Download Texas` Future Sam Houston

Lets Compare
• Today we are going to compare Texas’ two
most prominent presidents, Sam Houston and
Mirabeau Lamar…
• You will see that they had very two different
ideas about Texas
Texas’ Future
Sam Houston
• Houston wanted Texas to join the United States.
• In 1836 he sent representatives to the U.S. to seek
Annexation
• The Annexation bill didn’t pass the U.S. congress
because of slavery
• Houston sent Anson Jones to the U.S. to remove
the request. Then he tried to open up trade talks
with European countries.
• His hope was to make Texas economically stronger
so the United States would desire Texas more.
Native Texas
Sam Houston
• Houston signed a treaty with the Cherokee Indians
who settled in east Texas during the Texas
Revolution, but the Texas Congress failed to ratify
it.
• Houston used the Texas Rangers to defend the
frontier settlements against attack.
Policy with Mexico
Sam Houston
• After the Texas Independence many
Americans showed up in Texas looking for a
fight. This included Felix Huston who was put
in charge of the Texas army. Huston and
others in the Texas army wanted to invade
northern Mexico.
• Houston tried to replace Huston with Albert
Sidney Johnson. But Huston and Johnson
dueled and Johnson was severely wounded.
• After this Sam Houston ordered the Texas
Army to disband and go home.
• Albert Sidney Johnson would later become a
Civil War hero
The Texas Capital
Sam Houston: City of Houston 1837-1839
• The brothers John and Augustus Allen offered to build
a new Texas capital and name it after Sam Houston.
The Government accepted.
• In January of 1837, 12 people lived in Houston. Four
months later after it became the capital over 1,500
people called it home.
• The positives of Houston were that it was located near
most of the colonies in East Texas and far away from
the threats of Indians and Mexican invasion.
• The negatives of Houston were that many Texas
officials didn’t like the town because of the heat, mud,
humidity, and mosquitoes that spread diseases.
Texas Finances
Sam Houston
• Texas had a debt of over one million dollars
after the Texas Revolution.
• Houston reduced government spending by
disbanding the army, raised custom taxes on
goods and raised property taxes.
• Under Houston the Texas government issued
“Star Money “
Texas’ Future
Mirabeau Lamar
• Lamar did not want annexation.
• Lamar spoke of the Republic of Texas expanding
into a North American empire that would rival the
United States.
• He said “If peace can be obtained only by the
sword, let the sword do its work!”
Native Texas
Mirabeau Lamar
• Lamar used the Texas Army to drive the Cherokee
Indians out of East Texas and into Oklahoma.
• In 1840 over 30 Comanche Indians were killed in
the “Council House Fight” in San Antonio when
Texas Soldiers opened fire on them during a
meeting to talk about peace.
• The Comanche were very angry over this and
raided many Texas settlements killing settlers.
• The Battle of Plum Creek saw the Texas army kill
over 80 Comanche and war between them and
Texas would last for decades
Policy with Mexico
Mirabeau Lamar
• Lamar wanted Santa Fe under Texas control. So he
ordered (without the approval of the Texas Congress) a
military expedition to conquer the city in 1841. the
Santa Fe Expedition was a disaster. Around 300 men
were captured and with a majority of them dying on a
brutal march to a Mexican prison. The Expedition also
cost Texas around $200,000. Money Texas could not
afford to lose.
• Lamar also purchased expensive warships to create a
Texas Navy. The Navy was ordered to raid Mexican
ships and support rebels against the Mexican
government in the Yucatan peninsula.
The Texas Capital
Mirabeau Lamar: City of Austin 1839-1842, 1844Present
• Lamar wanted the capital on the frontier of Texas. He
supposedly found the location while hunting.
• When he took office he moved the capital west near a
small village on the Colorado river named Waterloo.
The village was renamed Austin.
• The positives of Austin were that it was centrally
located in Texas, it had abundant natural resources,
and would encourage settlers to move west.
• The negatives of Austin were that it was exposed to
both Indian and Mexican attack and it was isolated
from the rest of the Texas settlements thus lacking
availability of supplies.
Texas Finances
Mirabeau Lamar
• Lamar spent money on the military expeditions and
increased Texas’ debt to seven million dollars.
• Because of this the value of the money Texas printed
under Lamar called “Redbacks” went down to almost
nothing.