The Texas Declaration of Independence was the formal

declaration of independence A declaration of independence or declaration of statehood or proclamation of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of th ...

of the

Republic of Texas The Republic of Texas ( es, República de Tejas) was a sovereign state in North America that existed from March 2, 1836, to February 19, 1846, that bordered Mexico, the Republic of the Rio Grande in 1840 (another breakaway republic from Me ...

from

Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...

in the Texas Revolution. It was adopted at the Convention of 1836 at

Washington-on-the-Brazos Washington-on-the-Brazos is an unincorporated community along the Brazos River in Washington County, Texas, United States. The town is best known for being the site of the Convention of 1836 and the signing of the Texas Declaration of Independence ...

on March 2, 1836, and was formally signed the next day after mistakes were noted in the text.

Background

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

Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

, 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 ''Las Siete Leyes'' (, or Seven Laws was a constitution that fundamentally altered the organizational structure of Mexico, away from the federal structure established by the Constitution of 1824, thus ending the First Mexican Republic and creating ...

.Roberts and Olson (2001), p. 98. To settle the issue, a convention was called for March 1836. This convention differed from the previous Texas councils of 1832,

1833 Events January–March * January 3 – Reassertion of British sovereignty over the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic. * February 6 – His Royal Highness Prince Otto Friedrich Ludwig of Bavaria assumes the title His Majesty Othon the ...

, 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, and many of them had fought in battles during the Texas Revolution against Mexico in 1835. The only two known native Texans to sign are Jose Francisco Ruiz and Jose Antonio Navarro. Most of the delegates were members of the War Party and were adamant that Texas must declare its independence from Mexico.Roberts and Olson (2001), p. 142. Forty-one delegates arrived in

on February 28.

Development

The convention was convened on March 1 with Richard Ellis as president.Davis (1982), p. 38. The delegates selected a committee of five to draft a declaration of independence; the committee was led by

George Childress George Campbell Childress (January 8, 1804 – October 6, 1841) was a lawyer, politician, and a principal author of the Texas Declaration of Independence. Early life Childress was born on January 8, 1804, in Nashville, Tennessee, to John Cam ...

and also included Edward Conrad, James Gaines,

Bailey Hardeman Bailey Hardeman (1795–1836) was the first Secretary of the Treasury for the Republic of Texas. Family Bailey was a younger son of Thomas Hardeman and his first wife Mary Perkins. Both families were early settlers in Tidewater Virginia. Thoma ...

, and

Collin McKinney Collin McKinney (April 17, 1766 – September 9, 1861) was a land surveyor, merchant, slaver, politician and a lay preacher. He is best known as an important figure in the Texas Revolution, as one of the five individuals who drafted the Tex ...

. The committee submitted its draft within a mere 24 hours, leading historians to speculate that Childress had written much of it before he arrived at the Convention.Roberts and Olson (2001), p. 144. The declaration was approved on March 2 with no debate. Based primarily on the writings of

John Locke John Locke (; 29 August 1632 – 28 October 1704) was an English philosopher and physician, widely regarded as one of the most influential of Enlightenment thinkers and commonly known as the "father of liberalism". Considered one of ...

and

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...

, 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"Roberts and Olson (2001), p. 145. and complained about "arbitrary acts of oppression and tyranny."Roberts and Olson (2001), p. 146. Throughout the declaration are numerous references to the United States laws, rights, and customs. Omitted from the declaration was the fact 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

, 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. Among others, the declaration mentions the following reasons for the separation: * The

1824 Constitution of Mexico The Federal Constitution of the United Mexican States of 1824 ( es, Constitución Federal de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos de 1824) was enacted on October 4 of 1824, after the overthrow of the Mexican Empire of Agustin de Iturbide. In the new ...

establishing a

federal republic A federal republic is a federation of states with a republican form of government. At its core, the literal meaning of the word republic when used to reference a form of government means: "a country that is governed by elected representatives ...

had been overturned and changed into a centralist

military dictatorship A military dictatorship is a dictatorship in which the military exerts complete or substantial control over political authority, and the dictator is often a high-ranked military officer. The reverse situation is to have civilian control of the ...

by Gen.

Antonio López de Santa Anna Antonio de Padua María Severino López de Santa Anna y Pérez de Lebrón (; 21 February 1794 – 21 June 1876),Callcott, Wilfred H., "Santa Anna, Antonio Lopez De,''Handbook of Texas Online'' Retrieved 18 April 2017. usually known as Santa Ann ...

. (From Mexico's viewpoint, lawful elections of 1835 seated many conservative politicians who intended to strengthen Mexico's republic government and defend their nation from an invasion of illegal American immigrants. They amended the 1824 constitution by passing the Seven Laws.) * The Mexican government had invited settlers to

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

and promised them constitutional liberty and republican government, but then reneged on these guarantees. (It did not mention that many settlers, including the author and majority of signatories, were factually uninvited, illegal trespassers.Scott (2000), p. 122.) * Texas was in union with the Mexican state of

Coahuila Coahuila (), formally Coahuila de Zaragoza (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Coahuila de Zaragoza ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Coahuila de Zaragoza), is one of the 32 states of Mexico. Coahuila borders the Mexican states of N ...

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 Spanish ( or , Castilian) is a Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from colloquial Latin spoken on the Iberian peninsula. Today, it is a global language with more than 500 million native speakers, mainly in the ...

, 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 The right to keep and bear arms (often referred to as the right to bear arms) is a right for people to possess weapons (arms) for the preservation of life, liberty, and property. The purpose of gun rights is for self-defense, including securi ...

and the right to

trial by jury A jury trial, or trial by jury, is a legal proceeding in which a jury makes a decision or findings of fact. It is distinguished from a bench trial in which a judge or panel of judges makes all decisions. Jury trials are used in a significan ...

, were denied. * No system of

public education State schools (in England, Wales, Australia and New Zealand) or public schools (Scottish English and North American English) are generally primary or secondary educational institution, schools that educate all students without charge. They are ...

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 Freedom of religion or religious liberty is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance. It also includes the freedo ...

. All legal settlers were required to convert to Catholicism. Based upon the

United States Declaration of Independence The United States Declaration of Independence, formally The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen States of America, is the pronouncement and founding document adopted by the Second Continental Congress meeting at Pennsylvania State House ( ...

, 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.''"

Signatories

Sixty men signed the Texas Declaration of Independence. Three of them were born in Mexico. Fifty-seven of the sixty moved to Texas from the United States. 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.Scott (2000), p. 122. This is significant, because it indicates that the majority of signatories had moved to Texas after the Law of April 6, 1830, banning immigration, had taken effect, meaning that the majority were legally citizens of the United States, occupying Texas illegally. Fifty-nine of these men were delegates to the Convention, and one was the Convention Secretary, Herbert S. Kimble, who was not a delegate. *Jesse B. Badgett *George Washington Barnett *Thomas Barnett *Stephen W. Blount * John W. Bower * Asa Brigham *

Andrew Briscoe Andrew Briscoe (November 25, 1810 – October 4, 1849) was a merchant, revolutionary, soldier, and jurist. He was an organizer of the Texas Revolution, attending the Convention of 1836 and signing the Texas Declaration of Independence. He foug ...

John Wheeler Bunton John Wheeler Bunton (22 February 1807 – 24 August 1879) was a Texas settler and signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence (1836), which declared independence from Mexico. He is also known as the great-great-uncle of Lyndon Johnson ...

*John S. D. Byrom *

Mathew Caldwell Matthew Caldwell, (March 8, 1798 – December 28, 1842), also spelled Mathew Caldwell was a 19th-century Texas settler, military figure, Captain of the Gonzales – Seguin Rangers and a signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence. Because of ...

* Samuel Price Carson * George C. Childress * William Clark, Jr. * Robert M. Coleman *

James Collinsworth James Thompson Collinsworth (1802 – July 11, 1838) was an American-born Texian lawyer and political figure in early history of the Republic of Texas. Early life Collinsworth was born in 1802 Davidson County, Tennessee. His father, Edward Collin ...

* Edward Conrad * William Carroll Crawford *

Lorenzo de Zavala Manuel Lorenzo Justiniano de Zavala y Sanchez (October 3, 1788 - November 15, 1836), known simply as Lorenzo de Zavala, was a Mexican and later Tejano physician, politician, diplomat and author. Born in Yucatán under Spanish rule, he was clo ...

* Richard Ellis, President of the Convention and Delegate from Red River *Stephen H. Everett *John Fisher * Samuel Rhoads Fisher *Robert Thomas 'James' Gaines *Thomas J. Gazley *Benjamin Briggs Goodrich *

Jesse Grimes Jesse Grimes (1788–1866) was a Texas pioneer and politician. Before moving to Texas, he fought in the War of 1812. He was a signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence. He served as Senator in the Republic of Texas Congress and in the Texas ...

*Robert Hamilton *

*Augustine B. Hardin *

Sam Houston Samuel Houston (, ; March 2, 1793 – July 26, 1863) was an American general and statesman who played an important 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 i ...

*Herbert Simms Kimble, Secretary *William D. Lacy *Albert Hamilton Latimer * Edwin O. Legrand *

Samuel A. Maverick Samuel Augustus Maverick (July 23, 1803 – September 2, 1870) was a Texas lawyer, politician, land baron and signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence. His name is the source of the term "maverick," first cited in 1867, which means "indepe ...

(from Bejar) * Michel B. Menard *William Menefee *John W. Moore *William Motley * José Antonio Navarro *

Martin Parmer Martin Parmer (born Martin Palmer June 4, 1778 – March 2, 1850) was an eccentric 19th-century United States, American frontiersman, statesman, politician and soldier. On March 2, 1836, Martin Parmer seconded Sam Houston's motion to adopt the T ...

, Delegate from San Augustine *Sydney O. Pennington * Robert Potter * James Power *John S. Roberts *

Sterling C. Robertson Sterling Clack Robertson (1785–1842) was an empresario from Tennessee, during Mexican Texas. He introduced 600 families into Robertson's Colony. Robertson was also an elected delegate to the Washington-on-the-Brazos convention, signing both the T ...

José Francisco Ruiz José Francisco "Francis" Ruiz (''c.'' January 29, 1783 – January 19, 1840) was a Spanish soldier, educator, politician, Republic of Texas Senator, and revolutionary. Early life Ruiz was born in San Antonio de Bexar in the interior province of S ...

* Thomas Jefferson Rusk *William. B. Scates *

George W. Smyth George Washington Smyth (May 16, 1803 – February 21, 1866) was a Texas politician and a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives. Before serving in Congress, he was the commissioner of the Texas General Land Offi ...

*Elijah Stapp, ancestor of Brown family *

Charles B. Stewart Charles Bellinger Tate Stewart (February 6, 1806 – July 1, 1885) was an American-born pharmacist, doctor, and political leader in the Republic of Texas. He was born in Charleston, South Carolina, but moved to Texas in 1830. Stewart was a delegat ...

*James G. Swisher *Charles S. Taylor * David Thomas *John Turner * Edwin Waller *Claiborne West *James B. Woods

Notes

References

* * * *

External links

Washington on the BrazosThe Declaration of Independence, 1836
fro
Gammel's Laws of Texas, Vol. I.
hosted by th
Portal to Texas History

and origina

at the

Texas State Library and Archives Commission The Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC) refers to the agency in the state of Texas that assists the people of Texas to effectively use information, archival resources, public records and library materials to improve their lives, th ...

Texas Independence Day, March 2
including Samuel A. Maverick's broadside copy of the Texas Declaration of Independence.

* ttp://texana.texascooking.com/texasindependenceday.htm Special Report: Texas Independence Day by Texas Cooking*
School Lesson: Texas Declaration of Independence

Descendants of the Signers of the Texas Declaration of Independence
{{DEFAULTSORT:Texas Declaration Of Independence Declarations of independence Texas Revolution 1836 in law 1836 in the Republic of Texas Sam Houston March 1836 events 1836 documents