Texas. Faced with the threat of imminent Mexican attack, they incorporated large sections of the United States Constitution along with some Mexican law...