Annexation Of Texas Essay

There have been numerous significant events in Texas history. In

this paper, you will read about four of those important historical points including the annexation of Texas by the United States of America in 1845, Texas’s involvement in the Civil War beginning in 1861, reconstruction after the Civil War, and the adoption of Texas’s constitution of 1876.

The annexation of Texas was a significant time during Texas

history. Polk was the president of the United States in 1845 and favored the annexation of Texas. He was interested in the fact that Texas could help with expanding the country from coast to coast, also known as Westward Expansion or Manifest Destiny. Texas also liked this idea because the U.S. could help protect Texas from Mexico

and the U.S. could absorb Texas’s debt. Because Mexico would not recognize Texas as an independent country, Texas had a greater reason to join the United States. Some Americans did not want to annex Texas because was a slave state. The U.S. did not want the country of Britain to have influence over Texas. The annexation ended up being good for both Texas and the United States because they were both eager to join together and they were successful.

Texas played a significant part in the Civil War, not only to help
fight the Union as a Confederate state, but for other reasons as well.

Sam Houston was the first and third term president for the Republic of Texas and he supported annexation of Texas. He was the only governor that opposed secession of Texas from the Union and later refused the oath of allegiance to the Confederates which led to his removal from office. When Texas was getting ready to fight, the Congress of Confederacy had to pass the Conscription Act in 1862 which said that all men 18 through 35 must fight. Overall, about 90,000 Texas soldiers fought in the war. Texas had two well known units to fight in, one being Terry’s Texas Ranger and the other being Hood's Brigade. The Union wanted Texas for their great ports, like Galveston, but Texas would not let them have it. Although the Union did capture Brownsville, Texas was able to get this city back. Then Texas opened trade with Mexico through Brownsville in order to gain

supplies.

The reconstruction after the Civil War for Texas was significant but
after nine years, Texas had trouble trying to solve social, political, and economic issues.

The United States President Andrew Johnson appointed Andrew Hamilton provisional governor of Texas to lead the state in reconstruction. Although Texas did not suffer as badly as other confederate states, there were many challenges to be faced. One was to make sure Texas troops would be loyal to the US Army and the other was to make sure that the black freedmen would make a successful transition from slavery to freedom. It was difficult and took a while to make the transition to freedom. The biggest social challenge involved the black population which was not included in social and economic growth. At the Constitutional Convention of 1866 the majority of delegates for Texas showed very little interest in doing anything more than the bare minimum requested for readmission into the Union. At the time of reconstruction ,Galveston and San Antonio were the largest cities followed closely by Houston and Austin. Many newcomers saw Texas as the land of new opportunity. Thousands of Europeans arrived including people from Germany, Ireland, Sweden, Scotland, and Switzerland. By the end of the reconstruction period, Texans saw an expansion of the cattle and sheep industry as well as the manufacturing industry. Despite the challenges and difficulties most Texans were hopeful for a successful

future.

The Constitution of 1876 is significant because it describes the
structure and the function of the government in Texas. It was adopted on February 15, 1876 and was the sixth constitution of Texas after the independence from Mexico. Edward B. Pickett served as the president of the Constitutional Convention of 1875. He was also in the Texas Cavalry, fought in the Mexican war, was a lawyer, statesman, and member of the Senate Committee on Education when A&M was established in 1871. The experiences of the Civil War and reconstruction influenced the Constitution of 1876 to focus on limited government control, individual freedom, and protecting agriculture interests. The exceptional limitation of the executive branch clearly displays Texan’s distrust with the government. The constitution has been amended 491 times making it a huge mess. Our laws today are still based on this Constitution. The previous Constitutions of 1836, ‘45, ‘61, ‘66, ‘69, and ‘76 have all mirrored what was going on politically at the time of the secession, Civil War, and reconstruction after the Civil War.

These were four significant historical points in Texas history that
include the annexation of Texas in 1845, it’s involvement in the Civil War beginning in 1861, the reconstruction after the Civil War, and the Constitution of 1876.