Texas War of Independence

Texas War of Independence

Introduction

It is a war from 1846 to 1848 that resulted from the annexation of Texas by the United States in 1845. After Mexico gained its independence from Spain in 1820, it invited settlers from the United States to come to what is now Texas (Francaviglia and Douglas, 2000). Many Americans settled in the province, including many slaveholders from the South. When Mexico outlawed slavery in 1830, many of these Texas slaveholders skirted the law by forcing their slaves into indentured servitude for life.

Texas War of Independence: A Discussion

In 1832, the Texas settlers, unhappy with rule by the Mexican government, began a war for independence. Finally, in 1836 Mexican president Antonio López de Santa Anna signed the Treaty of Velasco, granting independence to Texas. Many Mexicans, however, refused to accept the treaty as valid, because Santa Anna was being held prisoner at the time by Texas settlers from the United States. Border fighting between Texas and Mexico continued for many years until 1845, when Texas asked to be annexed by the United States and admitted to the Union as a slave state (Francaviglia and Douglas, 2000).

The tension between Mexico and the United States grew and resulted in frequent border clashes. Finally, on May 13, 1846, the United States declared war on Mexico. The U.S. Congress passed a bill authorizing President James K. Polk to mobilize a force of 50,000 men. A number of free blacks volunteered to serve in the war, but most were turned away (Francaviglia and Douglas, 2000). Those who were accepted fought for the First Regiment of Volunteers of New York; the Fourth Artillery; and the Ninth, Tenth, Eleventh, and Thirteenth infantry regiments. African Americans also served in the U.S. Navy during the period of the Mexican-American War.

By 1803 Texas had become a disputed territory between the United States and Mexico. Many Americans loudly proclaimed Texas a part of the Louisiana Purchase brokered by President Thomas Jefferson on April 30, 1803. In 1821 Mexico achieved independence from Spanish control. Most of the Spanish leaders, pejoratively labeled gachupines, were deposed, and in their place native mestizo rulers assumed control of the government. (Gachupines were native Spaniards who oppressed, enslaved, and exploited indigenous Mexicans. This is a pejorative term referring to Spanish imperialists, similar to the word gringo.) The mestizos became known as criollos, most of whom demonstrated ineptitude due to their initial inexperience at governing, for under Spanish rule few indigenous citizens had achieved positions of power (Faulk and Stout 1973, p. xiii). Political turmoil and chronic factionalism followed the Mexican independence movement. Approximately thirty-six changes in leadership occurred between 1833 and 1855. The military remained dominant in political affairs, a circumstance that facilitated the rise of Mexican general turned president Antonio López de Santa Anna (1794-1876), who was elected president of Mexico by a majority vote in 1833. Santa Anna began his military career in 1810 as a cadet under the command of Joaquín de Arredondo. Mexican historians differ on whether he was ...