NAME ________________________________________ DATE _____________ CLASS ______
The Road to Revolution
Lesson 2: First Conflicts
ESSENTIAL QUESTION
Why does conflict develop?
Terms to Know
commerce the buying and selling of goods and services
enforce to apply a rule or law; to carry out by force
import to bring in goods from foreign countries
skirmish a minor fight, usually during wartime
resolution a formal statement of an opinion made by an official group
delegate a representative of a group attending a formal meeting
decline to turn down
What do you know?
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For each statement, write a T for true or an F for false. When you finish reading the lesson, review your
answers and correct any, if necessary.
1.
General Santa Anna fought against Mexico for Texas.
2.
The Turtle Bayou Resolutions declared independence for Texas.
3.
Texans won a victory at the Battle of Velasco.
4.
At the Convention of 1832, Texans asked that Texas become a separate state.
5.
At the Convention of 1833, Stephen F. Austin wrote a constitution for a new state of Texas.
Trouble at Anahuac
Guiding Question What events brought about the Turtle Bayou
Resolutions?
A tax collector and Mexican soldiers were assigned to control
commerce at the port of Anahuac. Commerce is the buying and
selling of goods and services. The garrison was commanded by
Colonel John (Juan) Davis Bradburn. Soon after Bradburn arrived,
colonists at Anahuac accused him of refusing to hand over
escaped enslaved people. They also accused his troops of stealing
supplies. However, the colonists’ main issue was that Bradburn
tried to enforce the duty on goods that were being imported, or
brought by ship from foreign countries, into Texas.
Marking the
Text
1. Underline the
definition of the word
commerce.
Reading Essentials and Study Guide 121
NAME ________________________________________ DATE _____________ CLASS ______
The Road to Revolution
Lesson 2: First Conflicts, continued
Finding the
Main Idea
2. Why did Bradburn
arrest Travis and Jack?
Explaining
3. Why did John Austin
go back to Brazoria?
On Bradburn’s orders, a tax collector at Anahuac tried to collect
duties on goods as far away as the Brazos River. Mexican troops
were stationed at the mouth of the Brazos River, but there was no
tax collector. To pay duties, ship captains on the Brazos were
expected to dock and travel overland to Anahuac. This angered
the ship captains, and some of them took their ships up the Brazos
without stopping for clearance. This resulted in an exchange of
gunfire between Texans and Mexican troops.
In May of 1832, Bradburn arrested two lawyers, William B. Travis
and Patrick C. Jack. Bradburn claimed that they had interfered with
his efforts to enforce the laws. Two different groups of angry settlers,
totaling about 200 people, marched to Anahuac. Frank W. Johnson
and William H. Jack, Patrick’s brother, led one group from San Felipe.
John Austin, a friend and possibly a relative of Stephen F. Austin,
led the other party from Brazoria.
Marking the
Text
Meanwhile, General Antonio López de Santa Anna, a Federalist,
was leading a revolt against Centralist president Anastacio
Bustamante (uh•nuhs•TAH•see•oh boos•tah•MAHN•tay). Bustamante
was unpopular with Texans. They believed his Centralist rule went
against the Mexican Constitution of 1824. Santa Anna promised to
follow the constitution, and most Texans supported him.
Defining
5. Highlight the contents
of the Turtle Bayou
Resolutions.
News reached Turtle Bayou that Santa Anna had won a battle
in Mexico against Centralist forces. On June 13, 1832, the Texans
adopted the Turtle Bayou Resolutions.
Turtle Bayou
Resolutions
declared loyalty to
Mexico, but not to
Mexican government
122
Reading Essentials and Study Guide
stated support for
Santa Anna and
Mexico’s Federalists
Copyright © McGraw-Hill Education. Permission is granted to reproduce for classroom use.
4. What is the meaning of
the word skirmish?
A small skirmish, or fight, occurred between the Texans and
the Mexican troops. The Texans captured some of Bradburn’s
soldiers. They hoped to exchange them for Travis and Jack.
Bradburn agreed to the exchange if the Texans retreated. The
Texans released the soldiers, but some of the Texans would not
withdraw. Therefore, Bradburn did not release Travis and Jack and
called in more forces. The Texans made camp at nearby Turtle
Bayou. They realized they needed more firepower, so John Austin
went back to Brazoria to get a cannon.
NAME ________________________________________ DATE _____________ CLASS ______
The Road to Revolution
Lesson 2: First Conflicts, continued
Back at Anahuac, Colonel José de las Piedras, who controlled
the Mexican garrison at Nacogdoches, arrived. Piedras believed
that the Texans outnumbered his soldiers, so he gave in to their
demands. He removed Bradburn from command and released
Travis and Jack. Bradburn fled from Texas, and Piedras returned to
Nacogdoches. A Federalist officer took charge at Anahuac. He
declared support for Santa Anna, closed the fort, and moved his
troops to Mexico to join the fight against the Centralists.
Reading
Progress Check
6. Why did the Turtle
Bayou Resolutions
support the Federalists
of Mexico?
Texans Seek Change
Guiding Question What were the goals of the conventions of
1832 and 1833?
As the situation in Anahuac calmed, violence flared at Velasco,
near the mouth of the Brazos River, on June 26, 1832. John Austin
and his group had gotten the cannon at Brazoria and loaded it
onto a ship. However, the Mexican commander, Colonel Domingo
de Ugartechea (oo•gahr•teh•CHAY•ah), would not let them pass at
Velasco. The Texans and Mexicans began fighting.
Identifying
Cause and Effect
7. What caused the Battle
of Velasco?
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The Battle of Velasco was short but bloody. When the Mexicans
ran out of ammunition, Ugartechea surrendered. Austin’s group
then sailed on to Anahuac. By the time they arrived, Travis and
Jack had already been freed.
Meanwhile, those supporting Santa Anna were winning. In the
late summer of 1832, Bustamante resigned as president of Mexico.
The next year Santa Anna took power. Most Texans were pleased.
They believed he would treat Texas well, since he was a Federalist.
Fifty-five delegates, or representatives, from Anglo American
settlements met at a convention in San Felipe in October 1832.
Stephen F. Austin presided over the convention. They agreed to
send proposals to the Mexican government and chose William H.
Wharton and Rafael Manchola to present them.
The proposals of the Convention of 1832 were mainly ideas long
favored by Texans. They wanted:
• to resume immigration from the United States
• to exempt Texas from import duties for three years
Defining
8. What is a delegate?
Marking the
Text
9. Highlight the proposals
made at the Convention
of 1832.
• to make Texas a separate state of Mexico
Not one of these proposals was ever presented. Some leaders
thought that the fact that most of the delegates were Anglo
Americans weakened their position.
Reading Essentials and Study Guide 123
NAME ________________________________________ DATE _____________ CLASS ______
The Road to Revolution
Lesson 2: First Conflicts, continued
Reading
Progress Check
10. What role did Sam
Houston play at the
Convention of 1833?
In April 1833, Anglo Americans called a second convention
at San Felipe. Most of the delegates at this convention had not
attended the first one. Among the new delegates was Sam
Houston, representing Nacogdoches.
The Convention of 1833 adopted resolutions similar to those
adopted in 1832. However, this meeting went further. It drew up
a constitution for the proposed state. Sam Houston served as
chairman of the committee that wrote the constitution.
Stephen F. Austin, Dr. James B. Miller, and Erasmo Seguín were
chosen to take the Convention’s resolutions to Mexico City.
However, Dr. Miller stayed in Texas to treat many people suffering
with a serious illness. Seguín declined to go. As a result, Austin
went to Mexico alone.
Writing
Check for Understanding
1. Expository What were the Turtle Bayou Resolutions?
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Reading Essentials and Study Guide
Copyright © McGraw-Hill Education. Permission is granted to reproduce for classroom use.
2. Expository How did the Convention of 1833 take further action than the Convention of 1832
had taken?