Texas Declaration of Independence
Encyclopedia
Republic of Texas
The Republic of Texas was an independent nation in North America, bordering the United States and Mexico, that existed from 1836 to 1846.Formed as a break-away republic from Mexico by the Texas Revolution, the state claimed borders that encompassed an area that included all of the present U.S...
from Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
in the Texas Revolution
Texas Revolution
The Texas Revolution or Texas War of Independence was an armed conflict between Mexico and settlers in the Texas portion of the Mexican state Coahuila y Tejas. The war lasted from October 2, 1835 to April 21, 1836...
. It was adopted at the Convention of 1836
Convention of 1836
The Convention of 1836 was the meeting of elected delegates in Washington-on-the-Brazos, Texas in March 1836. The Texas Revolution had begun five months previously, and the interim government, known as the Consultation, had wavered over whether to declare independence from Mexico or pledge to...
at Washington-on-the-Brazos
Washington-on-the-Brazos, Texas
Washington-on-the-Brazos is an unincorporated area along the Brazos River in Washington County, Texas, United States. It was founded when Texas was still a part of Mexico, and the settlement became the site of the Convention of 1836 and the signing of the Texas Declaration of Independence...
on March 2, 1836, and formally signed the following day after errors were noted in the text.
Background
In October 1835, settlers in Mexican TexasMexican 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...
launched the Texas Revolution
Texas Revolution
The Texas Revolution or Texas War of Independence was an armed conflict between Mexico and settlers in the Texas portion of the Mexican state Coahuila y Tejas. The war lasted from October 2, 1835 to April 21, 1836...
.
However, within Texas, many struggled with understanding what was the ultimate goal of the Revolution. Some believed that the goal should be total independence from Mexico, while others sought the reimplementation of the Mexican Constitution of 1824 (which offered greater freedoms than the centralist government declared in Mexico the prior year). To settle the issue, a convention was called for March 1836.
This convention differed from the previous Texas councils of 1832
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...
, 1833
Convention of 1833
The Convention of 1833 , a political gathering of settlers in Mexican Texas, was a successor to the Convention of 1832, whose requests had not been addressed by the Mexican government...
, and the 1835 Consultation. Many of the delegates to the 1836 convention were young men who had only recently arrived in Texas, although many of them had participated in one of the battles in 1835. Most of the delegates were members of the War Party and were adamant that Texas must declare its independence from Mexico. Forty-one delegates arrived in Washington-on-the-Brazos on February 28.
Development
The convention was convened on March 1 with Richard EllisRichard Ellis (politician)
Richard Ellis was an American plantation owner, politician, and judge on the Fourth Circuit Court of Alabama. He was president of the Convention of 1836 that declared Texas' independence from Mexico, signed the Texas Declaration of Independence, and later served in the Republic of Texas...
as president. The delegates selected a committee of five to draft a declaration of independence; the committee was led by George Childress and also included Edward Conrad, James Gaines, Bailey Hardeman
Bailey Hardeman
Bailey Hardeman was the first Secretary of the Treasury for the Republic of Texas.Bailey was a younger son of Thomas Hardeman and his first wife Mary Perkins. Both families were early settlers in Tidewater Virginia...
, and Collin McKinney
Collin McKinney
Collin McKinney was a land surveyor, merchant, politician, and lay preacher. He is best known as an important figure in the Texas Revolution as being one of the five individuals who drafted the Texas Declaration of Independence and the oldest person to sign it.-Biography:McKinney was born in...
. The committee submitted its draft within a mere 24 hours, leading historians to speculate that Childress had written much of it before his arrival at the Convention.
The declaration was approved on March 2 with no debate. Based primarily on the writings of John Locke
John Locke
John Locke FRS , widely known as the Father of Liberalism, was an English philosopher and physician regarded as one of the most influential of Enlightenment thinkers. Considered one of the first of the British empiricists, following the tradition of Francis Bacon, he is equally important to social...
and Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
, the declaration proclaimed that the Mexican government "ceased to protect the lives, liberty, and property of the people, from whom its legitimate powers are derived" and complained about "arbitrary acts of oppression and tyranny". The declaration officially established the Republic of Texas
Republic of Texas
The Republic of Texas was an independent nation in North America, bordering the United States and Mexico, that existed from 1836 to 1846.Formed as a break-away republic from Mexico by the Texas Revolution, the state claimed borders that encompassed an area that included all of the present U.S...
.
Among others, the declaration mentions the following reasons for the separation:
- The 1824 Constitution of Mexico1824 Constitution of MexicoThe Federal Constitution of the United Mexican States of 1824 was enacted on October 4 of 1824, after the overthrow of the Mexican Empire of Agustin de Iturbide. In the new constitution, the republic took the name of United Mexican States, and was defined as a representative federal republic, with...
establishing a federal republicFederal republicA federal republic is a federation of states with a republican form of government. A federation is the central government. The states in a federation also maintain the federation...
had been usurped and changed into a centralist military dictatorshipMilitary dictatorshipA military dictatorship is a form of government where in the political power resides with the military. It is similar but not identical to a stratocracy, a state ruled directly by the military....
by Gen. Antonio López de Santa AnnaAntonio López de Santa AnnaAntonio de Padua María Severino López de Santa Anna y Pérez de Lebrón , often known as Santa Anna or López de Santa Anna, known as "the Napoleon of the West," was a Mexican political leader, general, and president who greatly influenced early Mexican and Spanish politics and government...
. - The Mexican government had invited settlers to TexasTexasTexas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
and promised them constitutional liberty and republican government, but then reneged on these guarantees. - Texas was in union with the Mexican state of CoahuilaCoahuilaCoahuila, formally Coahuila de Zaragoza , officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Coahuila de Zaragoza is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico...
as Coahuila y TejasCoahuila y TejasCoahuila y Tejas was one of the constituent states of the newly established United Mexican States under its 1824 Constitution.It had two capitals: first Saltillo, and then Monclova...
, with the capital in distant SaltilloSaltilloSaltillo is the capital city of the northeastern Mexican state of Coahuila and the municipal seat of the municipality of the same name. The city is located about 400 km south of the U.S. state of Texas, and 90 km west of Monterrey, Nuevo León....
, and thus the affairs of Texas were decided at a great distance from the province and in the Spanish languageSpanish languageSpanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
. - Political rights to which the settlers had previously been accustomed, such as the right to keep and bear arms and the right to trial by juryJury trialA jury trial is a legal proceeding in which a jury either makes a decision or makes findings of fact which are then applied by a judge...
, were denied. - No system of public educationPublic educationState schools, also known in the United States and Canada as public schools,In much of the Commonwealth, including Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United Kingdom, the terms 'public education', 'public school' and 'independent school' are used for private schools, that is, schools...
had been established. - The settlers were not allowed freedom of religionFreedom of religionFreedom of religion is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance; the concept is generally recognized also to include the freedom to change religion or not to follow any...
.
Based upon the United States Declaration of Independence
United States Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence was a statement adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, which announced that the thirteen American colonies then at war with Great Britain regarded themselves as independent states, and no longer a part of the British Empire. John Adams put forth a...
, the Texas Declaration also contains many memorable expressions of American political principles:
- "the right of trial by jury, that palladium of civil liberty, and only safe guarantee for the life, liberty, and property of the citizen."
- "our arms ... are essential to our defence, the rightful property of freemen, and formidable only to tyrannical governments."
Mexico’s abolition of slavery a prime motivation?
Some believe that one of the reasons for the secession was Mexico’s abolition of slavery.In 1829 Mexico abolished slavery, but it granted an exception until 1830 to Texas. That year Mexico made the importation of slaves illegal.Anglo-American immigration to the province slowed at this point, with settlers angry about the changing rules. To circumvent the law, numerous Anglo-American colonists converted their slaves to indentured servants, but with life terms. Others simply called their slaves indentured servants without legally changing their status. Slaveholders trying to enter Mexico would force their slaves to sign contracts claiming that the slaves owed money and would work to pay the debt. The low wages the slave would receive made repayment impossible, and the debt would be inherited, even though no slave would receive wages until age eighteen. In 1832 the state passed legislation prohibiting worker contracts from lasting more than ten years. The abolition of slavery created tensions between the Mexican government and slave-holding settlers from the United States. These tensions came to a head in the Anahuac Disturbances. In August 1831, Juan Davis Bradburn the military commander of the custom station on Upper Galveston Bay gave asylum to two men who had escaped from slavery in Louisiana. The slaveowner hired William Barret Travis, a local lawyer, in an attempt to retrieve the men. When Bradburn arrested Travis on suspicion of plotting an insurrection, settlers rebelled. The disturbances were resolved through a combination of arms and political maneuvering. One result was the Turtle Bayou Resolutions which were an explanation of the grievances that had led to the disturbances. One of the resolutions challenged Bradburn for "advising and procuring servants to quit the service of their masters, and offering them protection; causing them to labor for his benefits, and refusing to compensate them for the same.
Others dispute this contention and argue that there is little evidence to support this assertion. Only three contemporary references have been found that indicate a potential connection between slavery and the revolution. On the other hand, many other motivations for revolution have been documented, including taxation, tariffs, and lack of protection of rights that settlers had become accustomed to in the United States.
Signatures
- Richard EllisRichard Ellis (politician)Richard Ellis was an American plantation owner, politician, and judge on the Fourth Circuit Court of Alabama. He was president of the Convention of 1836 that declared Texas' independence from Mexico, signed the Texas Declaration of Independence, and later served in the Republic of Texas...
, President of the Convention and Delegate from Red River - Charles B. StewartCharles B. StewartCharles Bellinger Tate Stewart was an American-born pharmacist, doctor, and political leader in the Republic of Texas. He was born in Charleston, South Carolina but moved to Texas in 1830. Charles B. Stewart was a delegate from the Municipality of Austin to the Convention of 1836 where he signed...
- Thomas Barnett
- John S. D. Byrom
- José Francisco RuizJose Francisco RuizJosé Francisco "Francis" Ruiz was a Texas revolutionary-Early life and family:Ruiz was born in San Antonio de Bexar, Texas to Juan Manuel Ruiz and María Manuela de la Peña. Appointed the first schoolmaster of San Antonio in 1803, he designated a house acquired by his father on Military Plaza as...
- José Antonio NavarroJosé Antonio NavarroJosé Antonio Navarro was a Texas statesman, revolutionary, politician, and merchant. The son of Ángel Navarro and Josefa María Ruiz y Pena, he was born into a distinguished noble family at San Antonio de Béxar in New Spain....
- Jesse B. Badgett
- William D. Lacy
- William Menefee
- John Fisher
- Mathew CaldwellMathew CaldwellMathew Caldwell, , also spelled Matthew Caldwell was a 19th century Texas settler, military figure, Captain of the Gonzales - Seguin Rangers and a signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence...
- William Motley
- Lorenzo de ZavalaLorenzo de ZavalaManuel Lorenzo Justiniano de Zavala y Saenz was a 19th-century Mexican politician. He served as finance minister under President Vicente Guerrero. A colonizer and statesman, he was also the interim Vice President of the Republic of Texas, serving under interim President David G...
- Stephen H. Everett
- George W. SmythGeorge W. SmythGeorge Washington Smyth was a Texas politician and a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives. He is also noted as a signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence....
- Elijah Stapp
- Claiborne West
- William. B. Scates
- Michel B. Menard
- Augustine B. Hardin
- John Wheeler Bunton
- Thomas J. Gazley
- Robert M. Coleman
- Sterling C. RobertsonSterling C. RobertsonSterling Clack Robertson was an empresario from Tennessee, during Mexican Texas. He introduced 600 families into Robertson's Colony. Robertson was also an elected delegate to the Washington-on-the-Brazos convention, signing both the Texas Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the...
- Benjamin Briggs Goodrich
- George Washington Barnett
- James G. Swisher
- Jesse GrimesJesse GrimesJesse Grimes was a Texas pioneer and politician. Before moving to Texas, he fought in the War of 1812. He was a signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence. He served as Senator in the Republic of Texas Congress and in the Texas State Legislature. Grimes County was named in his honor...
- Samuel Rhoads FisherSamuel Rhoads FisherSamuel Rhoads Fisher was the secretary of the Navy of the Republic of Texas.He was born in Pennsylvania on December 31, 1794 and settled in Texas in 1830 with his wife and four children as a member of Austin's Third Colony. He represented Matagorda Municipality in the Convention of 1836 at...
- John W. Moore
- John W. Bower
- Samuel A. Maverick (from Bejar)
- Sam P. Carson
- Andrew BriscoeAndrew BriscoeAndrew Briscoe was an American pioneer who fought in the Texas Revolution against Mexican authority.Andrew was born in Claiborne County, Mississippi and emigrated to Anahuac, Texas, where he opened a store. He fought with the Texian army during the revolution, and signed the Texas Declaration of...
- James B. WoodsJames B. WoodsJames Bryan Woods was a merchant and political figure in Newfoundland. He represented Port de Grave in the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly from 1869 to 1873....
- James Collinsworth
- Edwin WallerEdwin WallerJudge Edwin Waller was an entrepreneur, signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence, the first mayor of Austin, Texas, and the designer of its downtown grid plan....
- Asa BrighamAsa BrighamAsa Brigham was a Texas politician and businessman and signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence , declaring independence from Mexico. He served as Texas Treasurer and mayor of Austin.- Biography :...
- George C. ChildressGeorge C. ChildressGeorge Campbell Childress was a lawyer, statesman and was a principal author of the Texas Declaration of Independence.-Early life:...
- Bailey HardemanBailey HardemanBailey Hardeman was the first Secretary of the Treasury for the Republic of Texas.Bailey was a younger son of Thomas Hardeman and his first wife Mary Perkins. Both families were early settlers in Tidewater Virginia...
- Robert Potter
- Thomas Jefferson RuskThomas Jefferson RuskThomas Jefferson Rusk was an early political and military leader of the Republic of Texas, serving as its first Secretary of War as well as a general at the Battle of San Jacinto. He was later a U.S. politician and served as a Senator from Texas from 1846 until his suicide...
- Charles S. Taylor
- John S. Roberts
- Robert Hamilton
- Collin McKinneyCollin McKinneyCollin McKinney was a land surveyor, merchant, politician, and lay preacher. He is best known as an important figure in the Texas Revolution as being one of the five individuals who drafted the Texas Declaration of Independence and the oldest person to sign it.-Biography:McKinney was born in...
- Albert Hamilton Latimer
- James Power
- Erastus Smith, known as "El Sordo"
- Sam HoustonSam HoustonSamuel Houston, known as Sam Houston , was a 19th-century American statesman, politician, and soldier. He was born in Timber Ridge in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, of Scots-Irish descent. Houston became a key figure in the history of Texas and was elected as the first and third President of...
- David ThomasDavid Thomas (Texas politician)David Thomas was a signatory of the Texas Declaration of Independence and the first Attorney General and acting Secretary of War of the Republic of Texas.-Early life and family:...
- Edward Conrad
- Martin ParmerMartin ParmerMartin Parmer was a 19th-century American frontiersman, statesman, politician and soldier....
- Edwin O. LegrandEdwin O. LegrandAlthough Edwin Oswald LeGrand was born in North Carolina in 1801, he was an original Texan. LeGrand was one of the fifty-seven men who signed the Texas Declaration of Independence. He was a San Augustine delegate to the Convention of 1836 at Washington-on-the-Brazos and fought in the Battle of...
- Stephen W. Blount
- Robert Thomas 'James' Gaines
- William Clark, Jr.William Clark, Jr. (1798–1871)William Clark, Jr. was a signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence and a legislator in the Republic of Texas. He is sometimes confused with his son, a Texas state legislator, who was also known as William Clark, Jr....
- Sydney O. Pennington
- William Carroll Crawford
- John Turner
- Herbert Simms Kimble, Secretary