Mexican Independence Stations Warm-Up – Analyze mural Station 1: Grito de Dolores Station 2: Timeline Station 3: Philip Nolan Station 4: Gutierrez-Magee Expedition Station 5: Spanish Government Station 6: Long Expedition Station 7: Mexican Independence Mexican Independence Stations Objective: I will identify the individuals, issues, and events related to Mexico becoming an independent nation and its impact on Texas by completing stations. TEKS: (D) identify the individuals, issues, and events related to Mexico becoming an independent nation and its impact on Texas, including Texas involvement in the fight for independence, José Gutiérrez de Lara, the Battle of Medina, the Mexican federal Constitution of 1824, the merger of Texas and Coahuila as a state, the State Colonization Law of 1825, and slavery; Activity: Class will discuss the mural on Mexico’s fight for Independence. Students will then be placed in small groups and assigned to stations. There are 7 stations for students to complete. Students will be given 10-12 minutes at each station. After the stations are completed, the class will come together to discuss each station. Preparation: Make copies of station handouts. Have multiple handout on hand in each station so students can work quickly and independently. Print out station placards and place in the station. Stations: Warm-Up – Analyze mural Station 1: Grito de Dolores Station 2: Timeline Station 3: Philip Nolan Station 4: Gutierrez-Magee Expedition Station 5: Spanish Government Station 6: Long Expedition Station 7: Mexican Independence Warm Up: Look at the mural below. Write an overview of what you see in the mural. Station 1: Grito de Dolores Station 1 Grito de Dolores “My children: a new dispensation comes to us today. Will you receive it? Will you free yourselves? Will you recover the lands stolen three hundred years ago from your forefathers by the hated Spaniards? We must act at once... Will you defend your religion and your rights as true patriots? Long live Our Lady of Guadalupe! Death to bad government! Death to the gachupines!” - Father Miguel Hidalgo 1. Who gave this speech? 2. What was the speaker urging his audience to do? 3. What class of people was he directing this speech at? (refer to journal notes) 4. What do you think gachupines means? Station 2: Timeline Station 2 Timeline 1519 1821 Pineda Maps the Texas Coastline Mexican Independence from Spain 1810 Father Hidalgo issues his famous call of Mexico’s Independence called the Grito of Dolores 1813 1718 Battle of Medina 1803 United States acquired the Louisiana Purchase San Antonio de Valero Established 1824 Mexican Federal Constitution of 1824 Station 3: Philip Nolan Station 3 Philip Nolan Philip Nolan was an American who threatened Spanish rule. He was known as a filibuster (a person who wages an unofficial war on a country). The Spanish never truly believed that the only reason Nolan was entering Texas was to capture wild horses to sell in the United States. At first he had permission by the Spanish government to enter Texas. The Spanish government became suspicious when he began to visit with General James Wilkinson. General James Wilkinson was the United States army commander of the American frontier that bordered Spanish Texas. The Spanish governor feared that Nolan was plotting to take Texas from Spain. The United States had been interested in Texas as far back as 1803 under President Thomas Jefferson. The Spanish always had a difficult time securing their northern borders. Nolan ignored the warnings. Near Waco, Philip Nolan and 17 other men met up with soldiers in Waco. A fight broke out and Philip Nolan was killed. The men who were captured were taken to Mexico. 1. Do you think Philip Nolan was working with the United States government to take control of Texas from Spain? 2. What evidence would you give to support your opinion? Station 4: Gutierrez-Magee Expedition Station 4 Gutierrez-Magee Expedition After taking control of the Neutral Territory for the United States, Augustus Magee resigned from the U.S. Army and met Bernardo Gutierrez de Lara. Gutierrez had been a follower of Father Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla. Father Hidalgo was part of the independence movement from Spain. Father Hidalgo believed that Mexico, not Spain, should control the affairs of the government. Geographically, Mexico was located very far from Spain. Gutierrez-Magee organized a group of men made up of Tejanos, Native Texans, Anglo Americans, and other volunteers to fight for Mexican Independence. They arrived in Nacogdoches in 1812 and proclaimed Texas independent of Spain. The men of the Gutierrez-Magee Expedition were known as filibusters. These filibusters marched to the presidio at La Bahia. There they were attacked by Spanish forces. Magee died during the attack but the filibusters were successful. The filibusters went on to defeat the Battle of Salado and they occupied San Antonio. In San Antonio, Gutierrez was replaced as the leader. Near the Medina River, another battle occurred. This is known as the Battle of Medina. The expedition was defeated and almost all the filibusters were killed. 1. Write a four sentence summary on the Gutierrez-Magee Expedition. 2. How was the Guiterrez-Magee Expedition successful in the fight for independence? 3. How do you think these events will impact Texas? Station 5: Long Expedition Station 5 Long Expedition In 1815 in Natchez, Mississippi, Jane Wilkinson married Dr. James Long. Dr. Long had been involved in the Battle of New Orleans and decided to take part in Mexican Independence. Dr. Long decided to go to Nacogdoches and declare Texas independent from Spain. Once there, he set up posts along the Brazos and Trinity River and went to Galveston to ask for help from the pirate Jean Lafitte. Jane Long followed her husband to Galveston and decided to stay after Dr. Long went for more help. While in La Bahia, Dr. Long was captured by Spanish soldiers because he was seen as a filibuster. He was taken to Mexico City and put in prison. While in prison, Dr. Long was shot and killed by a prison guard. Jane Long, her daughter Ann, and her slave Kian were in Galveston alone. Jean Lafitte and his men had left the island. Jane Long was left alone on the island defending herself from the Karankawa Indians, wild animals, and a snowy winter. On top of that, she was pregnant. After Jane found out about her husband’s death, she returned to Mississippi, but found out she had few opportunities as a widow woman with small children. 1. Who were Dr. James Long and his wife? 2. Why did Dr. James Long support Mexican Independence? 3. If you were Jane would you return to Texas? 4. How do you think these events will impact Texas? Station 6: Spanish Government Station 6 Spanish Government The lure of the West was very appealing to Americans. After buying the Louisiana Territory in 1803, the United States was now Spain’s neighbor. Spain no longer had to worry about France, but now they began worrying about the United States. Spain saw more and more Americans crossing the Mississippi and settling in Spanish lands. The United States government was even becoming interested in seeing how they could acquire Spanish territory. ● In 1800, Philip Nolan had been given permission to do business in Texas, but he had close ties to the U.S. government. ● 1803, the U.S. acquired the Louisiana Purchase. ● General Andrew Jackson followed American Indians into Spanish Florida without any permission by Spain. ● Americans gained control of land Spain claimed because they did not agree with the Adams-Onis treaty. ● More and more filibusters were moving into Texas. 1. Write a four sentence summary of the Spanish Government. 2. Why would Spain be against the independence of Mexico? 3. Why would Spain not trust the United States? Station 7: Mexican Independence Station 7 Mexican Independence The Mexican struggle for independence began with the Grito de Dolores (Cry of Dolores). In September of 1810, Miguel Hidalgo, the parish priest of the small town of Dolores in central Mexico, uttered the country’s cry for independence. He called not only for liberation from Spain, but also for the end of slavery and the return of lands to the indigenous inhabitants. After Hidalgo’s failed attempts at instigating a revolution, José María Morelos, another revolutionary priest, and the army general Agustín Iturbide continued the struggle. The Plan of Iguala, a proclamation which Iturbide authored together with the rebel leader Vicente Guerrero in 1821, proclaimed Mexico’s independence from Spain while reaffirming the country’s alliance with the Roman Catholic Church and establishing equal rights for both criollos and peninsulares. On August 24, 1821, with the signing of the Treaty of Córdoba, Spain finally recognized the independence of the First Mexican Empire, led by none other than Iturbide himself. 1. Write a four sentence summary of Mexican Independence. 2. Who was the first person to call for Mexican independence? 3. What did the Plan of Iguala proclaim in addition to Mexican independence?
