TEXAS DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. The Texas Declaration of Independence was framed and issued by the Convention of 1836qv at Washington-on-the-Brazos. As soon as the convention was organized a resolution was introduced for appointment of a committee to draw up a declaration of independence. Richard Ellis,qv president of the convention, appointed George C. Childress, James Gaines, Edward Conrad, Collin McKinney, and Bailey Hardemanqv to the committee. Childress was named chairman, and it is generally conceded that he wrote the instrument with little help from the other members. In fact there is some evidence that he brought to the convention a proposed declaration that was adopted with little change by the committee and the convention, a view which is substantiated by the fact that the committee was appointed on March 1 and the declaration was presented to the convention on March 2. The Texas edict, like the United States Declaration of Independence, contains a statement on the nature of government, a list of grievances, and a final declaration of independence. The separation from Mexico was justified by a brief philosophical argument and by a list of grievances submitted to an impartial world. The declaration charged that the government of Mexico had ceased to protect the lives, liberty, and property of the people; that it had been changed from a restricted federal republic to a consolidated, central, military despotism; that the people of Texas had remonstrated against the misdeeds of the government only to have their agents thrown into dungeons and armies sent forth to enforce the decrees of the new government at the point of the bayonet; that the welfare of Texas had been sacrificed to that of Coahuila; that the government had failed to provide a system of public education, trial by jury, freedom of religion, and other essentials of good government; and that the Indians had been incited to massacre the settlers. According to the declaration, the Mexican government had invaded Texas to lay waste territory and had a large mercenary army advancing to carry on a war of extermination. The final grievance listed in justification of revolution charged that the Mexican government had been "the contemptible sport and victim of successive military revolutions and hath continually exhibited every characteristic of a weak, corrupt, and tyrannical government." After the signing of the original declaration by fifty-nine delegates, five copies of the document were dispatched to the designated Texas towns of Bexar, Goliad, Nacogdoches, Brazoria, and San Felipe. The printer at San Felipe was also instructed to make 1,000 copies in handbill form. The original was deposited with the United States Department of State in Washington, D.C., and was not returned to Texas until some time after June 1896. In 1929 the original document was transferred from the office of the secretary of state to the Board of Controlqv to be displayed in a niche at the Capitol,qv where it was unveiled on March 2, 1930. ------ God bless Texas.
My freshman history professor said that Texas cheated Mexico when they got their independence and doubled the size when they drew a map of the new territory.
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What if this letter had never been written, nor the stand taken? "Commandancy of the Alamo Bexar, Fby. 24th, 1836 To the People of Texas & all Americans in the world Fellow Citizens & Compatriots I am besieged by a thousand or more of the Mexicans under Santa Anna. I have sustained a continual bombardment & cannonade for 24 hours & have not lost a man. The enemy has demanded a surrender at discretion, otherwise the garrison are to be put to the sword if the fort is taken. I have answered the demand with a cannon shot, and our flag still waves proudly from the walls. I shall never surrender nor retreat. Then, I call on you in the name of Liberty, of patriotism, & of everything dear to the American character, to come to our aid with all dispatch. The enemy is receiving reinforcements daily & will no doubt increase to three or four thousand in four or five days. If this call is neglected, I am deter- mined to sustain myself as long as possible & die like a soldier who never forgets what is due to his own honor & that of his country. Victory or Death William Barret Travis Lt. Col. Comdt. P. S. The Lord is on our side. When the enemy appeared in sight we had not three bushels of corn. We have since found in deserted houses 80 or 90 bushels & got into the walls 20 or 30 head of Beeves. Travis " actual letter images: Don't Mess With Texas. btw- Love the album title, Jeff...
Not a single person started a thread? I weep for our future. I did my most Texanist part this morning: hauled a trailer full of cattle to Fredericksburg auction, ate Mexican lunch, bought a 6pack of Shiner, and in an hour my ladyfriend is cooking me a steak.
Great bump! I'm fixin' to go eat some BBQ, drink some local draft pints, and kick some arse playing trivia with the rest of the team at an Irish pub downtown, all the while humming Utah Carl's The Wanderer of the Wasteland. Bless Texas.
