Texas
1836
Background of the Battle of the Alamo:
• in 1821, when Mexico won its independence
from Spain.
• having difficulty finding settlers, they invited
tejas, or Americans, into the area to settle in
1823.
• the tejas were from the southern states, so
the Mexicans came up with several rules for
them to follow.
Rule 1: No slavery in Mexico.
Rule 2: All immigrants must become Mexican.
Rule 3: All immigrants must become Catholic.
Rule 4: All immigrants must swear loyalty to
the new Mexican republic.
Over 30,000 settlers under Stephen Austin
came to settle, and all went well until 1834.
In 1834, President Antonio
Lopez de Santa Anna, who
called himself the “Napoleon
of the West,” began to make
Mexico into a dictatorship.
He was resisted by the tejas,
who had kept none of the
four rules. They wanted
independence instead, and
Santa Anna gathered an
army of federales.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ed/Oleo_Antoni
o_Lopez_de_Santa_Anna.PNG/473pxOleo_Antonio_Lopez_de_Santa_Anna.PNG
Santa Anna was indignant
about the revolution, and
declared in a forceful letter
to Andrew Jackson that any
Americans found fighting
would be treated as “pirates”
and killed on sight.
His army of 6000 soldiers,
plus many supplies, moved
north to fight.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ed/Oleo_Antoni
o_Lopez_de_Santa_Anna.PNG/473pxOleo_Antonio_Lopez_de_Santa_Anna.PNG
http://www.poorwilliam.net/pix/texas-revolution-map.jpg
The tejas met at Washington
on-the-Brazos (river) and
created their own republic.
They elected Sam Houston
as president and general.
They then nervously began
looking for soldiers and
supplies.
He also sent Jim Bowie to
collect cannon from the
Alamo and to retreat north.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8e/SHouston_2.
jpg/225px-SHouston_2.jpg
Bowie was an adventurer
and credited inventor of the
Bowie knife. While he was at
the Alamo, he was unable to
move the cannon, and was
convinced instead to stay
and try and slow down Santa
Anna’s army, heading north.
He was joined by about 150
Americans, including
outdoorsman Davy Crockett.
http://www.lsjunction.com/people/bowie.jpg
http://www.texasescapes.com/SanAntonioTx/Alamo/AlamoBattlePaintingTexasStateLibraryNArchives.jpg
The end result?
100-200 Americans killed, with no survivors.
400-600 Mexicans killed, with the rest of the
army crippled.
Santa Anna gained the Alamo, and Texans
gained a rallying cry, “Remember the Alamo!”
Later, at the battle of San Jacinto, Santa
Anna’s army was defeated and the general
was captured. This ended the war.
Texas became the Lone Star Republic until
1845, when Polk admitted it to the Union.
•Texas cities named after heroes:
Austin, the capital
Houston, the largest city
Dallas, after Polk’s Vice President.
•Mexican hatred towards American for
“stealing” Texas (and later California) from
them. This would later lead to the MexicanAmerican war of 1846-1848.