Texas Declaration of Independence

1836 proclamation of Texan independence from Mexico

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Texas Declaration of Independence

1836 facsimile of the Texas Declaration of Independence

Created| March 2, 1836 (1836-03-02)
Location| Engrossed copy: Texas State Library and Archives Commission
Author(s)| George Childress
Signatories| 60 delegates to the Consultation
Purpose| To announce and explain separation from Mexico
Full text
Texas Declaration of Independence at Wikisource

The Texas Declaration of Independence was the formal declaration of independence of the Republic of Texas from Mexico in the Texas Revolution. It was adopted at the Convention of 1836 at Washington-on-the-Brazos on March 2, 1836, and was formally signed the next day after mistakes were noted in the text.

## Background

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In October of 1835, native Tejanos and new settlers in Mexican Texas launched the Texas Revolution.

However, amongst the people of Texas, 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. To settle the issue, a convention was called for in March of 1836.

This convention differed from the previous Texas councils of 1832, 1833, 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. Not only that but many of them had fought in battles during the Texas Revolution against Mexico in 1835. Of the 60 men to sign, the only two known native Texans to sign are Jose Francisco Ruiz and Jose Antonio Navarro.[1] Most of the delegates were members of the War Party and were adamant that Texas must declare its independence from Mexico.[2] Forty-one of these delegates arrived in Washington-on-the-Brazos on February 28.[2]

## Development

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Replica of the building at Washington-on-the-Brazos where the Texas Declaration was signed. An inscription reads: "Here a Nation was born."

The convention was convened on March 1 with Richard Ellis as president.[3] The delegates selected a committee of five to draft a declaration of independence; this committee was led by George Childress along with Edward Conrad, James Gaines, Bailey Hardeman, and Collin McKinney. The committee submitted its draft within a mere 24 hours, and this led historians to speculate that Childress had written much of it before he arrived at the Convention.[4] The document closely mirrors the United States Declaration of Independence in both structure and tone. It reflects Enlightenment principles, particularly the idea of the right to revolution when a government becomes tyrannical. Among the listed grievances were the failure to establish a system of public education, the denial of civil liberties such as trial by jury, and the imposition of a military dictatorship under Santa Anna.[5][6]

The declaration was approved on March 2 with no debate. Based primarily on the writings of John Locke and Thomas Jefferson, 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"[7] and complained about "arbitrary acts of oppression and tyranny."[8][9] Throughout the declaration are numerous references to the United States laws, rights, and customs. Omitted from the declaration was 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 Republic of Texas, 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.[dubious – discuss] The declaration's adoption was followed by the Battle of the Alamo and ultimately the decisive Texian victory at the Battle of San Jacinto in April 1836. [10]

Among others, the declaration mentions the following reasons for the separation:

* The 1824 Constitution of Mexico establishing a federal republic had been overturned and changed into a centralist military dictatorship by Gen. Antonio López de Santa Anna.
* The Mexican government had invited settlers to Texas and promised them constitutional liberty and republican government, but then reneged on these guarantees.
* Texas was in union with the Mexican state of Coahuila 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, 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 and the right to trial by jury, were denied.
* No system of public education 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. All legal settlers were required to convert to Catholicism.

Based upon the United States Declaration of Independence, 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

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The New Republic, with the area in yellow under formal control and the green area as claimed territory, over modern borders.

Sixty men signed the Texas Declaration of Independence. Three of them were born in Mexico, those being José Antonio Navarro, José Francisco Ruiz, and Lorenzo de Zavala.[11] Fifty-seven of the sixty moved to Texas from the United States,[12]and 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.[13] This is significant, because it indicates that the majority of signatories had moved to Texas after the Law of April 6, 1830. This law, banning immigration, had taken effect and this meant that the majority were legally citizens of the United States, occupying Texas illegally.

* [14]" 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
* John Wheeler Bunton
* John S. D. Byrom
* Mathew Caldwell
* Samuel Price Carson
* George C. Childress
* William Clark, Jr.
* Robert M. Coleman
* James Collinsworth
* Edward Conrad
* William Carroll Crawford
* Lorenzo de Zavala
* 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
* Robert Hamilton
* Bailey Hardeman
* Augustine B. Hardin
* Sam Houston
* Herbert Simms Kimble, Secretary
* William D. Lacy
* Albert H. Latimer
* Edwin O. Legrand
* Collin McKinney
* Samuel A. Maverick (from Bejar)
* Michel B. Menard
* William Menefee
* John W. Moore
* William Mottley
* José Antonio Navarro
* Martin Parmer, Delegate from San Augustine
* Sydney O. Pennington
* Robert Potter
* James Power
* John S. Roberts
* Sterling C. Robertson
* José Francisco Ruiz
* Thomas Jefferson Rusk
* William. B. Scates
* George W. Smyth
* Elijah Stapp, ancestor of Brown family
* Charles B. Stewart
* James G. Swisher
* Charles S. Taylor
* David Thomas
* John Turner
* Edwin Waller
* Claiborne West
* James B. Woods

## See also

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* Texas Independence Day
* Timeline of the Republic of Texas
* Declaration of Independence (1836)

## Notes

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1. ^ BERNICE, STRONG (June 15, 2010). "RUIZ, JOSE FRANCISCO". tshaonline.org. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
2. ^ a b Roberts and Olson (2001), p. 142.
3. ^ Davis (1982), p. 38.
4. ^ Roberts and Olson (2001), p. 144.
5. ^ Brands, H. W. (2005). Lone Star Nation: The Epic Story of the Battle for Texas Independence. Anchor Books. ISBN 9781400030725. `{{cite book}}`: Check `|isbn=` value: checksum (help)
6. ^ Campbell, Randolph B. (2003). Gone to Texas: A History of the Lone Star State. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195138421. `{{cite book}}`: Check `|isbn=` value: checksum (help)
7. ^ Roberts and Olson (2001), p. 145.
8. ^ Association, Texas State Historical. "Browse Publications of Type Southwestern Historical Quarterly (SHQ)". Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved April 10, 2025.
9. ^ Roberts and Olson (2001), p. 146.
10. ^ Edmondson, J.R. (2000). The Alamo Story: From Early History to Current Conflicts. Republic of Texas Press. ISBN 9781556226780. `{{cite book}}`: Check `|isbn=` value: checksum (help)
11. ^ "Texans' Struggle for Freedom and Equality Exhibit - Tejano Voices | Texas State Library".
12. ^ "Texas Declaration of Independence". sonofthesouth.net. Retrieved May 15, 2015.
13. ^ Scott (2000), p. 122.
14. ^ Fehrenbach, T.R. (November 6, 2000). Lone Star: A History of Texas and the Texans (Revised ed.). Cambridge, Massachusetts: Da Capo Press. ISBN 978-0306809425. `{{cite book}}`: Check `|isbn=` value: checksum (help)

## References

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* Davis, Joe Tom (1982). Legendary Texians. Vol. 1\. Austin, Texas: Eakin Press. ISBN 0-89015-336-1.
* Martinez de Vara, Art (2020). Tejano Patriot: The Revolutionary Life of Jose Francisco Ruiz, 1783 - 1840. Austin, TX: Texas State Historical Association Press. ISBN 978-1625110589.
* Roberts, Randy; Olson, James S. (2001). A Line in the Sand: The Alamo in Blood and Memory. The Free Press. ISBN 0-684-83544-4.
* Scott, Robert (2000). After the Alamo. Plano, TX: Republic of Texas Press. ISBN 978-1-55622-691-5.
* [1][2]
* [3]

## External links

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English Wikisource has original text related to this article:

Texas Declaration of Independence

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Texas Declaration of Independence.

* Washington on the Brazos
* The Declaration of Independence, 1836, from Gammel's Laws of Texas, Vol. I., hosted by the Portal to Texas History.
* Declaration of Independence of Texas, 1836 broadside and original manuscript at the Texas State Library and Archives Commission
* Texas Independence Day, March 2 including Samuel A. Maverick's broadside copy of the Texas Declaration of Independence.
* Lone Star Junction Site: copy of The Declaration of Independence, March 2, 1836
* Special Report: Texas Independence Day by Texas Cooking
* Texas Declaration of Independence from the Handbook of Texas Online
* School Lesson: Texas Declaration of Independence
* Descendants of the Signers of the Texas Declaration of Independence
* Texans' Struggle for Freedom and Equality Exhibit - Tejano Voices | Texas State Library
* War Party
* Southwestern Historical Quarterly (SHQ)

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