CONVENTION OF 1836
Looking to American government
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The U.S. declaration of independence starts with a clause justifying the Patriots’
actions. In the justification they had listed complaints with the British king. The
Texan one is very similar. In it says that Santa Anna violated the liberties that were
guarantied under the Mexican Constitution.
• The convention of 1836 said Texans were being deprived of several rights. They
included: freedom of religion, the right to a fair trial by jury, the right to bear arms,
and the right to petition the government. A petition is a formal request that is written
to the government to take action or change a policy. Also, because Mexico sent a
large army, the declaration also included that the Texans’ petition against the policies
met with the military force.
Looking to American government
• There were also many similarities between the U.S. Declaration of
independence and the Texas constitution.
• Both created three branches of government: the, executive, legislative,
and the judicial.
• Like the U.S. , the constitution of Texas included the Bill of Rights.
Looking to American government
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The Bill of Rights:
Freedom of speech
Freedom of the press
Freedom of religion
Trial by jury
Other basic rights that allowed civil, political, and religious freedom.
Spanish and Mexican
Models
• Some of the Texas constitution was based on the common practices in law courts of
Mexico and Spain.
• Both husbands and wives are allowed to own community property
• A handful of early colonies allowed widows some property rights, but most banned
women from rights like that
• To this day, only nine states have community property: most were one controlled by
Spain
• There were protections for people in debt in the constitution. For example, if you
were in debt, your land could not be taken away as that debt. This opportunity drew
several immigrants to Texas.
• Texas also had several unique provisions. For example, there was a strict rule that
ministers and priests could not be in office.
Limits on Rights
• Unfortunately, the Convention of 1836 didn’t treat everyone in Texas equally. One
reason was because slavery was still permitted; it was made legal. On top of that,
people who moved into Texas were allowed to bring slaves with them.
• Those who were slaves weren’t given any rights. They weren’t allowed to be freed. If
you were a free African American, you weren’t permitted to live in the republic of
Texas. I you did, you had to get permission form the legislature, and your rights were
restricted. The African Americans played a role in gaining independence for Texas, but
they were not allowed to live freely.
• Not only were African Americans limited on rights, so were the Native Americans.
Sam Houston was an adopted member of the Cherokee and in 1835, he started the
idea of creating a treaty for the Cherokee. The treaty Sam Houston spoke of was
finalized in February, 1836. This treaty gave members of the Cherokee rights to their
land. However, because the convention did not approve it, it never went into effect.
Limits on Rights
• Not only were African Americans limited on rights, so were the Native Americans.
Sam Houston was an adopted member of the Cherokee and in 1835, he started the
idea of creating a treaty for the Cherokee. The treaty Sam Houston spoke of was
finalized in February, 1836. This treaty gave members of the Cherokee rights to their
land. However, because the convention did not approve it, it never went into effect.
An Add Interim
Government
• Because there wasn’t any time to hold elections for approving the constitution and
electing a new leader for the new government, it was essential to create a temporary
government. The last act of the convention was selecting officers for the add interim
government. The officers they chose were to serve until a regular election would be
held. The president was David G. Burnet. By a unanimous vote Sam Houston was
selected as commander-in-chief. He was put in charge of the volunteers and the
regular army.
On the move
• Often, the convention received reports from the Alamo. There were several delegates that
wanted to leave the meeting in order to go fight. However, speaking convincingly of the
importance of their work, Sam Houston convinced them to stay. To take command of the
army at Gonzalez, he left the convention on March 6.
On the move
• Word reached the convention on March 15 that the Alamo had fallen. On March 17, the
delegates heard that the army of Santa Anna was marching towards Washington-on-theBrazos. When the heard this, the convention ended and the members scattered. The
president and his cabinet headed to the southeast and established Harrisburg, which is
still a small town in Houston today. A few weeks later Santa Anna went there and the
Texas government had to flee once again. Now there was war headed for the Republic of
Texas.