Young Texas State Review
All information can be found in your Young State Study Guide and notes from previous units.
Both sources are available online at Mr. Cranford’s website. You should understand and be able
to explain the following information:
1. All vocabulary terms (bolded words).
2. Defining characteristics of this time period.
3. Main reasons why Texans wanted to be annexed (added) to the U.S. and main reasons why
some Americans (including the U.S. government at times) did not want Texas to be annexed.
4. How Polk’s election victory and manifest destiny supported the annexation of Texas.
5. The steps Texans took in forming a state government, to include provisions of their state
constitution and identity of their leaders (governor and senators).
6. The development of political parties, the main issues each specific party supported or opposed
and the groups of people they normally appealed to and represented.
7. The Native American reservation system in Texas: its criticism, why it was not successful, and
how the government planned on protecting Texas settlers.
8. Causes, sequence of events during the Mexican War, leaders, criticism of the war, and effects
of the war.
9. American military strategy and why the U.S. won the war.
10. Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
11. Mexican Cession
12. Pearce Act
13. Why Texas experienced a dramatic increase in immigration.
14. What groups immigrated to Texas, where they tended to settle, and types of jobs they had.
You must do the following to earn bonus points to be applied to your exam:
1) Study with your parent or another adult for a minimum of 30 minutes (or more if you
don’t feel confident in your understanding of the content). Focus on the above topics
and your handout. Test questions will be based on the above topics and are
explained in your study guide and notes from previous units, all available online at
Mr. Cranford’s website.
2) Pass the exam.
3) Return this signed form by exam day: Tuesday, February 5.
_______________________________
Student Name
_______________________/________________________
Parent Name
Parent Signature
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The Young Texas State
Chapter 14-1: A State Government
1. A New Constitution: The first task of the new state government was to write a new
constitution for Texas. The document was based on other states’constitutions. The Texas
Constitution of 1845 provided for a governor. There was also a legislature, or body of elected
members that makes laws. Its two houses were the House of Representatives and the Senate. The
constitution also created a supreme court and district and county courts. At first, the governor
chose all the judges. In 1850, the constitution was amended, or changed, to allow voters to
choose the judges. Slavery was protected under the new constitution.
2. Texas Legislators at Work: Members of the legislature stayed busy trying to solve the
problems of the young state. The governor was allowed to serve for two years. The first elected
governor of Texas was J. Pickney Henderson. Sam Houston and Thomas J. Rusk were the first
Texans elected to the U.S. Senate. David Kaufman and Timothy Pillsbury were Texas’s first
members of the U.S. House of Representatives.
3. Political Parties: Texas politics centered around strong leaders. Political parties developed in
Texas by the 1850s. Most of the leaders of early Texas were members of the Democratic Party.
The Democratic Party was strong in the South and had supported the annexation of Texas. The
party generally represented farmers and laborers. The other major party in the United States
was the Whig Party. The Whigs generally represented business and commercial interests. The
Whig Party had little support in Texas. The party had been against annexation. It also was against
slavery in territories of the United States. In the mid-1850s some Texans joined the American, or
Know-Nothing, Party. The American Party wanted to keep new immigrants from voting or
holding office. It was called the Know-Nothing Party because when asked about the party or its
activities its members would say, “I know nothing.” The American Party was part of Texas
politics for only a few years. It influenced the Democratic Party in the state. The Democratic
Party took the practice of nominating candidates at political conventions from the American
Party. A convention is a political meeting held to choose candidates for office. None of the major
political parties in this period represented African Americans. Although some African Americans
were free, they were not allowed to vote or join political parties in Texas. Some filed petitions
with the legislature to remain free. Others went to court.
4. Federal Aid for Reservations: To prevent clashes between settlers and Native Americans, the
federal government stationed troops in western Texas. By 1851, though, the line of settlements
had moved beyond the line of new forts. As a result, the federal government built a new string of
seven forts. These forts were located about 100 miles to the west. As more and more settlers
moved farther west, the fighting with Native Americans increased. The U.S. government made
plans to relocate the Native Americans on reservations. The Wacos and Tonkawas were moved
to a reservation near present-day Graham. The Comanches were sent to a reservation on the
Brazos River. The reservation system in Texas was never a success. The Native Americans were
not given enough land in the reservations. Others could not adopt the limited way of life. Many
settlers did not like the system because they thought the Native Americans made their raids from
the reservations. To end the conflict, the government decided to move Native Americans to the
Indian Territory north of the Red River. Some Native American groups continued their raids.
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Chapter 14-2: War With Mexico
5. Causes of the Mexican War: The Mexican government never recognized the Republic of
Texas.
It also did not accept Texas as part of the United States. Even Mexicans who recognized Texas
independence could not accept the Rio Grande as the boundary between Texas and Mexico.
Mexico insisted that the Nueces River was the boundary. Trade and business created by the
United States spreading west also caused conflict between the United States and Mexico.
American merchants in Texas had expanded trade into Mexico. American merchants were also
trading with China and other countries in the Pacific and East Asia. To help this trade, the United
States wanted the port of San Francisco in California, which was part of Mexico. In addition,
Mexico’s army had destroyed much American property in the Texas Revolution. The United
States demanded that the Mexican government pay the victims of this damage. The United States
was going to pay all the debts and give $30 million to Mexico. In return, the United States wanted
the Mexico-Texas boundary set at the Rio Grande. The United States also wanted Mexico to cede,
or give up, California and part of New Mexico. The Mexican government, however, refused to talk,
so in March 1846, President Polk ordered General Zachary Taylor to move U.S. troops across the
Nueces River to the Rio Grande.
6. War Declared: In May 1846, Mexican and American soldiers clashed near the Rio Grande.
Some Americans were killed, so on May 13, the U.S. Congress declared war. Some members of
Congress questioned the reasons for going to war. Abolitionists—people who worked to end
slavery—thought war was an excuse to increase slavery. More than 5,000 Texans signed up to
fight in the war. Various Texas leaders commanded troops. These leaders included Mirabeau B.
Lamar and J. Pinckney Henderson. Several companies of Texas Rangers served as scouts for the
American army as it marched into Mexico. Unfortunately, some Texans were so anti-Mexican that
they took out their anger on Mexican civilians.
7. United States Victory: The United States Army was better equipped than the Mexican army.
The United States also had better military leaders. By September 1846, General Zachary Taylor’s
army had moved south to Monterrey, Mexico. In 1847, Taylor and his men defeated Santa Anna
at Buena Vista, and General Winfield Scott captured Mexico City. Other troops moved west to
occupy California. On February 2, 1848, representatives from the United States and Mexico met
at the Mexican town of Guadalupe Hidalgo to sign a treaty. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo set
the Texas boundary at the Rio Grande. Mexico gave up its claims to Texas and all the land
between western Texas and the Pacific Ocean. This territory, known as the Mexican Cession,
included Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico, and parts of Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming.
The United States paid $15 million for the land and another $3.5 million for other expenses. The
Mexican citizens who lived in the lost territory had one year to decide if they wished to become
American citizens.
8. The New Mexico Boundary Dispute: The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ended the dispute
between the United States and Mexico concerning Texas. The people in Santa Fe, New Mexico,
however, did not want to become part of Texas. They wanted to be a separate territory or state.
People in the northern United States did not want slavery to expand from Texas to New Mexico.
Members of Congress, led by Henry Clay, worked out a solution. Under the Pearce Act, part of the
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Compromise of 1850, Texas agreed to give up part of the disputed territory in exchange for $10
million from the United States.
Chapter 14-3: Immigrants Come to Texas
9. Texas Triples Population in Ten Years: After statehood, Texas’s population grew quickly.
The census, or count of the population, taken by the U.S. government in 1850 counted 212,592
Texans. This was almost a 50 percent increase since 1847. In the next 10 years, the population
grew to 604,215, nearly triple what it was in 1850. Many people came to Texas because it was
now part of the United States. Land was cheap and slavery was legal. Under the Homestead Act
settlers could claim land just by living on it and improving it. They could purchase more for a
small amount of money. Many settlers came from other Southern states. New counties were
needed because of the increase in population. The counties were needed to take care of collecting
taxes and holding elections. Texas had 36 counties when it joined the Union in 1845. By 1860
there were 122 counties. One of the first things the state legislature did was create 26 new
counties.
10. Mexican Texans: Many people from Mexico also moved to Texas. Most Mexican Americans
lived in one of three areas: the area between the Nueces River and the Rio Grande, the San
Antonio-Goliad area, and the area along the Rio Grande from Del Rio to El Paso. South Texas
towns like Laredo, Corpus Christi, and Brownsville grew rapidly. Many Mexican Americans
worked as farmers and ranchers. Some owned ranches, but others worked as cowhands and
ranch laborers. Mexican Americans living in towns were business owners, teamsters (animal
drivers), servants, laborers, and craftworkers.
11. Politics and Bias: Some Mexican Americans became active political leaders. José Antonio
Navarro held offices in the republic and later became a state senator. Other Mexican Americans
faced hostility and prejudice. Juan Cortina was a protector of the rights of Mexicans and Tejanos
and a hero to people living on the Texas-Mexico border. Government authorities saw him as an
outlaw and believed he was responsible for much violence along the Rio Grande. The Texas
Rangers and Mexican army watched over the border, but peace did not come easily. Some of the
negative feelings against Mexican Americans were left over from the battles of the Alamo and
Goliad. Bitterness also developed because Tejanos held land Anglos wanted. In spite of prejudice
and discrimination, Mexican Texans held onto their culture. As time went by, the Mexican culture
mixed with Anglo American culture. Today many Mexican Americans are bicultural and bilingual.
12. German Texans: Thousands of people came to Texas from Europe. German immigrants
began to come during the days of the republic. German communities such as Fredericksburg and
New Braunfels continued to grow. Some settled in the larger cities, including Galveston, Houston,
and San Antonio. Poor potato harvests and other hardships drove many Germans from their
homeland. Germans contributed to medicine and science in Texas.
13. Other European Arrivals: Immigrants from Ireland, England, and France also came to
Texas. They settled in major cities and became artisans, merchants, and laborers. Many Poles,
Czechs, and Norwegians came to Texas in the late 1840s and the 1850s. Jewish immigrants had
been active in Texas since the days of colonization. Immigrants did more than just increase the
Texas population. They brought music, languages, arts, literature, and traditions. They also
brought new skills, crafts, and ideas. These elements became part of a diverse Texas culture.
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