The Importance of the Alamo in Westward Expansion


People came to Texas from all over the United States, and all over The Earth.  When they carved “GTT” on the door of their homes and were Gone To Texas, they brought their guns along with them.  Why were they GTT?  Many of them had nowhere else to go.  The fact of the matter is that our greatest Texas heroes were ejected from their previous lives for various reasons.  The newly opened colonization of Texas was a great place to commence anew.  They brought along their firearms, because the country was wild and unknown.  The opportunity to disappear and start over was not without mystery of what was waiting for them here.

Texas was part of the Mexican state Coahuila y Texas.  The government of México operated under The Mexican Constitution of 1830, which actually was not that bad.  Mexican El Presidente and Generalissimo Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna did not like the constitution, though, so he tossed it out.  This did not set well with so many of the Texas settlers who had come through the US; The Constitution of the United States was not too much different in 1835 than it is today.  When the Mexican army came to recover the now-famous Twin Sisters cannons protecting the people of Gonzales on 2 October 1835, the settlers finally had to fight for their rights.

The Alamo was actually defended twice during The Texas Revolution.  The record for the defenders was 1-1.  The famous 13 Days to Glory in 1836 was actually what you would call a Pyrrhic victory for Santa Anna though.  During that time, Sam Houston was allowed to stage a battle that he favored on the San Jacinto river near the city that now bears his name.  The result was that Texas gained independence.  In exchange for his life, Santa Anna returned to Mexico in shame, with Texas surrendered after the battle on 21 April 1836.  Santa Anna vowed to take up arms against Texas again if the new Republic ever joined the United States [and he was allowed to return to power].  He returned to Mexico City in shame that day.

Over the next 20 years, Santa Anna returned to power off and on several times in Mexico.  Amazingly enough, he was once again in power when Texas became the 28th of these United States.  The result was The Mexican War, which was won almost entirely as a result of the efforts of The Texas Rangers. I gave greater detail to this part of the story in a previous article.

Texas became part of the United States on 29 December 1845, as a result of The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.  After The Mexican War, there was also something called the Gadsden Purchase, in which America bought a little bit more land from Mexico to settle up.  Of the 50 states, Texas is the only one annexed by treaty.

Quoting my own masters thesis Baptist Influence During the Republic of Texas, "According to the terms of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, the American government purchased nearly one million square miles of territory ceded by Mexico for the astonishingly low sum of $15,000,000. This land would become the states and territories eventually comprising all the future land area of the states of Utah, New Mexico, Arizona, California, and Nevada.  In addition, parts of modern states Colorado, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Wyoming were also acquired as a result of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo and the Gadsden Purchase."

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Black-Eyed Peas, Tabasco, and Good Luck General Sherman

In Texas, there is a great tradition of eating black-eyed peas for good luck on New Year's Eve/Day. The origin of the tradition has been forgotten by some though. Belive it or not, we can thank the arrogance of General Wm. T. Sherman. General Sherman is shamefully remembered for his 1864 March to the Sea in the midst of the War of Northern Aggression, during which he burned the conquered city of Atlanta to destroy supplies and provisions stashed throughout the city to replenish the Union Army. As he continued his destruction, Sherman murdered women, children, and other innocent non-combatants. But his arrogance was evident. Edmund McIlhenney and his family were forced to leave their plantation on Avery Island, LA. When they returned after the war, the only survivor of the devestation was 12 cayenne pepper plants. Evevery drop of Tabasco produced since 1868 is a descendant of those 12 plants. Since Sherman was all about the death and destruction of innocent people, he burned thei...
Read more

Battle of Adobe Walls

In 1874, the word on the high plains was that the savage Indians were coming after the buffalo hunters for venturing into the Texas Panhandle to hunt the buffalo. It was true that the hunters were doing just that.   As a result, the Indians were attacking the secluded buffalo hunting camps. This caused several hunting groups to come into the Adobe Walls post, reporting that they had been attacked, usually resulting in one or two of their group being killed by the savages. They felt safer at Adobe Walls. Word had come to Myers, Rath and Hanrahan of the news about the upcoming attack of the post by the Indians. However, they did not tell the buffalo hunters of what was to happen, for fear that the men would leave, resulting in the post being left unprotected & destroyed. It’s interesting that Myers and Rath did leave, taking buffalo hides on to Dodge City. Hanrahan chose to remain to protect his whiskey supply. Rath and Myers left their stores with people in charge. Hanrahan, a...
Read more

Famous Last Words of Devil Jack Hays: Today is San Jacinto Day!

  One of the greatest early Texans was John Coffee Hays.  He was born outside of Nashville, TN into the Donelson family, founders of that great city.  His father Harmon and Uncle Robert rode with Gen. John Coffee during the War of 1812.  Hays' uncle was their ultimate commander, Gen. Andrew Jackson.  Hays was born a year after their return from the war, and was named in honor of their commander.  Uncle Robert dubbed him "Jack", the proper noun by which he would be known to friends, family, and compadres in arms throughout his life. After a stint at the Davidson Academy, Jack Hays learned of the Texas War for Independence from Mexico.  This struggle was being led by Gen. Sam Houston, who was meant to be Jackson's political  protégé.  [Personal problems took Houston off that path, but Houston was back on track in Texas.  A perfect story for another time!]  Anyway, Andrew Jackson provided young Jack Hays with letters of introduction an...
Read more