9.3 Texas independence and annexation

Texas independence and annexation marked a pivotal period in U.S. expansion. Anglo-American settlers in Mexican Texas clashed with the government, leading to revolution and the creation of an independent republic in 1836.

The Republic of Texas faced serious challenges as a sovereign nation. The U.S. annexed Texas in 1845, sparking tensions with Mexico and intensifying debates over slavery that contributed to the Mexican-American War and further westward expansion.

Texas as a Mexican State

After gaining independence from Spain in 1821, Mexico incorporated Texas into the state of Coahuila y Tejas. The northern frontier was sparsely populated, so Mexico actively encouraged settlement there to create a buffer against both American encroachment and raids by Comanche and other Native American groups.

Empresarios and Anglo-American Settlers

Mexico used an empresario system to populate Texas. Empresarios were land agents granted large tracts of territory in exchange for recruiting a set number of settler families. Stephen F. Austin, often called the "Father of Texas," was the most successful of these agents. He established the first major Anglo-American colony along the Brazos River in 1825.

• Settlers came primarily from the southern United States, drawn by cheap, fertile land ideal for cotton farming.
• Many brought enslaved African Americans to work plantations, even though Mexico had moved to restrict and eventually abolish slavery.
• By the early 1830s, Anglo-American settlers outnumbered Mexican Tejanos in the region by a wide margin.

Tensions with the Mexican Government

Cultural and political friction grew steadily between the settlers and Mexico City.

• Most Anglo settlers resisted learning Spanish, converting to Catholicism, and following Mexican legal customs, all of which were conditions of their land grants.
• Mexico's shift toward centralized authority under President Santa Anna alarmed settlers who had enjoyed relative autonomy under the federalist Constitution of 1824.
• Mexico's efforts to enforce its ban on slavery directly threatened the plantation economy settlers had built.
• In 1832, the Turtle Bayou Resolutions laid out settler grievances and declared loyalty to the Constitution of 1824, framing their resistance as a defense of Mexican federalism rather than outright rebellion.

Texas Revolution

Tensions boiled over into armed conflict in October 1835. The Texas Revolution lasted roughly six months, ending in April 1836.

Siege of the Alamo

In February 1836, General Antonio López de Santa Anna marched a large Mexican army north and besieged the Alamo, a former mission in San Antonio defended by fewer than 200 Texians and Tejanos.

• Defenders included well-known figures like James Bowie and Davy Crockett.
• After a 13-day siege, Mexican forces stormed the Alamo on March 6, 1836, killing virtually all the defenders.
• Though a military defeat, the Alamo became a powerful rallying symbol. "Remember the Alamo" became the battle cry that fueled Texian recruitment in the weeks that followed.

Battle of San Jacinto

On April 21, 1836, General Sam Houston led the Texian army in a surprise afternoon attack on Santa Anna's camp at San Jacinto, near present-day Houston.

• The battle lasted roughly 18 minutes. The Texians routed the Mexican force, killing over 600 soldiers and capturing Santa Anna himself.
• Under duress, Santa Anna signed the Treaties of Velasco, which recognized Texas independence and set the Rio Grande as the border. Mexico's congress later repudiated these treaties, but the military reality on the ground had changed.

Establishment of the Republic of Texas

Texas had already formally declared independence on March 2, 1836, weeks before San Jacinto confirmed it on the battlefield. The new Republic of Texas (the "Lone Star Republic") won diplomatic recognition from the United States, France, Britain, and several other nations. Mexico, however, never acknowledged Texas as independent and considered it a rebel province.

Lone Star Republic

The Republic of Texas existed as an independent nation from 1836 to 1845. During these nine years, it struggled with problems that made long-term sovereignty difficult.

Sam Houston's Presidency

Sam Houston served as both the first and third president of the republic. His leadership shaped the early republic in several ways:

• He pursued diplomatic recognition from European powers and the United States.
• He worked to manage ongoing tensions with Mexico, which periodically threatened reinvasion.
• Houston consistently advocated for annexation to the United States, viewing it as the best path to economic stability and military security.

Challenges of Independence

The republic faced a combination of problems that undermined its viability:

• Financial weakness: Texas had almost no tax revenue and struggled to secure foreign loans. The republic accumulated significant debt.
• Military threats: Defending a long, disputed border against both Mexican incursions and Comanche raids stretched thin military resources.
• Political instability: Frequent leadership changes and factional disputes between pro-annexation and pro-independence camps made consistent governance difficult.

Push for U.S. Annexation

Most Texans favored joining the United States, but Washington hesitated for years. Three main concerns held up annexation:

• War with Mexico: Annexing territory Mexico still claimed would almost certainly provoke armed conflict.
• Slavery politics: Admitting Texas as a slave state would upset the fragile balance between free and slave states in Congress.
• Constitutional questions: Some questioned whether the U.S. could legally annex an independent nation.

What eventually shifted the calculus was the growing fear of British influence in Texas. Britain had strategic and commercial interests in an independent Texas, and Southern expansionists warned that Britain might push Texas toward abolition. This threat, combined with the desire to extend slavery westward, built enough political momentum for annexation.

U.S. Annexation of Texas

After nearly a decade of debate, the United States annexed Texas in 1845. The process was contentious and had major consequences for sectional politics.

Slavery and Sectional Tensions

Texas annexation deepened the divide between North and South.

• Southerners saw Texas as a chance to add at least one (and potentially several) new slave states, strengthening their representation in Congress.
• Northerners opposed annexation precisely because it would expand slavery's reach and tilt political power toward the South.
• The Missouri Compromise of 1820, which had drawn a line at 36°30' to separate future free and slave territory, was increasingly strained by the prospect of adding such a large slaveholding territory.

Joint Resolution vs. Treaty

The mechanics of how Texas was annexed matter because they reveal how divisive the issue was:

1. President John Tyler first tried to annex Texas through a treaty, which required a two-thirds vote in the Senate.
2. The treaty failed in June 1844, falling well short of the needed votes.
3. Tyler then pursued a joint resolution of Congress, which needed only a simple majority in both the House and Senate.
4. The joint resolution passed in early 1845, and Texas accepted the offer of annexation.

This approach was controversial. Critics argued it circumvented the Constitution's treaty-making process to push through a measure that couldn't win the supermajority the framers intended for such decisions.

Boundary Disputes with Mexico

Annexation immediately reignited the question of where Texas ended and Mexico began.

• Texas (and now the U.S.) claimed the Rio Grande as the southern and western boundary.
• Mexico insisted the border was the Nueces River, about 150 miles to the northeast.

The disputed strip of land between these two rivers became the flashpoint for war.

U.S.-Mexican War

The U.S.-Mexican War (1846–1848) resulted directly from the Texas annexation and transformed the map of North America.

Causes and Key Battles

President James K. Polk sent troops under General Zachary Taylor into the disputed territory between the Nueces and the Rio Grande. When Mexican forces engaged them in April 1846, Polk told Congress that Mexico had "shed American blood upon American soil," and Congress declared war.

Beyond the border dispute, Polk had broader territorial ambitions. He wanted to acquire California and the vast lands between Texas and the Pacific, driven by the ideology of Manifest Destiny.

Key battles included:

• Battle of Palo Alto (May 1846): The first major engagement, where U.S. artillery proved decisive.
• Battle of Monterrey (September 1846): A hard-fought urban battle in northern Mexico.
• Battle of Buena Vista (February 1847): Taylor's outnumbered force repelled Santa Anna's army, effectively securing northern Mexico.
• U.S. forces under General Winfield Scott eventually captured Mexico City in September 1847, ending major combat.

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, signed on February 2, 1848, ended the war on terms highly favorable to the United States:

• Mexico ceded roughly 525,000 square miles of territory, including present-day California, Nevada, Utah, and parts of Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Wyoming.
• The U.S. paid Mexico $\$15$ million and assumed $\$3.25$ million in American citizens' claims against Mexico.
• The Rio Grande was confirmed as the Texas-Mexico border.

Territorial Gains for the U.S.

The Mexican Cession was the largest territorial acquisition in U.S. history, nearly doubling the nation's size and extending it to the Pacific Ocean.

These gains immediately raised the question that would dominate American politics for the next decade: would the new territories allow slavery or not? The Wilmot Proviso (proposed in 1846, never passed) tried to ban slavery in any territory acquired from Mexico. Its failure showed how deeply divided Congress was. The fight over slavery in the western territories set the stage for the Compromise of 1850, the Kansas-Nebraska Act, and ultimately the Civil War.