List of Convention of 1832 delegates
Encyclopedia
The Convention of 1832
was the first political gathering of colonists in Mexican Texas
.
On August 22, the ayuntiamento (city council) at San Felipe de Austin (the capital of Austin's colony) called for each district to elect five delegates. Sixteen communities chose delegates. The two municipalities with the largest Tejano population, San Antonio de Béxar and Victoria, refused to participate. The majority of the elected delegates were known as relatively even-tempered. Many known agitators, such as James Bowie and William B. Travis
, were defeated. Tejanos did not have a large presence at the convention, largely due to the boycott by the Béxar and Victoria municipalities. Convention organizers invited several prominent Tejanos from these towns to attend, but all declined.
On October 1, 1832, 55 delegates met in San Felipe de Austin; attendance may have been diminished due to the short notice.
Over the next six days, the delegates adopted a series of resolutions requesting changes in the governance of Texas. Historian Eugene Campbell Barker suggests that the discussions would likely not have concluded so swiftly unless the delegates had done "considerable preparation before the meeting".
After approving the list of resolutions, delegates created a 7-member central committee to convene future meetings.The central committee was composed of Johnson, James B. Miller, Stephen F. Austin, Lewis Veeder, Robert Peebles, Wylie Martin, and William Pettis. (Gammel (1898), p. 496.) The central committee would be based in San Felipe "for the purpose of circulating information of events of importance to the interest of the people".
The convention adjourned on October 6 after unanimously electing Wharton to deliver the resolutions to the state legislature in Saltillo and to the Mexican Congress
in Mexico City. Just before the group dispersed, Rafael Manchola
, the alcalde
(mayor) of Goliad
, arrived. He was the only delegate from Goliad and the only Tejano to appear at the convention. Manchola volunteered to accompany Wharton at his own expense—he and other delegates thought the expedition might have more success if a Tejano was also involved. Days later, Austin wrote that "we have just had a convention of all Texas, native Mexicans and foreign settlers – all united as one man".
Convention of 1832
The Convention of 1832 was the first political gathering of colonists in Mexican Texas. Delegates sought reforms from the Mexican government and hoped to quell the widespread belief that settlers in Texas wished to secede from Mexico...
was the first political gathering of colonists in Mexican Texas
Mexican Texas
Mexican Texas is the name given by Texas history scholars to the period between 1821 and 1836, when Texas was an integral part of Mexico. The period began with Mexico's victory over Spain in its war of independence in 1821. For the first several years of its existence, Mexican Texas operated very...
.
On August 22, the ayuntiamento (city council) at San Felipe de Austin (the capital of Austin's colony) called for each district to elect five delegates. Sixteen communities chose delegates. The two municipalities with the largest Tejano population, San Antonio de Béxar and Victoria, refused to participate. The majority of the elected delegates were known as relatively even-tempered. Many known agitators, such as James Bowie and William B. Travis
William B. Travis
William Barret Travis was a 19th-century American lawyer and soldier. At the age of 26, he was a lieutenant colonel in the Texas Army...
, were defeated. Tejanos did not have a large presence at the convention, largely due to the boycott by the Béxar and Victoria municipalities. Convention organizers invited several prominent Tejanos from these towns to attend, but all declined.
On October 1, 1832, 55 delegates met in San Felipe de Austin; attendance may have been diminished due to the short notice.
Over the next six days, the delegates adopted a series of resolutions requesting changes in the governance of Texas. Historian Eugene Campbell Barker suggests that the discussions would likely not have concluded so swiftly unless the delegates had done "considerable preparation before the meeting".
After approving the list of resolutions, delegates created a 7-member central committee to convene future meetings.The central committee was composed of Johnson, James B. Miller, Stephen F. Austin, Lewis Veeder, Robert Peebles, Wylie Martin, and William Pettis. (Gammel (1898), p. 496.) The central committee would be based in San Felipe "for the purpose of circulating information of events of importance to the interest of the people".
The convention adjourned on October 6 after unanimously electing Wharton to deliver the resolutions to the state legislature in Saltillo and to the Mexican Congress
Congress of Mexico
The Congress of the Union is the legislative branch of the Mexican government...
in Mexico City. Just before the group dispersed, Rafael Manchola
Rafael Manchola
Rafael Antonio Manchola was a politician and military officer in Mexican Texas. He twice served as commandant of Presidio La Bahía. He served two terms in the legislature of the state of Coahuila y Tejas. At his behest, the community which had grown outside the fort was renamed Goliad and...
, the alcalde
Alcalde
Alcalde , or Alcalde ordinario, is the traditional Spanish municipal magistrate, who had both judicial and administrative functions. An alcalde was, in the absence of a corregidor, the presiding officer of the Castilian cabildo and judge of first instance of a town...
(mayor) of Goliad
Goliad, Texas
Goliad is a city in Goliad County, Texas, United States. It had a population of 1975 at the 2000 census. Founded on the San Antonio River, it is the county seat of Goliad County. It is part of the Victoria, Texas Metropolitan Statistical Area. Goliad is located on U.S. Highway 59, named also for...
, arrived. He was the only delegate from Goliad and the only Tejano to appear at the convention. Manchola volunteered to accompany Wharton at his own expense—he and other delegates thought the expedition might have more success if a Tejano was also involved. Days later, Austin wrote that "we have just had a convention of all Texas, native Mexicans and foreign settlers – all united as one man".
Committees
- Appeal of immigration ban (Immigration)
- Reduction of tariffs (Tariffs)
- Land business east of San Jacinto (Land business)
- Indian affairs (Native land claims)
- Regulate Customs affairs while no inspector (Customs)
- Schools
- Independent statehood (Statehood)
- Organize militia (Militia)
- English as a second language (English)
- Central Committee proposal
- Appoint a surveyor-general for Texas
Delegates
| Name | |District | |Committees | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Victoria Victoria, Texas Victoria is a city in and the seat of Victoria County, Texas, United States. The population was 60,603 at the 2000 census. The three counties of the Victoria Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 111,163 at the 2000 census,... |
Customs (chair) Militia (chair) Native lands Statehood Tariffs |
Presided over convention prior to election of president | |
| San Felipe de Austin | Finance Surveyor-General |
Elected President of the convention Supervised translation of documents Took a short leave of absence due to indisposition Named to Central Committee |
|
| Snow River | English | ||
| Tenahaw Shelby County, Texas *Arcadia*Brooklyn*Center*Dreka *Huxley*Joaquin*Possum Trot*Shelbyville *Tenaha*Timpson*Weaver-Education:The following school districts serve Shelby County:*Center ISD*Excelsior ISD... |
Native lands Statehood |
||
| Gonzales Gonzales, Texas Gonzales is a city in Gonzales County, Texas, United States. The population was 7,202 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Gonzales County.-Geography:Gonzales is located at... |
Statehood | ||
| Alfred | Schools | ||
| Alfred | Indian affairs Statehood |
||
| Tenahaw | Statehood | ||
| Hidalgo | Customs Indian affairs Militia Statehood |
||
| Mill Creek | Statehood | ||
| Mina | Statehood | ||
| San Jacinto | Statehood | ||
| Mill Creek | Statehood | ||
| Tenahaw | Land business | ||
| Tenahaw | Land business | ||
| Ayish Bayou San Augustine, Texas San Augustine is a city in San Augustine County, Texas, United States. The population was 2,475 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of San Augustine County and is situated in East Texas.-Geography:San Augustine is located at .... |
Land business | ||
| ViescaViesca was bounded by the Brazos River and the San Jacinto and Trinity Rivers, and the Atascocita Atascocita, Texas Atascocita is a census-designated place in Harris County, Texas, United States.Atascocita is a large, affluent development located north and south of Farm to Market Road 1960 about six miles east of Humble and eighteen miles northeast of downtown Houston in northeastern Harris County.Bordered on... and Old San Antonio Road Old San Antonio Road The Old San Antonio Road was a historic roadway located in the U.S. states of Texas and Louisiana. Parts of it were based on traditional Native American trails. Its Texas terminus was about southeast of Eagle Pass at the Rio Grande in Maverick County, and its northern terminus was at... s. |
English Finance Militia Statehood Tariffs (chair) |
||
| Viesca | |||
| Liberty Liberty, Texas Liberty is a city in and the county seat of Liberty County, Texas, United States and a part of the Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown metropolitan area. The population was 8,033 at the 2000 census.... |
Finance | ||
| Ayish Bayou | Land business Militia Native lands Statehood |
||
| Tenahaw | Finance Immigration Land business Native lands Surveyor-General |
||
| Nacogdoches Nacogdoches, Texas Nacogdoches is a city in Nacogdoches County, Texas, in the United States. The 2010 census recorded the city's population to be 32,996. It is the county seat of Nacogdoches County and is situated in East Texas. Nacogdoches is a sister city of Natchitoches, Louisiana.Nacogdoches is the home of... |
Schools | ||
| Alfred | Indian affairs (chair) Statehood |
||
| Nacogdoches | Statehood | ||
| Sabine | Finance (chair) Land business Statehood |
||
| Sabine | Statehood | ||
| Mina | English Central (proposed) (chair) |
||
| Snow River | Land business Statehood |
||
| Liberty | Immigration Land business |
||
| San Felipe de Austin | Militia |
Elected Secretary Named to Central Committee Recommended as Surveyor-General |
|
| Linnville | Central (proposed) English Finance |
||
| Alfred | |||
| San Felipe de Austin | Immigration Schools (chair) Statehood Surveyor-General |
Served as temporary chairman while Stephen Austin was indisposed | |
| Snow River | |||
| Lavaca | Central (proposed) Militia Tariffs |
||
| Snow River | Indian affairs Statehood |
||
| Goliad Goliad, Texas Goliad is a city in Goliad County, Texas, United States. It had a population of 1975 at the 2000 census. Founded on the San Antonio River, it is the county seat of Goliad County. It is part of the Victoria, Texas Metropolitan Statistical Area. Goliad is located on U.S. Highway 59, named also for... |
Manchola arrived after the convention adjourned. The only Tejano to participate in any way, he volunteered to accompany Wharton to deliver the petitions to Mexico City. | ||
| San Felipe de Austin | Customs Native lands Statehood |
Named to Central Committee | |
| Ayish Bayou | |||
| Ayish Bayou | Customs Land business Militia Native lands Schools Statehood |
||
| Lavaca | |||
| Victoria | Central (proposed) Tariffs |
||
| Lavaca | Schools Statehood |
||
| Victoria | Statehood | Granted a leave of absence for "extreme indisposition" | |
| Liberty | Finance Land business Statehood Tariffs |
||
| Sabine | |||
| San Jacinto | Statehood | ||
| Viesca | Statehood | ||
| Victoria | Tariffs (chair) | ||
| Gonzales | Indian affairs Statehood |
||
| Ayish Bayou | Land business Native lands |
||
| Lavaca | Customs Immigration Militia Statehood |
||
| Nacogdoches | English Finance Land business Native lands (chair) Statehood Tariffs |
Nominated for secretary of the convention (defeated) | |
| Hidalgo | Statehood | ||
| Liberty | Statehood | ||
| Victoria | Immgiration (chair) Statehood |
Nominated for president of the convention (defeated) Wrote petition requesting independent statehood Elected to deliver the petition to Mexico City |
|
| San Jacinto | Central (proposed) | ||
| Alfred |