A significant turning point in Texas history is the increase of cattle. Cattle in Texas dates all the way back to the eighteenth century when the Spanish came over. From then on, people like James Taylor White expanded that operation by spreading it to other markets. Due to the long distances, it proved to be too expensive to sell just the meat. Before 1860, cattle drives were too costly and worthless. It wasn’t until the Civil War that the cattle kingdom expanded due to the increased demand for Texas beef from the northern states because it lost its supply of livestock after feeding the Union army. Distance still remained a problem, especially when the Mississippi River was controlled by the United States. Another problem that occured was …show more content…
McCoy changed cattle drives in Texas forever. McCoy “built the facilities for transporting cattle and marked a trail from the Red River to Kansas, following a path originally blazed in 1865 by an Indian trader named Jesse Chisholm.” (Campbell 295) Cattle, once used solely for the purpose of food and nutrition, slowly transformed into the “growing profitability of trailing cattle to market.” (Campbell 297) Cattle, before and after 1860, proved to be important to Texas settlers, whether for survival or marketing, which is one thing that stayed the same throughout Texas History. The one thing that cattle drives changed was the culture of Texas. Because of the cattle drives, myths about cowboys and cattles arise. Many people today still think cowboys are strong, popular, and tough men that live exciting lives, when they were really young men that received extremely low pay for dangerous work. However, because of the cattle drives, Texas has a culture of toughness and western-vibe built around …show more content…
Around 1832, Anglo Texans were rallied up for a separate statehood from Santa Anna’s and Mexico’s control. They went out of their way to form the Convention of 1832; however, according to “Ramon Muzquiz, the political chief at San Antonio” (Campbell 121) because it was technically illegal, nothing happened at the convention. Stephen F. Austin searched for Tejano support and came across Seguin. Seguin was one of the few that helped draft the pro-reform petition to the state legislature. His petition “attacked in particular the Law of April 6, 1830, for the way it excluded useful ‘capitalists’ from Texas.” (Campbell 121) Not only did he draft the petition, he also fought at San Jacinto on October 22nd as well. Many people described Sequin and other Tejanos as “guides and scouts, giving the Texians “eyes” they could not have had otherwise.” (Campbell 134) Seguin led groups of men to defend the retreat from Gonzales. Although Sam Houston refused for Seguin and the Tejanos to join the Texas for fear of their safety “because of the hatred for Mexicans aroused by Alamo and Goliad” (Campbell 154) however, Seguin managed to convince him to allow his men to fight. Even though there were still tensions between Anglos and Mexicans after the war, Seguin also being one of the victims that dealt with that issue; yet, he was still praised for significantly
When we see Texas, we remember today mainly for its BBQ, Football and Black Gold, Texas tea. However, there is much more than just the usual itineraries that we find in most other states as well. Molly Ivins in her essay “Is Texas America” categorically states that, “Here's the deal on Texas. It's big. So big there's about five distinct and different places here, separated from one another geologically, topographically, botanically, ethnically, culturally and climatically” (Ivins). This is a true belief from Molly Ivins of how huge Texas was and how the demographics changed in each geographical location in Texas. The population of Texas and the demographics are two essential factors that include many important parameters in deciding the history of any state. The presence of many ethnic groups further adds to the diversification of
Sharpless tells how life in the city became more convenient due to easier access to electricity and running water. Women began moving into town not just for personal but economical and political reasons. Politics held a great responsibility in modernizing Texas. As Buenger emphasizes throughout his book “The Path to a Modern South” the importance of politics and how it changed culture is ultimately what set Texas apart from the rest of the southern states. By the 1920’s politics had changed dramatically in Texas, women were allowed to vote almost 2 years before any other state in America.
When studying Texas History there are names such as Sam Houston, Jim Bowie, and William Barrett Travis that are often brought up into discussion. These men had rolls of vital importance to the cause of revolution; however, other names such as Juan Nepomuceno Seguin may be much more obscure to those unaware of the rolls that such men played. Juan Seguin is mostly remembered as the currier to whom William Barrett Travis commissioned with the delivery of a letter to General Sam Houston requesting reinforcements and whose words were so inspiring that it may have given the Texans the push they needed to claim victory over the Mexican President Santa Anna. After independence was achieved from Mexico, Texas formed its own government in which Seguin served as a member of the Texas Senate. Seguin eventually lost all credibility and was forced to flee to Mexico because of accusations of betrayal. Was Juan Seguin’s participation in the Texas revolution limited to his delivery of the Travis letter to Sam Houston? Other than his participation at the Alamo and at San Jacinto, how significant of a part did Juan Seguin play in the Texas revolution? What lead to Seguin’s fall from favor in the eyes of the Texas government and earned him the label of traitor?
On June 23, 1845, the Republic of Texas was annexed to the U.S. as a slave state. Foley notes "the annexation of Texas as a slave state…became the great white hope of northern expansionists anxious to emancipate the nation from blacks, who, it was hoped, would find a home among the kindred population of 'colored races' in Mexico."(20) But rather than uniting as kindred races, discord between poor whites, African Americans and Mexicans resulted from competition for farmland as either tenant farmers or sharecroppers.
In the afternoon of February 23, 1836, Santa Anna’s army arrived in San Antonio. The Texan defenders retreated to the well-fortified Alamo. Santa Anna had given the defenders time to escape if they wanted, but the Texans stayed, confident with their weaponry. With the few soldiers he had, Colonel Travis sent requests to Colonel James Fannin for reinforcements, but received none. Fannin thought that the 300 men he had wouldn’t make a difference and may not arrive in time. Of the 200 defenders, there were settlers who wanted independence as well as a dozen Tejanos who joined the movement. Although they believed in ind...
Just before Polk's presidency Texas had freed itself from Mexican rule and desired American annexation. This desire came from thousands of former American citizens that settled in Texas in the 1820s. This was due to the Mexican government supplying huge land grants to entice new settlers to Texas and secure its northern border from America. The Mexican government failed to realize the true impact that their persuasion of Americans for settlement would cause. In 1830, Mexico finally put a freeze on all American immigration due to the large number of American settlers and their certain revolution. In 1836, The Republic of Texas was est...
Texas is a unique place with a colorful history of legendary cowboys and tall tales. The state stretches over the middle section of the southern United States. Texas has experienced shifts in governmental control within the United States. French, Spanish, Mexican, and Confederacy, and all having once been in charge, not to mention the time Texas spent as an independent republic. Texas has had many battles and wars within its borders, resulting in seven different constitutions within a span of fifty years between each document.
San Antonio and the Alamo played a critical role in the Texas Revolution. In December 1835, Ben Milam led Texian and Tejano volunteers against Mexican troops quartered in the city. After five days of house-to-house fighting, they forced General Marín Perfecto de Cós and his soldiers to surrender. The victorious volunteers then occupied the Alamo — already fortified prior to the battle by Cós' men — and strengthened its defenses.
...is own. In an overall assessment of this book, Martin comes to the conclusion that “Campbell has succeeded in providing a thoughtful, very readable, and eminently useful survey of a fluid, exciting, and fascinating period of United States and Texas history through the lens of the life of the greatest Texas hero of them all” showing that Martin as well as Campbell seemed to be very fascinated by the heroism of Sam Houston (The Journal of Southern History, 60, November 1994, 796).
The siege, fall and ensuing massacre of nearly two hundred Alamo defenders at the hands of Mexican General, Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna y Perez de Lebron’s army of over five thousand was a defining moment in both Texan, and American history. For 13 days against insurmountable odds, a small, but very determined Texan garrison force fended off an equally determined Mexican Army ordered to capture it. I’ll discuss the events and political climate leading up to the siege, key historic figures involved on both sides, the siege itself, along with events immediately following the battle. The iconic phrase, “Remember the Alamo!” would later go on to become a rallying cry at the Battle of San Jacinto.
13 October 1834 was the first revolutionary meeting of the American citizens who’d settled in Mexico, in the area soon to be known as Texas. The people attempted a movement that soon was laid to rest by the Mexican Congress. Attempts at independence were silenced for the time being and the elections of 1835 proceeded forward. With Santa Anna moving to control Mexico, and taxes increasing, Texans grew restless and rowdy.
Beginning in 1845 and ending in 1850 a series of events took place that would come to be known as the Mexican war and the Texas Revolution. This paper will give an overview on not only the events that occurred (battles, treaties, negotiations, ect.) But also the politics and reasoning behind it all. This was a war that involved America and Mexico fighting over Texas. That was the base for the entire ordeal. This series of events contained some of the most dramatic war strategy that has ever been implemented.
Texas prides itself on a strong heritage and history. Events that happened when Texas fought to gain independence will forever remain preserved and idolized in the heart of every true Texan. One of the most famous events that occurred during the fight for independence happened at a place that was not well-known and did not hold much importance at the time, but because of the events that occurred there, it will forever be a place of remembrance and pride. This place is known as The Alamo. This paper focuses on the articles written by Brian C. Baur, Richard R. Flores, and Paul Andrew Hutton over The Alamo.
Much of what Texas is today is because of the people who settled her land. Crafts such as quilting and the Texas Star pattern, dance like the Cotton-Eyed Joe and even the way Texans still hunt today can be traced back to the Middle Ages.
From the early days of pioneers and settlers, thousands of Americans began to move into what would become Texas. The Mexican government was wanting to populate the Texas area to increase the economy. For a long period of time the Mexican government had placed many laws on the territory, but none that were deeply inforced. Finally when a new dictatorship came into power, they began to enforce the laws. Slavery among other issues