Texas Declaration of Independence

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The Texas Declaration of Independence.
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The Texas Declaration of Independence was the formal declaration of independence of the Republic of Texas from Mexico in the Texas Revolution. It was adopted at the Convention of 1836 at Washington-on-the-Brazos on March 2, 1836, and formally signed the following day after errors were noted in the text.

Contents

[edit] Background

In October 1835, settlers in Mexican Texas launched the Texas Revolution. Within Texas, many struggled with the question of whether Texians were fighting for independence from Mexico or the reimplementation of the Mexican Constitution of 1824, which offered greater freedoms than the dictatorship of current president, Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna.[1]

To settle the issue, a convention was called for March 1836. This convention differed from the previous Texas councils of 1832, 1833, and the 1835 Consultation. Many of the delegates to the 1836 convention were young men who had only recently arrived in Texas, although many of them had participated in one of the battles in 1835. Most of the delegates were members of the War Party and were adamant that Texas must declare its independence from Mexico.[2] Forty-one delegates arrived in Washington-on-the-Brazos on February 28.[2]

[edit] Development

The convention was convened on March 1 with Richard Ellis as president.[3] The delegates selected a committee of five to draft a declaration of independence; the committee was led by George Childress and also included Edward Conrad, James Gaines, Bailey Hardeman, and Collin McKinney. The committee submitted its draft within a mere 24 hours, leading historians to speculate that Childress had written much of it before his arrival at the Convention.[4]

The declaration was approved on March 2 with no debate. Based primarily on the writings of John Locke and Thomas Jefferson, the declaration proclaimed that the Mexican government "ceased to protect the lives, liberty, and property of the people, from whom its legitimate powers are derived"[5] and complained about "arbitrary acts of oppression and tyranny".[6] The declaration officially established the Republic of Texas.

Among others, the declaration mentions the following reasons for the separation:

Based upon the United States Declaration of Independence, the Texas Declaration also contains many memorable expressions of American political principles:

  • "the right of trial by jury, that palladium of civil liberty, and only safe guarantee for the life, liberty, and property of the citizen."
  • "our arms ... are essential to our defence, the rightful property of freemen, and formidable only to tyrannical governments."

[edit] Signatures

Replica of the building at Washington-on-the-Brazos where the Texas Declaration was signed. An inscription reads: "Here a Nation was born".
The New Republic

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Roberts and Olson (2001), p. 98.
  2. ^ a b Roberts and Olson (2001), p. 142.
  3. ^ Davis (1982), p. 38.
  4. ^ Roberts and Olson (2001), p. 144.
  5. ^ Roberts and Olson (2001), p. 145.
  6. ^ Roberts and Olson (2001), p. 146.

[edit] References

  • Davis, Joe Tom (1982), Legendary Texians, 1, Austin, Texas: Eakin Press, ISBN 0890153361 
  • Roberts, Randy; Olson, James S. (2001), A Line in the Sand: The Alamo in Blood and Memory, The Free Press, ISBN 0684835444 

[edit] External links

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