Consultation (Texas)

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This article is about the history of Texas. For information on variants of the term, please see consultant (disambiguation).

The Consultation was a 19th century meeting of the Texas colonists who were in open rebellion against the Republic of Mexico in 1835.

Contents

[edit] Prelude

The Consultation was originally supposed to take place in Washington-on-the-Brazos on October 15, 1835. However, battle broke out in Gonzales and Goliad. The delegates pushed the date to November 3, 1835 and changed the location to San Felipe de Austin. Texan Branch T. Archer of Virginia was elected to preside over the gathering.

Each municipality in Texas would have three delegates to the convention.[1] Many of the delegates had joined the volunteer Texian army on its march to San Antonio de Bexar. The siege of Bexar began on November 1. Newly arrived immigrant Sam Houston travelled to San Antonio to exhort the delegates to leave the siege and come to the consultation. In a compromise, the officers voted to allow delegates who were members of the rank-and-file or were line officers to leave the siege, while those who were staff officers would remain to oversee military operations.[2] William B. Travis, William Wharton, and Stephen F. Austin remained behind, while James Bowie accompanied Houston to San Felipe.[1]

[edit] Issues

The Consultation's main purpose was to decide the overall goals of the revolution. Members of the War Party advocated for complete independence from Mexico, while Peace Party representatives wished for Texas to remain part of Mexico, but under the 1824 Constitution of Mexico. Although Austin was unable to attend, he did send a letter to the consultation, asking them to follow the 1824 Constitution of Mexico and to make it clear to Mexico that the hostilities were not an attempt for independence but instead a determination to fight for their rights as Mexican citizens. The turning point of the discussion came when Houston, who many believed to be a staunch member of the War Party, asked the fellow delegates to refrain from declaring independence. Such a declaration would likely cause many of the people who supported the Constitution of 1824 in other parts of Mexico to refrain from supporting the Texians.[1]

[edit] Texas government

On November 6, 1835, the delegates voted 33–15 against declaring independence.[citation needed]

The following day they issued a declaration, stating "The people of Texas, availing themselves of their natural rights, solemnly declare that they have taken up arms in defense of their rights and liberties which were threatened by the encroachments of military despots and in defense of the Republican principles of the federal constitution of Mexico of 1824."[1] They created their own provisional revolutionary government and elected Henry Smith as governor. William Harrison was elected lieutenant governor.

Houston was appointed to command a new Provisional Army of Texas, which would remain separate from the existing volunteer army. The new army should consist of 2,500 men, who would enlist for 2-year terms in exchange for land grants. Houston was also appointed to the Select Committee on Indian Affairs, as he had spent much of his career dealing with Indian nations. The Texians needed the support of the Indians (or at least their neutrality) to win their fight against Mexico.[1]

The government agreed to meet again on March 1, 1836.

[edit] See also

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ a b c d e Todish et al (1998), p. 24.
  2. ^ Todish et al (1998), p. 23.

[edit] References

  • Todish, Timothy J.; Todish, Terry & Spring, Ted (1998), Alamo Sourcebook, 1836: A Comprehensive Guide to the Battle of the Alamo and the Texas Revolution, Austin, TX: Eakin Press, ISBN 9781571681522 

[edit] Further reading

  • Davis, William C.;Lone Star Rising-The Revolutionary Birth of the Texas Republic; Free Press; ISBN 0-684-86510-6
  • Davis, William C.;Three Roads to the Alamo; Harper Collins; ISBN 0-06-017334-3
  • Barr, Alwyn; Texans In Revolt; The Battle for San Antonio,1835; University of Texas Press; ISBN 0-292-78120-2
  • Hardin, Stephen L.; Texian Iliad-A Military History of the Texas Revolution; University of Texas Press; ISBN 0-292-73086-1

[edit] External links

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