CHAPTER 12
A NEW NATION
Section 1-4
CHAPTER 12 SECTION 1

Essential Question: How did the Constitution of
1836 affect Texas after the Revolution?
EVENTS FOLLOWING THE REVOLUTION
Texas Revolution ended on April 21, 1836
 May 1st, Santa Anna and Texas ad interim
(temporary) president David G. Burnett signed
the Treaties of Velasco
 June 1836 Santa Anna was put aboard the
Invincible to sail back to Mexico.
 Texas violated the treaty by putting Santa Anna
back in prison so Mexico refused to recognize the
treaty since Santa Anna signed it while a
prisoner of war

ELECTION OF 1836 RESULTS
Texas needed to form a new government
 President: Sam Houston
 Vice President: Mirabeau B. Lamar
 A congress was elected
 Voters ratified (approved) the Constitution of
1836 and desire to pursue annexation (formal
joining of one political region to another)

CHAPTER 12 SECTION 2

Essential Question: How will President Houston bring
order to the Republic of Texas?
HOUSTON’S GOALS DURING HIS
ADMINISTRATION (TERM OF OFFICE)
(1) peace with American Indians
 (2) guard against attack by Mexico
 (3) Texas to join the United States (annexation)

HOUSTON’S ATTEMPTS TO ACHIEVE HIS
GOALS
Appointed a cabinet (group of advisers) to assist
him
 Formed a court system
 Specified the Republic’s boundaries
 Congress selected Houston as the new temporary
capital

PROBLEMS HOUSTON FACED
Many army members wanted to invade Mexico
 Houston placed all but 600 members on leave and
did not replace them
 Houston relied on the Texas Rangers (defense
force)for keeping peace on the frontier
 Texas had a debt of $1.25 million
 The Republic’s expenditures (spending) for
exceeded its revenue (income)

HOUSTON’S ATTEMPT TO FIX DEBT ISSUES
FOR TEXAS
New gov’t collected taxes and placed customs
duties on imports
 Public land was put up for sale
 Asked for loans from the United States

HOW WAS LAND USED TO HELP?
In 1836, Texas claimed 200 million acres of
public land
 Established a colonization policy in the 1840s to
encourage immigration to Texas

HOUSTON WORKS TO PROTECT TEXAS
INDIANS
Houston wanted to avoid a war with Texas
Indians
 Worked for a peaceful solution
 Promoted trade with the Indians
 Many in the Republic disagreed with Houston
 Led by Vicente Cordova, the Cordova Rebellion
increased Texans’ suspicions that some American
Indians were allied with Mexico.
 William Goyens and Chief Bowles helped to
establish peace with the Cherokee and other
Indian groups.

CHAPTER 12 NOTES, SECTION 3

Essential Question: How did President
Lamar attempt to bring order to the
Republic of Texas?
PRESIDENT AFTER HOUSTON

Mirabeau B. Lamar was chosen as the second
president of the Republic
LAMAR’S GOALS FOR TEXAS
(1) public education system
 (2) choose a permanent capital for Texas…Lamar
thought Houston was too far east...Austin was
chosen
 (3) continue the Republic’s land policy…Congress
passed a Homestead Law to protect a family’s
home and land

PROBLEMS OF LAMAR’S
ADMINISTRATION
Economic hard times
 Rising debt due to increased military spending &
declining currency
 Conflicts with Indians and settlers

SANTA FE EXPEDITION
Lamar sent Edwin W. Moore to guard the coast of
Yucatan from being blockaded by the Mexican
Navy to access valuable trade moving along the
Santa Fe Trail
 Lamar sent an expedition to Santa Fe, New
Mexico to take control of the region- Santa Fe
Expedition
 Jose Antonio Navarro, a Tejano, accompanied
this expedition
 Group was captured and put in prison but
Navarro was held captive longer and ordered to
be executed by Santa Anna
 Navarro escaped back to Texas

WAR WITH THE TEXAS INDIANS
Lamar wanted American Indians removed from
Texas
 In 1839 Lamar ordered the Cherokee to leave
Texas and sent troops to remove them
 Many battles were fought between the Texans
and Indians, including the Council House Fight

RESULTS OF LAMAR’S INDIAN POLICY
He achieved his goal of pushing Cherokee out of
E. Texas
 Settlers were pleased with a safer frontier and
more land
 Some Texans were worried about the expense
that went with the increased warfare that cost
the Republic $2.5 million
 During Lamar’s term, the debt increased from
$3.3 million to $8M

CHAPTER 12 SECTION 4

Essential Question: How did President
Houston try to reduce the growing debt in Texas?
HOUSTON’S SECOND ADMINISTRATION
Cut government spending in hopes of achieving a
balanced budget
 Cut government jobs and salaries
 Reduced the size of the military and hoped to sell
the navy
 Issued a new currency and limited its circulation
 As a result of cuts, gov’t spending dropped from
$4.8 M under Lamar to $500, 000 under Houston
 Returned peaceful relationships between the
Indians and Texans
