First President of Texas
Sam Houston


Leader of the Texas Army during the Texas
Revolution
Elected as first President of Texas and
Mirabeau B. Lamar as his Vice President.
Problems Houston Faced



The Mexican government refused to recognize
Texas’ Independence
Needed recognition of their independence from
other nations
Financial Problems
$1 million in debt; issued promissory notes
 No money to repay the debts they owed


Native Americans
Were peaceful during the revolution
 Now threaten war on the Texans

Houston’s Policies




Very cautious because of so many problems
Did not want another war with Mexico or to
begin one with the Native Americans
Limited government spending so they did not
fall deeper into debt
Believed in Annexation
Joining the United States
 The U.S. could solve all of Texas’ problems

Houston’s Cabinet


All were well known people of Texas
Secretary of State


Secretary of the Treasury


Henry Smith
Secretary of War


Stephen F. Austin
Thomas J. Rusk (same position he held under
Governor Smith during the ad interim gov’t)
All these men supplied stability within the new
gov’t
Death of Stephen F. Austin


December 27, 1836, Stephen F. Austin passed
away
In his memory, a 30-day mourning period was
proclaimed.
A New Capitol

Columbia was the capitol city during the ad
interim government
The government officials believed the town to be
too small to function as a government headquarters.
 The Augustus Brothers built a new capitol,
Houston.


Houston, TX
Government buildings were log cabins and the
streets were muddy.
 Complained about heat, humidity, diseases, and
mosquitoes.
 Houston remained the capitol throughout Sam
Houston’s 1st term

st
1



Attempt at Annexation
Since most Texans had immigrated from the
U.S. annexation seemed logical.
The addition of Texas to the Union would allow
for Western Expansion.
A bill was introduced to accept Texas as a state
John Q. Adams blocked the passage of the bill
 Slavery would be allowed in Texas if it was annexed
 Did not want slavery to spread anywhere else
 The debate dragged on until Houston withdrew his
support

Trouble in the Army

Felix Huston, commander of the Texas army


Wanted to go back to war with Mexico
Prevention of war
Houston tried to replace Huston with Albert Sidney
Johnston
 When Johnston tried to take command of the
Army, Huston challenged him to a duel.
 Johnston was injured and was Huston still in
command


Houston sent 600 soldiers home so Huston
would not start another war!
Native Texan Policy


Native’s resent the large numbers of Anglo’s moving
onto their land.
The TX Congress refused to accept a treaty that
Houston and the Native’s had signed during the
Revolution.




In return for keeping peace during the Revolution the
Cherokees promised some of their land in East Texas
Rich farmland
Fought back with raids.
Houston asked the Texas Rangers for help…attacks
continued.
Election of 1838

Texas Constitution limited the first president to
a 2 yr. term
Later presidents will serve for 3 yrs.
 No president could be elected 2 times in a row


1838 Mirabeau B. Lamar becomes the 2nd
president of the Republic of Texas
Lamar’s Plan for the Republic of
Texas

Lamar’s plan:
1. Clear Texas of all Native Americans
 2. Spend large sums of borrowed money on military
expeditions.
 3. Wanted Texas to remain independent and
expand its territory.

Clashes with Native Texans



Lamar wanted to kill or force Native Americans out of
Texas.
The Cherokees became his first targeted group.
1839 – Lamar ordered Chief Bowles to lead the
Cherokees out of Texas.




Chief Bowles refused to leave.
Lamar sent General Douglass to drive them out!
Douglass’ militia attacked the Cherokees near the Neches
River on July 16, 1839.
Chief Bowles was killed and the Cherokees were forced to
move to Oklahoma.
Clashes with Native Texans



Lamar’s next target were the Comanche's in
Southwest Texas.
Comanche’s agreed to a meeting in San Antonio to
discuss peace.
Comanche's promised to surrender all Anglo captives.



Only delivered one girl, Matilda Lockhart, who looked as
though she might have been tortured.
Texans were furious!
The Texans demand that they release all captive's.

The Comanche’s protested stating that those captive’s were
being held by leaders who were not present at the meeting.
Clash with the Native Texans


When the Comanche's leaders tried to leave, the Texans
attacked.
This conflict became known as the Council House
Fight.


Led to the deaths of 7 Texans and many Comanche leaders,
who were outnumbered and unarmed.
When news reached the other Comanche tribes, they
were furious!

In response the Comanche’s killed the remaining Anglo
captives and raided the towns of Linnville and Victoria in
South Texas.
Battle of Plum Creek

August 11, 1840, the Comanche's and the
Texans fought in what became the Battle of
Plum Creek.
More than 100 Comanche's were killed.
 Bad feelings between the Comanche's and Texans
continued for decades, but the raids had ceased.

Relations with Mexico



Lamar’s attempts at improving relations
between Texas and Mexico were ineffective.
Lamar’s vision of a larger Texas also created
conflicts with the present-day state of New
Mexico.
The Treaties of Velasco placed the border
between Texas and Mexico at the Rio Grande,
as far north as the present-day state of
Colorado.
Santa Fe Expedition



The Rio Grande as the boundary would include
the city of Santa Fe and the Pueblo colonies as
part of Texas.
The U.S. Congress refused to allow troops to
be sent to New Mexico.
Lamar ignored the refusal and sent General
McLeod and 270 men to Santa Fe to convince
the people that they were Texans.
Santa Fe Expedition



Once the troops arrived, the people refused to
become part of Texas.
Without supplies to get back home, the Texas
troops surrendered to New Mexican authorities
and were marched back to Texas.
Effects of the Santa Fe Expedition:
1. wasted money Texas did not have
 2. increased tensions between TX and Mexico
 3. resulted in a loss of life

A New Capitol for Texas


In 1839, TX congress authorized the capitol to
be moved to a location along the Colorado
River.
This new city was named Austin, in honor of
Stephen F. Austin.
Education




Lamar is best known for his contributions to
education in the Republic of Texas.
He wanted to create a public school system in Texas.
He believed a strong educational system would make
Texas a great nation.
Texas Congress set aside 18,000 acres of land to build
public schools.


Also set aside 220,000 acres for 2 universities.
Because of these actions, Lamar became known as the
“Father of Education in Texas.”
Financial
Difficulties




The financial situation worsened during
Lamar’s term as President of Texas.
The use of bills known as “redbacks” (due to
the color of ink used on the back).
The redbacks went down in value and became
worth almost nothing.
As a result of Lamar’s spending, Texas
increased the public debt to almost $7 million.
Sam Houston Returns


Sam Houston returned to the Texas Presidency
in 1841.
Houston still wanted to be annexed to the
United States and spend very little money.
Mier Expedition




1842-1844 – the most disastrous of all border
confrontations between TX and Mexico.
About 300 Texans, under the command of
William Fisher, moved into and occupied the
city of Mier, Mexico.
The troops left the city when the alcalde
(mayor) promised to deliver supplies to the
Texas troops.
The supplies were never delivered so on
Christmas Day, the Texas troops again entered
Mier by force.
Mier Expedition

Heavy fighting ensued.
Texas suffered 31 killed and wounded
 Mexicans suffered 600 killed and 200 wounded




Texans eventually surrendered due to lack of
supplies.
Texas prisoners were at first sentenced to
executed but the sentence was later reversed.
176 prisoners were sentenced to death after an
attempt at escape.
The Black Bean Episode




176 Texas prisoners were sentenced to death by
Santa Anna. However, Santa Anna eventually
changed the sentence to 1 in every 10 men
would be executed.
Who was executed depended on what color
bean they pulled from the jar.
Each prisoner was blind folded and forced to
choose a bean out of the jar.
17 prisoners that drew a black bean were blind
folded and executed.
Houston Attempts
Annexation…Again!



New US president, John Tyler, wanted to allow
Texas annexation.
Vote went to the Senate and the ballot fell short
by 1 vote.
Texas annexation became a key component to
future US presidential campaigns.
Election of 1844



Dr. Anson Jones was elected as the 4th
President of the Republic of Texas.
James K. Polk won the US Presidency.
This was great news for Texas and annexation!
Texas Becomes a State


February 26, 1845, Texas officially became the
28th state of the United States.
Congress approved annexation with a joint
resolution.