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
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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
Ever since the Manifest Destiny became the United States’ holy goal, Texas had always been in the sight of the United State, for the location and size of the territory were extremely attractive for the expansion. In addition, the state offered the Rio Grande River which promised great trade in the future. These factors made Texas a key component in fulfilling the sacred duty, so when news spread that Texas became independent, there was no time wasted from the United States in integrating them into the union. Even before Texas gained their independence, the United States had become intertwined with the culture of Texas by having hundreds of American citizens immigrating into the territory and spreading American values across the land. As many historians have said “Throughout the United States, especially in the South, support for Texas was warm and widespread. Men, money, and
Many know Stephen F. Austin as the father of Texas, but not many know his experiences that led to this. Stephen F. Austin was the child of Moses and Maria Austin. He was born on the third of November in 1793, in Virginia. He and his family moved to Missouri, and by the age of eleven Stephen was sent off to Connecticut to attend a school called Bacon Academy. Stephen graduated with honors at the age of fourteen. He then spent two years at Transylvania University located in Lexington, Kentucky. Stephen returned in the year 1810 and served several years as a member of the Missouri territorial legislature. Stephen wasn't a member for long, and because of this he was looking for new opportunities in Arkansas. Being as successful as he was, Stephen
In 1820 the Spanish who controlled Texas granted Moses Austin, Stephen F Austin’s father, permission to bring a number of American settlers to Texas but he died before he was able to. (http://www.tsl.texas.gov/treasure/giants/austin-1823plan-1.html) So Stephen lead the colonization of Texas. He was a settler and was eager and patient. He learned Spanish and
Sam Houston was a man of many faces. Whether it was a friend to the Indians, governor of two States, or president of the Republic of Texas, he always stayed true to his practicality and fought for what was right. Because of this Sam Houston’s name will synonymously remain with Texas Independence, and forever be immortalized in textbooks and novels alike.
Stephen F. Austin was born on November 3, 1793 at Austinville, Virginia. When he was at the age of five, he moved to Missouri. That is where he grew up. They moved because his father, Moses Austin, began to lead mining and land speculating. He didn’t start school until the age of eleven. The school he went to was Bacon Academy. Because he was a reluctant student, he only went to school
In the 1830’s, Texas fought for their independence from Mexico. This sparked the Mexican revolution. There were three main reasons why Texans wanted independence: Mexico outlawed slavery, high taxes, and the Mexicans wanted everyone to join the Catholic Church. One of the major players in Texas was Stephen Austin. He had 300 land grants which he gave to the Texans. After some time, Stephen Austin went all the way to Mexico to present petitions for a greater self-governing government for Texas. Even though Stephen Austin was known as the father of Texas, the President of Mexico harshly denied his request.
Yet another reason why Texans might have revolted was that they were trying to preserve and maintain the political values and economic gain while under the Constitution of 1824. It gave Texas a steady population flow of American migrants moving onto Texas soil. It also gave them political liberty, freedom to own slaves and a steady economic progression. But Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, president of Mexico, wished to impose a stricter rule which could also explain why Texas felt the need to separate from Mexico.
In times before the confrontation at the Alamo, the Mexican government welcomed settlers into Texas. The motive behind Mexico’s act was to create a buffer zone between Mexican settlements and the Indians. Settlers were able to come to Texas as long as they promised to convert to Catholicism and become Mexican citizens among other
Stephen F. Austin was born at the lead mines in Southwest Virginia on November 3 1793. When Stephen f. Austin was only five he and his family moved to missouri then when Stephen was about ten he was sent to Bacon academy a boarding school in Connecticut. Then later in about 1809 he started going to Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky where he studied English, Grammar, Mathematics, and Geography. However
1821, Austin's father, Moses Austin, had received a permit from the Spanish to settle 300 families in Texas, but he died in Missouri a short time later before he could realize his plans. Stephen F. Austin took his father's place and traveled to San Antonio, where he met with the Spanish governor Antonio María Martínez, who acknowledged him as his father's successor.The most selected land by the colonists were along the rich bottomlands such as the Brazos,Colorado,and San Bernard river.
The Anglo-American settlers in Texas saw themselves as Americans. They felt they were superior to the Mexicans, and because of this they tried to undermine the Mexican government.
Mexico had just recently won their independence from Spain. Soon Mexico wanted Texas. America wanted Texas too, because a lot of her citizens had moved there. In document D paragraph 2 it says,” At this period, citizens of the United States had already begun to move into Texas… The idea was that this extensive province ought to become a part of the United States.”
Moses Austin would not live to see it come to fruition as he was attacked my highway men and died shortly thereafter. That would fall on his son, Stephen F. Austin, who is often referred to as the “Father of Texas”. Austin and the other settlers were drawn to the territory by grants and deferred taxation provided by the Spanish government; however, in 1821 Mexico declared independence from Spain. Austin was concerned that the new independent Mexican government would not recognize the previous arrangements made with his father. He would have to travel all the way to Mexico City to make his case, and in 1823 the Mexican Congress confirmed Austin’s grant.
Political conflict, was a key component in multiple uprisings during the time. Economic motivations, grew to a point where it never reached prior to the Jacksonian era. Social changes, divided a significant amount of people within Texas itself. Cultural differences were notable and existed, but they took on a smaller role compared to politics, economics, and social changes. While cultural differences were present, they were not nearly enough to spark an entire rebellion. The cultural differences made it difficult to easily assimilate, but hardly impossible. The inability to quickly adjust to preceding expected cultural norms was a very unlikely reason for the rebellion. Weber, initially presents a very valid argument of the cultural differences between Anglo Texans and Mexican Texans. However, he makes it clear in his essay that despite the cultural differences, the main fight was between the Mexican Texan and the centralist Mexican government (MPTH, 139). There is more than enough evidence to support that the Texas rebellion would occur inevitably, as the discontent with the Mexican leadership rose. Consequently, it appeared that both cultures were able to coexist exceptionally. It is also leaves a curious question on whether culture assimilation, rather than cultural differences lead to the Texas
With this palpable demonstration of land and authority, the relative degree of intolerance that were conventional policies between Mexico and Anglo residents of Texas that there was no immigration or slavery allowed seems perfectly natural. With so much land and numbers on the side of the Mexican government, as well as support from other nations which included at various times the indignant British (which had recently lost the colonial war) as well as the Spanish, there really appears to be no good reason for any sort of tolerance or kindness on the part of Mexican officials to Anglos in Texas.