The Texas Ordinance of Secession was the document that officially separated Texas from the United States in 1861. It was adopted by the Secession Convention on February 1 of that year, by a vote of 166 to 8. The adoption of the ordinance was one of a series of events that led to Texas’ entry into the … Read more
The following are among the most referenced of early Texas documents. They have earned a prominent place in the rich history of Texas in the ninteenth century. Travis’ Appeal from the AlamoFebruary 24, 1836 Texas Declaration of IndependenceMarch 2, 1836 Treaty of Velasco(including Spanish transcription)May 14, 1836 Resolution Annexing Texas to the United StatesMarch 1, … Read more
William Barret Travis and almost two hundred other defenders found themselves surrounded at the Alamo Mission in San Antonio in late February of 1836. Refusing to surrender, they held off the invading armies of Mexican Dictator Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna for almost two weeks. On March 6, the courageous Texans were overrun and slaughtered by well over … Read more
The annexation of Texas was a key issue in James K. Polk’s U. S. presidential election campaign of 1844. As a result, Polk’s victory that November was interpreted in the United States as a mandate to annex the ten-year-old republic. Early the following year, a joint resolution for annexation passed both houses of the U. S. Congress–even … Read more