Texas Declaration of Independence

Template:Short description Template:More citations needed Template:Use American English Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox document 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 was formally signed the next day after mistakes were noted in the text.

BackgroundEdit

In October of 1835, settlers in Mexican Texas launched the Texas Revolution.

However, within Austin, many struggled with understanding what the ultimate goal of the Revolution was. Some believed that the goal should be total independence from Mexico, while others sought the reimplementation of the Mexican Constitution of 1824 which enabled freedoms, including the ownership of slaves, that were not included in the 1835 constitution of Mexico, Siete Leyes.<ref name=roberts98>Roberts and Olson (2001), p. 98.</ref> To settle the issue, a convention was called for in March of 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 citizens of the United States, who had only recently arrived in Texas, in violation of Mexico's immigration ban of April 1830. Not only that but many of them had fought in battles during the Texas Revolution against Mexico in 1835. Of the 60 men to sign, the only two known native Texans to sign are Jose Francisco Ruiz and Jose Antonio Navarro.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Most of the delegates were members of the War Party and were adamant that Texas must declare its independence from Mexico.<ref name=roberts142>Roberts and Olson (2001), p. 142.</ref> Forty-one of these delegates arrived in Washington-on-the-Brazos on February 28.<ref name="roberts142"/>

DevelopmentEdit

File:Washington on the Brazos Monument.jpg

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

The convention was convened on March 1 with Richard Ellis as president.<ref name=davis38>Davis (1982), p. 38.</ref> The delegates selected a committee of five to draft a declaration of independence; this committee was led by George Childress along with Edward Conrad, James Gaines, Bailey Hardeman, and Collin McKinney. The committee submitted its draft within a mere 24 hours, and this led historians to speculate that Childress had written much of it before he arrived at the Convention.<ref name=roberts144>Roberts and Olson (2001), p. 144.</ref> The document closely mirrors the United States Declaration of Independence in both structure and tone. It reflects Enlightenment principles, particularly the idea of the right to revolution when a government becomes tyrannical. Among the listed grievances were the failure to establish a system of public education, the denial of civil liberties such as trial by jury, and the imposition of a military dictatorship under Santa Anna.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name=":1">Template:Cite book</ref>

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"<ref name=roberts145>Roberts and Olson (2001), p. 145.</ref> and complained about "arbitrary acts of oppression and tyranny."<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=roberts146>Roberts and Olson (2001), p. 146.</ref> Throughout the declaration are numerous references to the United States laws, rights, and customs. Omitted from the declaration was that the author and many of the signatories were citizens of the United States, occupying Texas illegally, and therefore had no legal rights in the governance of Mexico. The declaration clarifies that the men were accustomed to the laws and privileges of the United States, and were unfamiliar with the language, religion, and traditions of the nation that they were rebelling against.

The declaration officially established the Republic of Texas, although it was not officially recognized at that time by any government other than itself. The Mexican Republic still claimed the land and considered the delegates to be invaders, and the United States didn't recognize it since that would be an act of war against Mexico.{{ safesubst:#invoke:Unsubst||date=__DATE__ |$B= Template:Fix }} The declaration's adoption was followed by the Battle of the Alamo and ultimately the decisive Texian victory at the Battle of San Jacinto in April 1836. <ref name=":2">Template:Cite book</ref>

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

The 1824 Constitution of Mexico establishing a federal republic had been overturned and changed into a centralist military dictatorship by Gen. Antonio López de Santa Anna.
The Mexican government had invited settlers to Texas and promised them constitutional liberty and republican government, but then reneged on these guarantees.
Texas was in union with the Mexican state of Coahuila as Coahuila y Tejas, with the capital in distant Saltillo. Thus the affairs of Texas were decided at a great distance from the province and in the Spanish language, which the immigrants called "an unknown tongue."
Political rights to which the settlers had previously been accustomed in the United States, such as the right to keep and bear arms and the right to trial by jury, were denied.
No system of public education had been established.
Attempts by the Mexican government to enforce import tariffs were called "piratical attacks" by "foreign desperadoes."
The settlers were not allowed freedom of religion. All legal settlers were required to convert to Catholicism.

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 defense, the rightful property of freemen, and formidable only to tyrannical governments."

SignatoriesEdit

File:Wpdms republic of texas.svg

The New Republic, with the area in yellow under formal control and the green area as claimed territory, over modern borders.

Sixty men signed the Texas Declaration of Independence. Three of them were born in Mexico, those being José Antonio Navarro, José Francisco Ruiz, and Lorenzo de Zavala.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Fifty-seven of the sixty moved to Texas from the United States,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>and ten of them had lived in Texas for more than six years, while one-quarter of them had been in the province for less than a year.<ref name="scott122">Scott (2000), p. 122.</ref> This is significant, because it indicates that the majority of signatories had moved to Texas after the Law of April 6, 1830. This law, banning immigration, had taken effect and this meant that the majority were legally citizens of the United States, occupying Texas illegally.

<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>" Fifty-nine of these men were delegates to the Convention, and one was the Convention Secretary, Herbert S. Kimble, who was not a delegate.

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