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Only A Few Times In The Course Of Human History Has A Single

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Only a few times in the course of human history has a single man been able to shape the destiny of millions. Even fewer have been able to change the fate and lives of millions for the better. Stephen F. Austin was one of those select few. Stephen F. Austin was able to create a country out of nothing but the wild untamed west. That country would ultimately become the 28th state of the Union and today is home to more than 27 million people with a GDP comparable to Australia. To better understand Stephen F. Austin is to better understand not only the state of Texas but the people that call it home.
Stephen F. Austin was born to Moses and Maria Austin in Virginia on November 3rd, 1793. If not for his father, Moses, Stephen might never have …show more content…

Austin did, as he handled most everything. When disputes between Mexican officials and the settlers arose, Austin made compromises. When Indian attacks threatened the settlers, Austin commanded a militia to defend them. However, despite Austin’s best efforts in attempting to keep the peace, events transpired that would send Texas to war.
For years Austin had attempted to keep the peace by convincing the citizens to be good Mexican citizens, hushing up criticism of the often corrupt and incompetent Mexican government and even helping the Mexicans in putting down an insurrection. Austin had used these as a show of good faith so that he could obtain concessions from the Mexican Congress. By 1832 though with more than 8,000 American immigrants in Texas, Austin’s sometimes cautious leadership was not working. The passage of The Law of April 6, 1830 had prohibited furture immigrants from America from coming to Texas. This law was passed in large part due to the fact that the Americans far outnumbered the Mexican population in Texas. This coupled with the fact that the United States continually attempted to buy Texas led to increasing Mexican anxiety about a possible revolution. Those fears as it turned out were well founded. However the Mexican government in a way continued to aggravate the situation by not only prohibiting American immigration but also by placing several other regulations on the settlers. While not as major as the

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