Sam Houston's First Term as President
In September of 1836, Texans elected Houston as the first
president of the Republic of Texas. One major event during
Houston's term, he made the city of Houston the capital of the new
Republic. When Texas became a Republic, it was already in debt
(owing money). Despite Houston' s efforts to raise money through
taxes and tariffs, the debt continued to rise.
Along with money problems, Texas also had problems with
Mexico. Mexico refused to recognize Texas' independence and the
Mexican army continued to send expeditions into Texas.
Another critical issue was the relationship of Texas settlers and
Native Americans. Due to his personal experiences with Native
Americans, Sam Houston believed that the white man could
continue to live peacefully alongside the Native Americans.
Finally, Houston supported the issue of annexation. He believed
that Texas could benefit from becoming part of the United States.
Houston' s first term as president of the Republic ended in 1838.
Mirabeau Lamar
Mirabeau Lamar was born in Georgia and moved to Texas in 1835.
During the Texas Revolution he served as Major General and
commander of the Texas army.
When Houston was elected president, Lamar became his vice
president. Two years later, he became the second president of the
Republic from 1838 through 1841. Lamar was popular with
Texans and was thought of as a very eloquent speaker.
One ofLamar's major accomplishments was the changing of the
capital of Texas from Houston to the town of Waterloo, which later
was renamed Austin. Another of his major achievements was the
establishment of a public education system. He urged congress to
set aside land for public education, including two colleges and
universities. For this he earned the nickname "Father of
Education".
There were several aspects of conflict that Lamar faced as the
president of the Republic. There was an increasing public debt due
to the growing amount of government spending and a failed
attempt to create a new money system. In addition to this, there
were ongoing conflicts with Mexico including the failed Santa Fe
Expedition which only reinforced the idea that Mexico refused to
recognize Texas as a free and independent nation.
When the issue of Annexation arose, Lamar did not support Texas
becoming part of the United States. He believed that Texas could
grow to become its own powerful nation and eventually expand its
territory to the Pacific Ocean. Lamar also wanted Texas to be free
of Native American attacks. He believed that Texas settlers and
Natives could not live together peacefully and wanted the Natives
removed from Texas.
Sam Houston's Second Term as President
In 1841, Sam Houston returned as President of Texas. Despite his best
effolÿs, the debt in Texas continued to grow.
President Houston returned Texas to the peaceful Native American
policy of his first term. He established more frontier trading posts to
encourage trade with the Native Americans, and he signed peace
treaties with various tribes.
One important event during this time was the Regulator-Moderator
War. Houston sent soldiers into east Texas to stop settlers from
fighting over land.
In 1842, a group of about 500 Mexican soldiers invaded South Texas
and Texans began to panic. President Houston ordered the
government archives, or official documents to be moved from Austin
to the city of Houston. The citizens of Austin thought Sam Houston
was trying to move the capital back to the city of Houston and a fight
broke out. This skirmish was called the Archives War.
The Mexican army continued to be a problem along the border
between the Republic and Mexico. After a large group of Mexican
soldiers invaded, Houston sent soldiers to the border to protect it. A
group of Texas soldiers went into Mexico and invaded the city of
Mier. The Texans were captured leading to the Black Bean Incident.
Houston did not feel the need to extend Lamar's educational policies
due to the other critical matters that were occurring at that time.
Houston fully supported the annexation of Texas to the United States.
His presidential term ended in 1844.
Dr. Anson Jones
In 1844, Jones was elected the last president of the Republic of
Texas. He held this office until Texas' annexation in 1846. He
remained silent on the issue of annexation and he failed to take any
action. He resigned the presidency and turned over the
government to Governor Henderson, the first governor of the state
of Texas.
During his administration, Texas was still struggling with a huge
debt. Jones wanted to have a peaceful relationship with the Native
Americans in Texas.
When Texas began considering annexation to the United States,
Mexico offered to recognize Texas as an independent nation;
however the offer was not approved by Texas.
After Texas became a state, Jones hoped to be elected to the U.S.
Senate, but his failure to take action on the issue of annexation had
cost him his political career. He never got over his defeat, and he
died a bitter man.