Manifest Destiny Webquest - Part 5
Texas and its Six Flags
Directions: Answer the Questions in your packet by reading the secondary source below. Explain your responses in detail. No response should be one (1) sentence. You must only use the reading to respond to the questions. Outside sources will not be given credit.
Overview
The area we know as Texas has a long and memorable history for Spain, Mexico, France, The Republic of Texas,The Confederacy, and The United States.
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Why the Alamo?
The new policies of a new Mexican government called the Mexican Republic, a move to ban slavery and immigration was chief among the first items to address.The increased enforcement of laws and import tariffs, incited many immigrants to revolt.
The border region of was largely populated by immigrants from the United States, some legal but most illegal. Some of these immigrants brought large numbers of slaves with them, so that by 1836, there were about 5,000 enslaved persons in a total non-native population estimated at 38,470. These people were accustomed to a federalist government which made special exemptions from Mexican law just for them, and to extensive individual rights including the right to own slaves, and they were quite vocal in their displeasure at Mexico's law enforcement and shift towards centralism. The centralized government ended local federal exemptions to the ban on slavery, which had been negotiated by and others. Already suspicious after previous United States attempts to purchase Mexican Texas, Mexican authorities blamed much of the Texian unrest on United States immigrants, most of whom had entered illegally and made little effort to adapt to the Mexican culture and who continued to hold people in slavery when slavery had been abolished in Mexico.
In October, Texians engaged Mexican troops in the first official battle of the Texas Revolution. Determined to quell the rebellion of immigrants, Santa Anna began assembling a large force, the Army of Operations in Texas, to restore order. Most of his soldiers were raw recruits, and many had been forcibly conscripted. A group of Texian solders and settlers were garrisoned at the Alamo.
13 DAYS OF THE SIEGE OF THE ALAMO
Day 1: Tuesday, February 23, 1836
General Antonio López de Santa Anna arrived in San Antonio that afternoon with the vanguard of his army. A blood-red banner was raised atop the bell tower of San Fernando Church, signifying that no prisoners would be taken. Colonel William B. Travis ordered a cannon fired in response. The Mexican soldiers fired back and the siege of the Alamo had begun. It was to last 13 days.
Day 2: Wednesday, February 24, 1836
Gravely ill, Colonel James Bowie turned over command of the volunteers to Colonel Travis. Travis sent Captain Albert Martin to Gonzales with a letter addressed "To the People of Texas and All Americans in the World."
Day 3: Thursday, February 25, 1836
A messenger reached Colonel James W. Fannin at Goliad. In San Antonio, Santa Anna moved his batteries closer to the walls. A strong norther blew in that night around 9:00 P.M.
Day 4: Friday, February 26, 1836
A skirmish occurred east of the fort when a group of Texans, who had left the Alamo to gather wood, encountered Mexican troops. The Mexican Army tried to cut the Alamo’s water supply.
Day 5: Saturday, February 27, 1836
James Butler Bonham left the Alamo headed for Goliad and Gonzales. Back at the Alamo, nighttime activity by the Mexican Army kept the Texans on alert, allowing them very little sleep.
Day 6: Sunday, February 28, 1836
Colonel Fannin left Goliad at the head of a relief column but turned back after only traveling a short distance. Mexican artillery fire fell in and around the Alamo throughout the day.
Day 7: Monday, February 29, 1836
Santa Anna’s batteries moved still closer to the Alamo’s walls. The Mexican commander reviewed his troops. The Gonzales Ranging Company (32 men strong and commanded by Captain Albert Martin) left that town determined to reinforce the Alamo. [Note 1836 was a Leap Year.]
Day 8: Tuesday, March 1, 1836
The Gonzales Ranging Company arrived at the Alamo at 3:00 a.m., raising hopes that others would soon follow. Texans fired two cannon shots at the house on Main Plaza occupied by Santa Anna--one hit the house but he was unharmed.
Day 9: Wednesday, March 2, 1836
Heavy Mexican cannonading continued. Inside the Alamo, the defenders were unaware that delegates meeting at Washington-on-the-Brazos had signed the Texas Declaration of Independence.
Day 10: Thursday, March 3, 1836
James Butler Bonham returned from Goliad to report that Colonel Fannin was not coming to the Alamo’s aid.
Day 11: Friday, March 4, 1836
Mexican cannon fire started early and continued all day.
Day 12: Saturday, March 5, 1836
According to a popular legend, Colonel Travis drew a line on the ground with his sword and then asked those willing to stay and fight to cross over and join him. The Mexican bombardment ended at 10:00 p.m.
Day 13: Sunday, March 6, 1836
- 1:00 a.m. The weary Texans slept while the Mexican troops moved into positions.
- 2:00 a.m. Santa Anna and Colonel Juan N. Almonte discussed the battle plans.
- 3:00 a.m. The Mexican troops were still moving into positions.
- 4:00 a.m. The troops, now in position, laid on the ground in silence.
- 5:00 a.m. Santa Anna gave the signal to advance just after 5 a.m. Four columns of Mexican troops advanced on the :: Alamo. Casualties on both sides mounted during the intense fighting. Mexican troops scaled the north wall and poured into the compound. The fighting moved to the Long Barrack, Low Barrack, and former church.
- 6:30 a.m. THE ALAMO HAD FALLEN!
The Texas Republic
During the siege of The Alamo, newly elected delegates from across Texas met at the Convention of 1836. On March 2, the delegates declared independence, forming the Republic of Texas. Four days later, the delegates at the convention received a dispatch Travis had written March 3 warning of his dire situation. Unaware that the Alamo had fallen, Robert Potter called for the convention to adjourn and march immediately to relieve the Alamo. Sam Houston convinced the delegates to remain in Washington-on-the-Brazos to develop a constitution. After being appointed sole commander of all Texian troops, Houston journeyed to Gonzales to take command of the 400 volunteers who were still waiting for Fannin to lead them to the Alamo.
Within hours of Houston's arrival on March 11, Andres Barcenas and Anselmo Bergaras arrived with news that the Alamo had fallen and all Texians were slain. Hoping to halt a panic, Houston arrested the men as enemy spies. They were released hours later when Susannah Dickinson and Joe reached Gonzales and confirmed the report. Realizing that the Mexican army would soon advance towards the Texian settlements, Houston advised all civilians in the area to evacuate and ordered his new army to retreat. This sparked a mass exodus, known as the Runaway Scrape, and most Texians, including members of the new government, fled east. Despite their losses at the Alamo, the Mexican army in Texas still outnumbered the Texian army by almost six to one. Santa Anna assumed that knowledge of the disparity in troop numbers and the fate of the Texian soldiers at the Alamo would quell the resistance, and men flocked to join Houston's army. The New York Post editorialized that "had [Santa Anna] treated the vanquished with moderation and generosity, it would have been difficult if not impossible to awaken that general sympathy for the people of Texas which now impels so many adventurous and ardent spirits to throng to the aid of their brethren".
Remember the Alamo!
"REMEMBER THE ALAMO" was a battle cry in which the bitterness of the Texans over the massacres by Mexican forces at the Alamo in San Antonio (6 March 1836) and at Goliad (27 March 1836) found expression. Use of the phrase has been attributed both to Gen. Sam Houston (who supposedly used the words in a stirring address to his men on 19 April 1836, two days before the Battle of San Jacinto) and to Col. Sidney Sherman, who fought in the battle.
The Battle of San Jacinto
The Battle of San Jacinto, fought on April 21, 1836, in present-day La Porte and Pasadena, Texas, was the final and decisive battle of the Texas Revolution. Led by General Samuel Houston, the Texan Army engaged and defeated General Antonio López de Santa Anna's Mexican army in a fight that lasted just 18 minutes. A detailed, first-hand account of the battle was written by General Houston from the headquarters of the Texan Army in San Jacinto on April 25, 1836. Numerous secondary analyses and interpretations have followed.
General Santa Anna, the president of Mexico, and General Martín Perfecto de Cos both escaped during the battle. Santa Anna was captured the next day on April 22 and Cos on April 24. After being held for about three weeks as a prisoner of war, Santa Anna signed the peace treaty that dictated that the Mexican army leave the region, paving the way for the Republic of Texas to become an independent country. These treaties did not necessarily recognize Texas as a sovereign nation but stipulated that Santa Anna was to lobby for such recognition in Mexico City. Sam Houston became a national celebrity, and the Texans' rallying cries from events of the war, "Remember the Alamo" and "Remember Goliad" became etched into Texan history and legend.
Six Flags
It is easy for people to remember the amusement park Six Flags, there are a number of them across the United States. Maybe you have visited one or more? Well, the name comes from the first amusement park which is located in Arlington, Texas. Yes, Texas! The Six Flag's name is derived from the fact that Texas had six countries including The Republic of Texas as their official government. The amusement park is named after those six flags. Lets explore each country which ruled the area we know as Texas below:
Spain (1519-1685) & (1690-1821)
The first nation to claim sovereignty over Texas was Spain, which exercised rule from 1519 to 1685 and again from 1690 to 1821. At this time Spain was a collection of kingdoms rather than a country, the most prominent of which was the united Kingdoms of León and Castile, or simply the Crown of Castile. Hence, both versions of the flag used during this period depicted the Crown of Castile’s lion and castle emblem.
France (1685-1690)
In 1685, France, which already claimed Louisiana, attempted to gain westward control. Under the direction of French explorer Robert de La Salle, France founded a new colony, Fort Saint Louis, near present day Victoria, Texas. After a series of mishaps, La Salle’s followers mutinied and murdered him, and the colony was abandoned by 1690. Since there was no official French flag during this time, various designs are used in the six flags representation.
Mexico (1821-1836)
In 1821 shortly after gaining its independence from Spain, Mexico seized control of Texas. However, when Mexican General Santa Anna tightened his reins, abrogated the federal constitution and declared himself dictator, Texas revolted. And, in 1836 upon winning the Texas War of Independence, the Republic of Texas was established.
Republic of Texas (1836-1845)
During the Republic of Texas’ existence from 1836 to 1845, it had two national flags. The first was the Burnet flag, which was named after the then interim President of Texas David Burnet, followed by the Lone Star flag, which came into usage on December 29, 1845, when Texas joined the United States. The Lone Star flag is still recognized today as the state flag of Texas.
United States of America (1845-1861) & (1865-Present)
After gaining its independence from Mexico in 1845, Texas became the 28th state to join the Union. Although the fifth and present flag is that of the United States, there was a brief period when Texas abandoned this flag for its sixth when it seceded the Union from 1861-1865.
Confederate States of America (1861-1865)
In 1861, 11 southern slave states including Texas declared secession from the Union and established their own government, which was known as the Confederate States of America or simply the Confederacy, triggering the Civil War. In 1865, the Confederacy was defeated and Texas gained readmission to the Union. During the war the Confederacy had three national flags.
What are the Six Flags Over Texas in order?
They are the Kingdom of Spain, the Kingdom of France, the Republic of Mexico, the Republic of Texas, the Confederate States of America and the United States of America. The first nation to claim sovereignty over Texas was Spain, which exercised rule from 1519 to 1685 and again from 1690 to 1821.
Seccession of Texas in the 19th and 21st Centuries
What is secession? Secession is the withdrawal of a group from a larger entity, especially a political entity, but also from any organization, union or military alliance.
Has this occurred before? Some of the most famous and significant secessions have been: the Southern States seceding from the Union during the American Civil War, the former Soviet republics leaving the Soviet Union after its dissolution in 1991, Texas leaving Mexico during the Texas Revolution, Biafra leaving Nigeria and returning after losing the Nigerian Civil War, and Ireland leaving the United Kingdom. Threats of secession can be a strategy for achieving more limited goals. It is, therefore, a process, which commences once a group proclaims the act of secession (e.g. declaration of independence). A secession attempt might be violent or peaceful, but the goal is the creation of a new state or entity independent from the group or territory it seceded from.
Can Texas leave the United States? The U.S. Constitution does not specifically address the secession of states, and the issue was a topic of debate after the American Revolutionary War until the Civil War, when the Supreme Court ruled in Texas v. White that states strictly cannot unilaterally secede except through revolution or the expressed consent of the other states. Since Supreme Court Cases can be overturned, it is possible, since it is only a judicial decision and not Federal law or an amendment to the U.S. Constitution for Texas, or any state, for that matter to secede. The U.S. Constitution only forbids the states from forming a "confederation" or in other words a new union.
