The Texas Revolution

A PowerPoint Presentation by

Ms. Kohli

Spanish Texas

• The Spanish land called Tejas was rich and desirable, as it had forests, rich soil, and great grassy plains.

• Tejanos are people of Spanish heritage who consider Texas their home.

• The Spanish government wanted to attract more settlers to move to Texas to help defend against Native Americans and Americans who illegally sneaked into Texas.

Mexican Independence Changes Texas

• Stephen Austin created a colony in Texas that attracted 297 families.

• Tensions between American settlers and Tejanos increased because the Americans resented following Mexican laws.

• To resolve tensions, the Mexican government: stopped American immigration levied taxes sent troops to Texas

Texans Revolt Against Mexico

• In 1833, Austin set off for Mexico City with a petition listing all the reforms supported by both Americans and Tejanos.

• In Mexico City, the Mexican president, Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna learned of a letter Austin had written that threatened a rebellion if Santa Anna didn’t approve of his petition.

• The Battle of Alamo was a result of tensions between the Texans and Mexicans. In 1836, the Texans defended a church called the Alamo against the Mexican army; all but five Texans were killed.

Men of the Alamo

Sam Houston

Juan Seguin

William Travis

Davy Crockett

Victory at San Jacinto

• On April 21st, 1836, the Texans advanced on the Mexican army “with the stillness of death”.

• In just 18 minutes, the Texans killed more than half of the Mexican army.

• Santa Anna was forced to sign a treaty giving Texas its freedom.

• With the Battle of San Jacinto, Texas was no independent.

Lone Star Republic• In September 1836,

Texans raised a flag with a single star.

• Sam Houston was elected president of the Lone Star Republic.

• The Texas government asked Congress to annex Texas, but Congress vetoed the annexation because it worried about the slavery issue and about another war with Mexico.

Images from the Texas Revolution