Texas Declaration of Independence

Translating a Primary SourceToday, you will…..

• examine the Texas Declaration of Independence.

• restate important parts of it into more modern wording

• relate the Declaration to events we have studied in Texas History

• create a summarized version of the Declaration.

Declaration of Independence of the Republic of Texas

Turn to page _____ in your spiralsCopy the title below onto the first line on your page.

Declaration of Independence of the Republic of Texas

UNANIMOUSAll of us agreeDECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCEthat we are free.

BY THE DELEGATES OF THE PEOPLE OF TEXAS,

Voted on by the elected representatives of Texas settlers

IN GENERAL CONVENTION, AT THE TOWN OF WASHINGTON,

ON THE SECOND DAY OF MARCH, 1836

at our meeting at Washington on March 2, 1836.

As the original words are “translated” copy the new wording into your spiral.

When a government has ceased to protect the lives, liberty and property of the people from whom its

legitimate powers are derived … and …, becomes an instrument in the hands of evil rulers for their

oppression;

1. Where does government get its powers? Who is the evil ruler mentioned above that Texans might be thinking of?What has happened to government in this case?

1. Government gets its powers from______________________

Santa Anna is using his government to _______________ Texas.

Skip a space on your spiral page and add the next information.

When the Federal Republican Constitution of their country, which they have sworn to support, no longer exists, and the

whole nature of their government has been forcibly changed without their consent, from a restricted federative republic, composed of sovereign states, to a consolidated

central military despotism.

2. What kind of government did Federalists want? What kind of government did Centralists want? What sort of government did Texans favor?

2. Texans favored a government that shared power between the ______________ and ___________________ governments.

Skip a space, copy and complete….

When long after the spirit of the Constitution has departed, moderation is …removed, and … the constitution

discontinued; and … their petitions and … the agents who bear them are thrown into dungeons; and mercenary

armies sent forth to force a new government upon them at the point of the bayonet.

3. What has happened to the Constitution?Who was the agent that went to Mexico City to ask or petition for a state government in Texas? (Hint: He was put in jail after he sent a letter saying that Texas should go ahead and form a separate state government. He was also the most successful empresario. )

Skip a space, copy and complete….

3. The Constitution has been________________ and _______________________ has been thrown in jail.

The Mexican government, by its colonization laws, invited and induced the Anglo-American population of Texas to colonize its wilderness under the pledged faith of a written constitution, that they should

continue to enjoy that constitutional liberty and republican government to which they had been habituated in the land of their birth, the United

States of America.

4. Who invited Americans to come to Texas? What was promised?Why did Americans coming to Texas accept the Mexican Constitution?

Skip a space, copy and complete….

4. The _______ Government invited Americans to ________. Settlers expected to live under a constitution that was similar to the one in the ________________________.

Now, it is your turn…

Each group will be given a portion of the Texas Declaration of Independence.

As a group, you will

1. Read and study the original words.2. Discuss the thought questions to follow the quote.3. Rewrite the quote in simpler language*4. Select a group member to present results to the class. *Writing must be neat and legible! Spelling should be correct.Practice on scratch paper first.

We, therefore, the delegates… of the people of Texas, in solemn convention assembled, appealing to a candid world for the

necessities of our condition, do hereby resolve and DECLARE that our political connection with the Mexican nation has forever ended; and that the people of Texas do now constitute a FREE,

SOVEREIGN and INDEPENDENT RE-PUBLIC, and are fully invested with all the rights and attributes which properly belong to

the independent nations; and, conscious of the rectitude of our intentions, we fearlessly and confidently commit the issue to the

decision of the Supreme Arbiter of the destinies of nations.

To end the document, Texans say again what they are declaring. Say it in your own words.

The people of Texas declare _________________