Editing Sam Houston (section)

{{short description|American general and statesman (1793–1863)}}
{{Other people}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = Sam Houston
| image               = SHouston 2.jpg
| caption             = Portrait by [[Mathew Brady]], {{circa|1848–1850}}
| order               = 7th [[Governor of Texas]]
| lieutenant          = Edward Clark
| term_start          = December 21, 1859
| term_end            = March 15, 1861
| predecessor         = [[Hardin Richard Runnels]]
| successor           = [[Edward Clark (governor)|Edward Clark]]
| jr/sr1              = United States Senator
| state1              = [[Texas]]
| term_start1         = February 21, 1846
| term_end1           = March 3, 1859
| predecessor1        = ''Seat established''
| successor1          = [[John Hemphill (U.S. senator)|John Hemphill]]
| office2             = 1st and 3rd [[President of the Republic of Texas|President of Texas]]
| vicepresident2      = [[Edward Burleson]]
| term_start2         = December 21, 1841
| term_end2           = December 9, 1844 
| predecessor2        = [[Mirabeau B. Lamar]]
| successor2          = [[Anson Jones]]
| vicepresident3      = Mirabeau B. Lamar
| term_start3         = October 22, 1836

| term_end3           = December 10, 1838
| predecessor3        = [[David G. Burnet]] (acting)
| successor3          = Mirabeau B. Lamar
| state_house4        = Texas
| district4           = [[San Augustine, Texas|San Augustine]]
| term_start4         = November 11, 1839
| term_end4           = November 1, 1841
| predecessor4        = ''Multi-member district''
| successor4          = ''Multi-member district''
| order5              = 6th [[Governor of Tennessee]]
| lieutenant5         = William Hall
| term_start5         = October 1, 1827
| term_end5           = April 16, 1829
| predecessor5        = [[William Carroll (Tennessee politician)|William Carroll]]
| successor5          = [[William Hall (governor)|William Hall]]
| state7              = [[Tennessee]]
| district7           = {{ushr|TN|7|7th}}
| term_start7         = March 4, 1823
| term_end7           = March 3, 1827
| predecessor7        = ''Constituency established''
| successor7          = [[John Bell (Tennessee politician)|John Bell]]
| birth_name          = Samuel Houston
| birth_date          = {{birth date|1793|3|2}}
| birth_place         = [[Rockbridge County, Virginia|Rockbridge]], [[Virginia]], U.S.
| death_date          = {{death date and age|1863|7|26| 1793|3|2}}
| death_place         = [[Huntsville, Texas|Huntsville]], [[Texas in the American Civil War|Texas]], C.S.
| party               = [[Democratic-Republican Party|Democratic-Republican]] (before 1830)<br>[[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] (1846–1854)<br>[[Know Nothing]] (1855–1856)<br>[[Independent politician|Independent]] (1856–1863)<br>[[Constitutional Union Party (United States)|Constitutional Union Party]] (1860)
| spouse              = {{plainlist|
* {{marriage|[[Eliza Allen (Tennessee)|Eliza Allen]]|1829|1837|end=div}}
* {{marriage|[[Dianna Rogers]]|1830|1832|end=annulled}}
* {{marriage|[[Margaret Lea Houston|Margaret Lea]]|1840}}
}}
| children            = 8, including [[Sam Houston Jr.|Sam Jr.]], [[Andrew Jackson Houston|Andrew]], and [[Temple Lea Houston|Temple]]
| education           = [[Maryville College]]
| signature           = Sam Houston signature.svg
| signature_alt       = Cursive signature in ink
| allegiance          = {{flagu|United States|1795}}<br>{{flag|Republic of Texas|1836}}
| branch              = [[United States Army]]<br>[[Army of the Republic of Texas|Texan Army]]
| serviceyears        = 1813–1818 (U.S. Army)<br>1835–1836 (Texan Army)
| rank                = [[First lieutenant|First Lieutenant]] (U.S. Army)<br>[[Major general (United States)|Major General]] (Texan Army)
| unit                = [[39th Infantry Regiment (War of 1812)|39th Infantry Regiment]] (U.S. Army)
| commands            = [[Army of the Republic of Texas]] (Texan Army)
| battles             = {{Tree list}}
*[[War of 1812]]
*[[Creek War]]
**[[Battle of Horseshoe Bend (1814)|Battle of Horseshoe Bend]]
*[[Texas Revolution]]
**[[Battle of San Jacinto]]
{{Tree list/end}}
}}
'''Samuel Houston''' ({{IPAc-en|audio=En-us-Houston.ogg|ˈ|h|juː|s|t|ən}}, {{respell|HEW|stən}}; March 2, 1793 – July 26, 1863) was an American general and statesman who played a prominent role in the [[Texas Revolution]]. He served as the first and third [[president of the Republic of Texas]] and was one of the first two individuals to represent [[Texas]] in the [[United States Senate]]. He also served as the sixth [[governor of Tennessee]] and the seventh [[governor of Texas]], the only individual to be elected governor of two different states in the United States.

Born in [[Rockbridge County, Virginia]], Houston and his family relocated to [[Maryville, Tennessee]], while he was a teenager. Houston later ran away from home, spending about three years living with the [[Cherokee]],<ref>{{Cite web|title=Sam Houston {{!}} Biography & Facts|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Sam-Houston|access-date=July 15, 2020|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en}}</ref> becoming known as "Raven". He served under General [[Andrew Jackson]] in the [[War of 1812]]; afterwards, he was appointed as a sub-agent to oversee the [[Indian removal|removal of the Cherokee from Tennessee]] into [[Arkansas Territory]] in 1818. With the support of Jackson, among others, Houston won election to the [[United States House of Representatives]] in 1823. He strongly supported Jackson's presidential candidacies and, in 1827, Houston was elected as the governor of Tennessee. In 1829, after divorcing his first wife, Houston resigned from office, and moved to the Arkansas Territory to live with the Cherokee once more.

Houston settled in Texas in 1832. After the [[Battle of Gonzales]], he helped organize Texas's provisional government and was selected as the top-ranking official in the [[Texian Army]]. He led the Texian Army to victory at the [[Battle of San Jacinto]], the decisive battle in Texas's war for independence against [[Centralist Republic of Mexico|Mexico]]. After the war, Houston won the [[1836 Republic of Texas presidential election|1836 Texan presidential election]]. He left office due to term limits in 1838, but won another term in the [[1841 Republic of Texas presidential election|1841 Texas presidential election]]. Houston played a key role in the [[annexation of Texas]] by the United States in 1845 and, in 1846, was elected to represent Texas in the United States Senate. He joined the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]] and supported President [[James K. Polk]]'s prosecution of the [[Mexican–American War]].

His Senate record was marked by his [[Union (American Civil War)|unionism]] and opposition to [[Radical politics|radicals]] from both the [[Northern United States|North]] and [[Southern United States|South]]. He voted for the [[Compromise of 1850]], which settled many of the residual territorial issues from the Mexican–American War and the annexation of Texas. Houston [[Sam Houston and slavery|owned slaves throughout his life]]. He voted against the [[Kansas–Nebraska Act]], as he believed it would lead to increased sectional tensions over slavery, and his opposition to that act led him to leave the Democratic Party. He was an unsuccessful candidate for the presidential nomination of the [[Know Nothing|American Party]] in the [[1856 United States presidential election|1856 presidential election]], as well as for the [[Constitutional Union Party (United States)|Constitutional Union Party]] in the [[1860 United States presidential election|1860 presidential election]]. In 1859, Houston won election as the governor of Texas. In this role, he opposed [[secession]], and unsuccessfully sought to keep Texas out of the [[Confederate States of America]]. He was forced out of office in 1861, and died two years later in 1863. Houston's name has been honored in numerous ways, and he is the [[eponym]] of the city of [[Houston]], the fourth-most-populous city in the United States.