Ch.16, Sec.1- The Spanish West
and Southwest
Life in Northern New Spain
• New Spain’s northern frontier was made
up of California, New Mexico, and Texas,
with Santa Fe being the capital. Spanish
colonists in California were known as
Californios.
Early Texas
• By the mid-1700s only a few thousand
Spanish settlers called Tejanos were living
in what is now Texas.
Mexico Gains Independence
• In September 1810 about 80,000 poor American Indians
and mestizos in joined in revolt against Spanish rule.
Father Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla led the rebellion. The
rebels hoped that independence would improve their
living conditions. In 1811, the Spanish defeated the
rebels and killed the priest.
• Father Jose Maria Morelos y Pavon continued the
revolution. Morelos fought until he was captured in 1815.
Then in 1821, under Agustin de Iturbide, the rebels
defeated the Spanish, winning independence for Mexico.
Iturbide made himself emperor, but was forced by the
army to step down 2 and a half years later. A new
congress created the Constitution of 1824, which made
Mexico a republic. The country included what is now
Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, and
Utah. It also contained parts of Colorado, Kansas,
Oklahoma, and Wyoming.
Sec.2- Texas Gains Independence
American Settlers in Texas
• The new Mexican republic wanted to attract
more people to Texas. Mexico hired
empresarios, or agents, to bring settlers to
Texas. In exchange, they received land, as much
as 67,000 acres for every 200 families. In 1821,
Stephen F. Austin selected a colony site on the
lower Colorado River and began carefully
choosing settlers. These first 300 families
became known as the Old Three Hundred. By
1834, more than 20,000 Americans had moved
to Texas.
Trouble in Texas
• By 1821 Mexico had set requirements for all foreign
immigrants. They had to become Mexican citizens, obey
Mexican laws, and support the Roman Catholic Church.
However, most U.S. settlers were not interested in
adapting to Mexican culture or becoming Mexican
citizens. These settlers often ignored Mexican laws.
• The Mexican government limited American immigration
in 1830. Officials worked to keep settlers from bringing
slaves, which concerned settlers who were slaveholders.
Tariffs on goods from the U.S. were raised, and Mexico
sent more soldiers to Texas. Stephen F. Austin tried to
keep the peace, but in 1833 when he went to Mexico
with a petition asking for more self-government, he was
thrown in jail. General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna was
also elected president of Mexico that same year. When
Austin was released from jail after a year and a half, he
called on Texans to rebel against Mexico.
The Texas Revolution Begins
• The Texas Revolution started in the town of Gonzales in
October 1835, when the Mexican army tried to remove a
cannon there. In a brief battle, Texans defeated the
Mexican soldiers. In November 1835 a group of Texans
formed a temporary government with the goals of
defeating Santa Anna and restoring Mexico’s republican
constitution. Texas volunteers soon captured the towns
of Goliad and San Antonio. Led by William Travis and
Jim Bowie, Texans occupied the Alamo. Santa Anna was
determined to put down the rebellion and led an army of
about 1,800 troops to San Antonio.
The Texas Revolution Begins cont.
• Other famous fighters at the Alamo were Davy
Crockett and Juan Seguin. When Santa Anna
arrived on February 23, 1836, Travis had only
189 troops. For 13 days the Mexican troops
surrounded the Alamo. On March 6, 1836, the
Mexican army attacked. Although the Mexicans
suffered heavy losses, they soon overpowered
the Texans. All the defenders of the Alamo were
killed. Santa Anna spared the lives of a few
people not involved in the fighting.
The Texas Revolution Begins cont.
• Following the victory at the Alamo, Mexican
forces attacked the Texas troops near the town
of Goliad. At the Battle of Goliad, the Texans
were greatly outnumbered and Texas
commander James Fannin chose to surrender.
Santa Anna then ordered the execution of
Fannin and almost all of his soldiers. This
shocked some of the Mexican troops and
angered many Texans. Francita Alavez, a nurse,
hid several of Fannin’s men, leading to her being
known as the Angel of Goliad.
Texas Becomes a Republic
• Four days before the Battle of the Alamo,
Texas delegates had met to declare
independence from Mexico. Within 2
weeks they had written a constitution. Both
the Texas Declaration of Independence
and Constitution were modeled on those
of the U.S. A major difference though was
they made slavery legal. David Burnet was
elected temporary president and Lorenzo
de Zavala as vice president.
Texas Becomes a Republic cont.
• Sam Houston became commander in chief of the new
Texas army. His soldiers were outnumbered and
untrained, but they made a stand at San Jacinto, near
present day Houston. Santa Anna had become too
confident in his victory and chose a campsite carelessly.
On April 21, 1836, while the soldiers were resting,
Houston’s forces attacked the camp shouting
“Remember the Alamo, Remember Goliad!” This was
known as the Battle of San Jacinto, and they defeated
Santa Anna’s troops, destroying his army. Texans
captured Santa Anna and forced him to sign a treaty
giving Texas its independence. Santa Anna was then
thrown out of power. Although the fighting was over,
many Mexican officials did not accept that Texas was
independent.
Sec.3- The Lone Star Republic
Texas Faces the World
• The independent nation of Texas was called the
Republic of Texas. Its capital was Houston. Voters
elected Sam Houston as president. Mirabeau Lamar was
chosen as vice president. In 1837, the new government
asked the U.S. to annex, or take control of, Texas. The
majority of Texans hoped Texas would eventually
become a U.S. state. Most Texas leaders also supported
this. Members of the U.S. Congress wanted to annex
Texas, but President Jackson was concerned because
Texas supported slavery, and this would upset the
balance between free states and slave states. Also,
Jackson did not want to go to war with Mexico over
Texas.
American Indians and Tejanos
• Sam Houston lived with the Cherokee in Tennessee
which led him to support a peaceful relationship with
American Indians. However, in 1838 when Mirabeau
Lamar became president, he demanded that American
Indians leave their homelands and follow Texas laws, or
he would use military action. This led to fighting between
the 2 forces.
• When Houston was elected to a second term as
president in 1841, fighting slowed, but Texans had
already forced most American Indians from their lands.
Tejanos also were treated unfairly by the Texans.
New Immigrants
• To increase the republic’s population, Texas leaders
decided to offer land grants to American and European
settlers. The Texas population grew by about 100,000
from 1836-1847. Most of these immigrants were from the
southern states in the U.S. Because slavery was legal in
Texas, there were almost 70,000 slaves there by 1845.
• In 1840 the Texas Congress passed a law that banned
free African Americans from immigrating to Texas. The
law stated that free African Americans living in Texas
would have to leave within 2 years or be sold into
slavery. As a result of this by 1850 there were fewer than
400 free African Americans living in Texas.
Struggles of the Republic
• In 1835, the Texas Rangers were a frontier
defense that later acted as law officers as
well.
• In 1844, Texas and Mexico signed a peace
treaty.
Sec.4- Oregon and the Far West
The Fur Traders
• Most of the first non-American Indians who
traveled to the Rocky Mountains and the
Pacific Northwest were fur traders and
trappers that were known as mountain
men. One of the largest businesses that
bought furs from trappers was the
American Fur Company owned by John
Jacob Astor.
Oregon Country
• In 1811 John Jacob Astor founded Astoria
as a center for fur trade. It was one of the
earliest American settlements in the region
later called Oregon Country.
The Missionary Spirit
• Missionaries were among the first Americans to
settle in Oregon Country. In 1836, missionaries
Marcus and Narcissa Whitman went there to
convert American Indians to Christianity. The
Whitmans settled in Walla Walla, in present day
Washington State. They founded a mission
called Waiilatpu. Settlers stopping at Waiilaptu
brought diseases that led to an epidemic that
killed many Cayuse children. In anger a group of
Cayuse killed the Whitmans and at least 10
others.
The Oregon Trail
• Many of the settlers moving to Oregon Country
and other western areas followed the Oregon
Trail, which stretched more than 2,000 miles
across the northern Great Plains and the Rocky
Mountains. Pioneers started their journey in
Independence or St. Joseph, Missouri, or
Council Bluffs, Iowa. After it crossed the
Rockies, the trail split into two paths, one to
Oregon Country and one to California. The trip
lasted about 6 months. It took a family of 4 about
$600 to make the trip.
Sec.5- California and the
Southwest
Going to California
• In the 1830s and 1840s California was still under
Mexican rule. The main route to California started with
the Oregon Trail. At the Snake River in present day
Idaho, the trail split. Settlers who wanted to go to
California took the southern route known as the
California Trail.
• The Donner Party was a group of western travelers with
bad luck and poor judgment. The party began its journey
in the spring of 1846 and got lost when trying to find a
shortcut. When they reached the Sierra Nevada, they
became trapped by heavy snows. A rescue party found
them in February 1847. Out of 87 of them, 42 had died.
• In 1839, John Sutter started a colony called Sutter’s Fort,
located near the Sacramento River and soon became a
popular rest stop for many American immigrants.
Other Southwestern Trails
• The Mexican government allowed
American merchants to come to New
Mexico, which led to the Santa Fe Trail.
The trail ran from Independence, Missouri
to Santa Fe, New Mexico. They would
trade cloth and other manufactured goods
in exchange for horses, mules, and silver.