Lets Compare

Today we are going to compare Texas

two most prominent presidents, Sam
Houston and Mirabeau Lamar
You will see that they had very two
different ideas about Texas

Texas Future
Sam Houston
Houston wanted Texas to join the United
States.
In 1836 he sent representatives to the
U.S. to seek Annexation
The Annexation bill didnt pass the U.S.
congress because of slavery
Houston sent Anson Jones to the U.S. to
remove the request. Then he tried to
open up trade talks with European
countries.
His hope was to make Texas

Native Texas

Sam Houston
Houston signed a treaty with the
Cherokee Indians who settled in east
Texas during the Texas Revolution, but
the Texas Congress failed to ratify it.
Houston used the Texas Rangers to
defend the frontier settlements against
attack.

Policy with Mexico

Sam Houston
After the Texas Independence many
Americans showed up in Texas
looking for a fight. This included Felix
Huston who was put in charge of the
Texas army. Huston and others in the
Texas army wanted to invade
northern Mexico.
Houston tried to replace Huston with
Albert Sidney Johnson. But Huston
and Johnson dueled and Johnson was
severely wounded.
After this Sam Houston ordered the
Texas Army to disband and go home.

The Texas Capital

Sam Houston: City of Houston 1837-1839
The brothers John and Augustus Allen offered to build
a new Texas capital and name it after Sam Houston.
The Government accepted.
In January of 1837, 12 people lived in Houston. Four
months later after it became the capital over 1,500
people called it home.
The positives of Houston were that it was located near
most of the colonies in East Texas and far away from
the threats of Indians and Mexican invasion.
The negatives of Houston were that many Texas
officials didnt like the town because of the heat, mud,
humidity, and mosquitoes that spread diseases.

Texas Finances

Sam Houston
Texas had a debt of over one million
dollars after the Texas Revolution.
Houston reduced government
spending by disbanding the army,
raised custom taxes on goods and
raised property taxes.
Under Houston the Texas
government issued Star Money

Texas Future
Mirabeau Lamar
Lamar did not want annexation.
Lamar spoke of the Republic of Texas
expanding into a North American empire
that would rival the United States.
He said If peace can be obtained only
by the sword, let the sword do its work!

Native Texas

Mirabeau Lamar
Lamar used the Texas Army to drive the
Cherokee Indians out of East Texas and
into Oklahoma.
In 1840 over 30 Comanche Indians were
killed in the Council House Fight in San
Antonio when Texas Soldiers opened fire
on them during a meeting to talk about
peace.
The Comanche were very angry over
this and raided many Texas settlements
killing settlers.

Policy with Mexico

Mirabeau Lamar
Lamar wanted Santa Fe under Texas control.
So he ordered (without the approval of the
Texas Congress) a military expedition to
conquer the city in 1841. the Santa Fe
Expedition was a disaster. Around 300 men
were captured and with a majority of them
dying on a brutal march to a Mexican prison.
The Expedition also cost Texas around
$200,000. Money Texas could not afford to
lose.
Lamar also purchased expensive warships to
create a Texas Navy. The Navy was ordered

The Texas Capital

Mirabeau Lamar: City of Austin 1839-1842, 1844Present
Lamar wanted the capital on the frontier of Texas. He
supposedly found the location while hunting.
When he took office he moved the capital west near a
small village on the Colorado river named Waterloo.
The village was renamed Austin.
The positives of Austin were that it was centrally
located in Texas, it had abundant natural resources,
and would encourage settlers to move west.
The negatives of Austin were that it was exposed to
both Indian and Mexican attack and it was isolated
from the rest of the Texas settlements thus lacking
availability of supplies.

Texas Finances

Mirabeau Lamar
Lamar spent money on the military
expeditions and increased Texas debt to
seven million dollars.
Because of this the value of the money
Texas printed under Lamar called
Redbacks went down to almost nothing.