Texas Revolution, Republic, Slavery, and Annexation: Key People and Events

Anahuac

A Mexican settlement where conflicts between Anglo settlers and Mexican officials helped spark the Texas Revolution.

William B. Travis

Texas commander at the Alamo who sent letters asking for reinforcements during the siege.

Antonio López de Santa Anna

Mexican president and general who led the Mexican army against Texas rebels.

Martín Perfecto de Cos

Mexican general and Santa Anna's brother-in-law who fought Texas rebels at San Antonio in 1835.

Stephen F. Austin

Known as the Father of Texas; he brought American settlers to Texas and later supported independence.

Lorenzo de Zavala

Mexican federalist who supported Texas independence and became the first vice president of the Republic of Texas.

Washington-on-the-Brazos

The town where Texas delegates declared independence from Mexico on March 2, 1836.

The Alamo

A mission in San Antonio where Texas defenders were defeated by Santa Anna's army in March 1836.

David Crockett

American frontiersman and former congressman who died defending the Alamo.

Tejanos

People of Mexican heritage who lived in Texas; some supported independence while others remained loyal to Mexico.

José Antonio Navarro

Tejano leader who supported Texas independence and helped shape Texas government.

Juan N. Seguín

Tejano military and political leader who fought for Texas independence and later served the Republic of Texas.

José María Jesús Carbajal

Mexican-born political figure associated with Texas and northern Mexican federalist movements.

Carlos de la Garza

Tejano rancher and military figure who supported the Mexican government during the Texas Revolution.

Goliad

Texas town where Mexican forces executed many captured Texan soldiers in the Goliad Massacre in March 1836.

Runaway Scrape

The mass flight of Texas settlers eastward to escape the advancing Mexican army in 1836.

San Jacinto

The April 21, 1836 battle where Houston's army defeated Santa Anna, securing Texas independence.

Sam Houston

Commander at San Jacinto and the first and third president of the Republic of Texas.

Córdova Rebellion

A 1838 uprising near Nacogdoches led by Vicente Córdova and other Mexican Texans who opposed the Republic of Texas.

Mirabeau B. Lamar

Second president of the Republic of Texas who supported westward expansion and opposed annexation to the United States.

Council House Fight

A violent 1840 clash in San Antonio between Texan officials and Comanche leaders during peace negotiations.

Battle of Plum Creek

An 1840 battle near present-day Lockhart in which Texas forces fought Comanche warriors returning from a raid.

Council House Fight and Battle of Plum Creek

Two major 1840 conflicts that worsened relations between Texans and Comanche people.

Battle of the Neches

An 1839 battle in East Texas in which Republic of Texas forces fought Cherokee and allied groups.

Texan Santa Fe Expedition

A 1841 expedition sent by President Lamar to bring Santa Fe and surrounding territory under Texas control; it failed.

Mier Expedition

A 1842 Texas military expedition into Mexico that ended in defeat and the capture of many Texans.

An Empire for Slavery

A historical theme describing efforts to expand slavery and protect slaveholders' power in Texas and the South.

William Goyens

A free Black businessman and community leader in early Texas who worked as a blacksmith and supported local commerce.

Hendrick Arnold

A free Black man who served as a scout and soldier for Texas forces during the Texas Revolution.

Ashworth Brothers

Free Black brothers in Texas who worked to protect their family's freedom and challenge discriminatory restrictions.

Constitution of 1836

The Republic of Texas constitution that established its government and legally protected slavery.

Ashworth Act

A Texas law associated with the Ashworth family's exemption from restrictions that threatened free Black residents.

1841 Runaway Law

A law aimed at controlling enslaved people who escaped and imposing penalties connected to their capture or return.

1858 Bounty Law

A Texas law that offered rewards for capturing enslaved people who had escaped.

Slave Patrol

Groups authorized to police enslaved people, restrict their movement, and prevent escapes and resistance.

Planter

A large-scale agricultural landowner, often a slaveholder, who grew cash crops such as cotton.

Martin Van Buren

U.S. president from 1837 to 1841 who opposed immediate Texas annexation partly because of slavery and sectional tensions.

Sam Houston

Texas leader who served as president of the Republic of Texas and later opposed Texas secession from the Union.

John Tyler

U.S. president who pursued Texas annexation and supported the joint resolution that brought Texas into the Union.

Anglophobia

Fear or distrust of English-speaking people, especially Americans, which influenced Mexican attitudes toward U.S. expansion.

James K. Polk

U.S. president from 1845 to 1849 who supported expansion and led the country during the Mexican-American War.

Annexation Treaty

A proposed agreement to bring Texas into the United States that failed to gain enough Senate support in 1844.

Joint Resolution

A measure passed by Congress in 1845 that enabled Texas to join the United States without a treaty.

Cuevas-Smith Treaty

A proposed diplomatic agreement associated with efforts to settle U.S.-Mexican disputes over Texas and its boundaries; check class notes for the exact reference.

Anson Jones

Last president of the Republic of Texas who oversaw its transition into the United States.

Convention of 1845

The Texas convention that approved annexation and drafted a state constitution before Texas joined the United States.

Zachary Taylor

U.S. general who commanded troops in the disputed Texas-Mexico border region before and during the Mexican-American War.

Trans-Nueces

The region south of the Nueces River that Mexico and the United States disputed as part of Texas's boundary.

Spot Resolution

Congressman Abraham Lincoln's 1847 request that President Polk identify the exact spot where Mexican forces allegedly attacked U.S. troops.

U.S.-Mexican War

The 1846-1848 war between the United States and Mexico, driven by border disputes and U.S. expansion.

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

The 1848 treaty that ended the Mexican-American War and transferred a vast amount of Mexican territory to the United States.

U.S. Army Forts

Military posts established in Texas to protect settlements, maintain order, and support westward expansion.

Butterfield Overland Mail

A stagecoach mail service launched in 1858 that connected the eastern United States with California through southern routes.

Free Soil Party

A political party that opposed the expansion of slavery into U.S. territories.

Democratic Party

A major U.S. political party whose southern wing strongly defended slavery before the Civil War.

Unionists

People who opposed secession and wanted their state to remain in the United States.

Republican Party

A party founded in the 1850s that opposed slavery's expansion into western territories.

Abraham Lincoln

U.S. president elected in 1860 whose victory prompted several Southern states to secede.

Secession Convention

A Texas convention in 1861 where delegates voted to leave the United States.

Sam Houston

Texas governor who opposed secession and was removed from office after refusing to swear allegiance to the Confederacy.

James W. Throckmorton

Texas politician who opposed secession and later served as governor during Reconstruction.

Ordinance of Secession

The formal document Texas adopted in 1861 to declare its separation from the United States.

Cotton

A major Texas cash crop that depended heavily on enslaved labor before the Civil War.

Anaconda Plan

The Union strategy to blockade Southern ports and control the Mississippi River to weaken the Confederacy.

Conscription

Compulsory military service requiring eligible people to join the armed forces.

Albert Sidney Johnston

Confederate general who commanded Confederate forces in the Western Theater and died at the Battle of Shiloh in 1862.

Benjamin McCulloch

Texas frontiersman and Confederate general who was killed at the Battle of Pea Ridge in 1862.

Santos Benavides

Tejano Confederate officer who defended the Laredo area and helped protect Confederate supply routes.

Edmund J. Davis

Texas Unionist who served as a Union officer and later became governor of Texas during Reconstruction.

First Texas Cavalry

A Texas cavalry unit that served in the Civil War; check class notes for which unit designation your course uses.

New Mexico Campaign

The 1862 Confederate campaign to capture New Mexico Territory and threaten Union control of the Southwest.

Battle of Galveston

A January 1863 battle in which Confederate forces recaptured Galveston from Union control.

Nathaniel P. Banks

Union general who led operations along the Gulf Coast and in Louisiana during the Civil War.

Battle of Sabine Pass

A September 1863 battle in which a small Confederate force repelled a much larger Union invasion attempt in Texas.

Battle of Palmito Ranch

A May 1865 battle near Brownsville, Texas, often considered the last major land battle of the Civil War.

Home Front

The civilian side of the war, including farming, manufacturing, shortages, family life, and support for soldiers.

Camp Ford

The largest Confederate prisoner-of-war camp west of the Mississippi River, located near Tyler, Texas.

Treue der Union

A German-language phrase meaning 'Loyalty to the Union'; it appears on a monument honoring German Texans killed for their Unionist beliefs.

The Great Hanging

The 1862 mass execution of suspected Unionists in Gainesville, Texas, during the Civil War.