The Texas Revolution was a war that ultimately led to the territory of Texas being transferred from Mexico to the United States, and it also led to the Mexican-American War, which caused a lot of other territories to change hands as well, such as California and Arizona. The war wasn’t very long, but its implications were great. It was the first part of a domino effect that eventually led to the California Gold Rush, and it was also what got James Polk elected as president, as it was the first half of his slogan.
Mexico and Texas were both areas in America that were colonized by Spain, and, when Mexico won it’s independence from Spain in 1821, Texas became a portion of Mexico’s land. The area was very lightly settled and sparsely populated, so Mexico encouraged Americans to come live on the land so as to keep off Indian raids. Americans flocked to Texas, to the point where there were more Americans than Mexicans in the territory. In 1830, the president of Mexico banned emigration because the local government was having a hard time controlling the rowdy Americans. The local government was not happy with their president interfering with their local problems, and so rebellions began. The Mexican president sent his brother, General Cos, to put down the rebellion. He was not able to reach the Texans because a Mexican fort nearby had lent the Texans a cannon, and they weren’t afraid to use it. The Battle of Gonzales was the result of this. One hundred Mexicans went under Cos to retrieve the cannon from the Texans. Texans swarmed to the battle field. It ended with the Texans repelling Cos and his forces. Only three people died in the whole conflict. The Texans declared themselves an independent republic, and the Battle of the Alamo followed. The Texans were swiftly besieged by the Mexican forces led by their President, Santa Anna. There were one-hundred Texans in the catholic missionary building that was the Alamo, and three thousand Mexican soldiers besieging the Alamo. As you might expect, the Mexicans won the battle, as it was very, very lopsided to begin with. Several famous figures died at the Alamo. Davy Crockett and Sam Bowie are just a few of these. Rather than discourage the Texans, the Battle of the Alamo actually motivated the Texans even more. The Battle of San Jacinto was a turning point. The Texans caught the Mexicans by surprise and obliterated them. Santa Anna was forced to sign a treaty to save his life. It said that Mexico would never again attack Texas, and that both sides would return prisoners of war.
Texas was now its own independent republic. Texas requested to be annexed into the United States of America, but was declined it until James Polk was finally able to annex the country. Mexico had not recognized Texas as a republic in the first place, so it went to war with America over Texas and about the border between Texas and Mexico. So began the Mexican-American War.