United States Ambassador to Texas
Encyclopedia
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
that is now the state of Texas
Texas
Texas 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...
was part of the Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
possessions in the New World
New World
The New World is one of the names used for the Western Hemisphere, specifically America and sometimes Oceania . The term originated in the late 15th century, when America had been recently discovered by European explorers, expanding the geographical horizon of the people of the European middle...
called New Spain
New Spain
New Spain, formally called the Viceroyalty of New Spain , was a viceroyalty of the Spanish colonial empire, comprising primarily territories in what was known then as 'América Septentrional' or North America. Its capital was Mexico City, formerly Tenochtitlan, capital of the Aztec Empire...
. In 1821, after a long war with Spain, 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...
gained its independence from Spain and Texas became part of the Mexican Empire
Mexican Empire
The Mexican Empire or rarely Gran Mexico was the name of modern Mexico on two brief occasions in the 19th century when it was ruled by an emperor. With the Declaration of Independence of the Mexican Empire from Spain in 1821, Mexico became an independent monarchy, but was soon replaced with the...
in North and Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
.
In 1824 Mexico adopted a new constitution
1824 Constitution of Mexico
The 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...
and established the United Mexican States. Texas became the northern section of Coahuila y Tejas
Coahuila y Tejas
Coahuila 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...
state. In 1823 American colonists led by Stephen F. Austin
Stephen F. Austin
Stephen Fuller Austin was born in Virginia and raised in southeastern Missouri. He was known as the Father of Texas, led the second, but first legal and ultimately successful colonization of the region by bringing 300 families from the United States. The capital of Texas, Austin in Travis County,...
began to settle along the Brazos River
Brazos River
The Brazos River, called the Rio de los Brazos de Dios by early Spanish explorers , is the longest river in Texas and the 11th longest river in the United States at from its source at the head of Blackwater Draw, Curry County, New Mexico to its mouth at the Gulf of Mexico with a drainage...
on land that had been granted to them by Spanish Empire. The new Mexican government, however, refused to recognize the Spanish land grants. In 1825 the Mexican government made new land grants and more American families began to settle in Coahuila y Tejas.
However, with the colonists numbering over 11,000 by 1832 they were becoming less conducive to Austin’s cautious leadership, and the Mexican government was also becoming less cooperative—concerned with the growth of the colony and the efforts of the U.S. government to buy the state from them. The Mexican government had attempted to stop further U.S. immigration as early as April 1830, but the skills of Austin had gained an exemption for his colonies.
The continuing strife between the rebellious American settlers and the Mexican government eventually led the Mexican dictator Antonio López de Santa Anna
Antonio López de Santa Anna
Antonio 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...
to attempt to drive the Americans out of Texas. War began in earnest in October 1835 at 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...
. 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...
, created by a new constitution on March 2, 1836, won independence following a string of defeats with the dramatic turnabout victory at the Battle of San Jacinto
Battle of San Jacinto
The Battle of San Jacinto, fought on April 21, 1836, in present-day Harris County, Texas, was the decisive battle of the Texas Revolution. Led by General Sam Houston, the Texian Army engaged and defeated General Antonio López de Santa Anna's Mexican forces in a fight that lasted just eighteen...
on April 21, 1836, and the capture of Santa Anna the following morning.
The United States recognized the new independent nation of Texas and commissioned its first representative, Alcee La Branche
Alcée Louis la Branche
Alcée Louis la Branche was a member of the U. S. House of Representatives from the state of Louisiana. He served one term as a Democrat....
as the chargé d'affaires
Chargé d'affaires
In diplomacy, chargé d’affaires , often shortened to simply chargé, is the title of two classes of diplomatic agents who head a diplomatic mission, either on a temporary basis or when no more senior diplomat has been accredited.-Chargés d’affaires:Chargés d’affaires , who were...
in 1837. The U.S. never sent a full ambassador to Texas, but a series of chargés represented the government in Austin until Texas joined the Union.
In 1845 Texas voted to join the United States.
Chargés d’Affaires
- Alcée Louis la BrancheAlcée Louis la BrancheAlcée Louis la Branche was a member of the U. S. House of Representatives from the state of Louisiana. He served one term as a Democrat....
- Title: Chargé d'Affaires
- Appointed: March 7, 1837
- Presented credentials: October 23–27, 1837
- Terminated mission: Left Texas soon after June 5, 1840
- George H. Flood
- Title: Chargé d'Affaires
- Appointed: March 16, 1840
- Presented credentials: June 21–22, 1840
- Terminated mission: Presented recall July 21, 1841
- Joseph EveJoseph EveJoseph Eve was an American politician and diplomat.Eve was born in Culpeper County, Virginia. As a young man he moved to Knox County, Kentucky. He married Betsey Withers Ballinger in 1811. They had no children....
- Title: Chargé d'Affaires
- Appointed: April 15, 1841
- Presented credentials: July 21, 1841
- Terminated mission: Relinquished charge June 3, 1843
- William Sumter Murphy
- Title: Chargé d'Affaires
- Appointed: April 10, 1843
- Presented credentials: June 16, 1843
- Terminated mission: Died at Galveston, Texas, July 13, 1844
- Tilghman A. Howard
- Title: Chargé d'Affaires
- Appointed: June 11, 1844
- Presented credentials: August 2, 1844
- Terminated mission: Died at Washington, Texas, August 16, 1844
- Andrew J. Donelson
- Title: Chargé d'Affaires
- Appointed: September 16, 1844
- Presented credentials: November 29, 1844
- Terminated mission: Left Texas on or soon after August 9, 1845
- Note: Texas was annexed to the United States effective December 29, 1845.
Source
See also
- History of TexasHistory of TexasEuropean conquistadors first arrived in the region now known as Texas in 1519, finding the region populated by various Native American tribes...
- Ambassadors from the United StatesAmbassadors from the United StatesThis is a list of ambassadors of the United States to individual nations of the world, to international organizations, to past nations, and ambassadors-at-large.Ambassadors are nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate...