Living in Austin's Colony

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Living in Austin's Colony
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Anglo American Colonization
In the early 1800s, so many people left
their homes in the United States to come to
Texas that G.T.T. (Gone To Texas) signs
became common. Settlers came to Texas from
various places and traveled along a variety of
routes. Your ancestors may have come to Texas
during this period. Or they may have been Native
or Spanish colonists. They may have moved here
100 years ago or 50 years ago. Or your family may
be new to our state.
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Interest in Texas Grows
Why It Matters Now Much of the language, culture,
and government of Texas today came from its Anglo
American settlers.
The Lure of the American West was attracting
Anglo Americans to areas such as Texas. The
Anglo American settlers brought their culture and
way of life to Texas. The government of New
Spain, which controlled Texas, was worried that
this influence would hurt their control of Texas.
Spain tried to control immigration by requiring
that immigrants pledge their loyalty to the
Spanish government and convert to Catholicism.
Not all settlers agreed to the conditions of the
Spanish government. A group of Texas settlers
known as filibusters threatened Spanish rule.
Authorities suspected them of plotting to seize
control of Texas.
Are you an immigrant to Texas?
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Life in Colonial Texas
The settlers of colonial Texas were as varied as
the routes they traveled. Although most came from
the United States, some came from Mexico and
Europe. Early Texas colonists included people of
German, Irish, Polish, Mexican, and African
descent, among others. A large population of
Tejanos settled in San Antonio de Béxar and along
the Rio Grande. Martín de León founded one of the
first Tejano colonies in Texas. Other powerful
Tejanos in colonial Texas were Erasmo and Juan
Seguín, Lorenzo de Zavala, and José Antonio
Navarro. The African American population in
Texas also grew. Many enslaved African Americans
were brought by settlers from the American South.
Slavery was illegal in Mexico after 1829, but the
law was seldom enforced. Mexican law did offer
protection and legal rights to free African
Americans who lived in Texas. Among them were
Greenberry Logan, Hendrick Arnold, and William
Goyens. These men later helped Texas win
independence.
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Pioneer kitchens were seldom separate rooms.
Women cooked in pots hung over open fires or on
wood stoves. Wood had to be chopped to keep the
fire going, and there were no matches. Ashes were
saved to make lye for soap. Water had to be
brought by bucket from a well. Pans were made of
cast iron or copper. Women churned their own
butter and made their own cheese and bread. Sugar
was brown coffee beans were green and had to be
roasted and ground by hand. With no
refrigeration, settlers had to preserve fruit and
vegetables in jars. Todays kitchens are filled
with labor-saving appliances, and running water
is available at the turn of a faucet.
Have you ever started a fire with out matches or
a lighter?
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These early Anglo settlers lived in log homes
made from the timber found in the area. The
cabins were usually one room with a dirt floor.
They made their beds from tree moss or
cornhusks. Furniture was carved from wood and
chairs were usually just a piece of log standing
on its end.
The colonists faced the challenge of many
diseases and few doctors. Colonists who were ill
often used home made remedies that did not
work. The colonists also faced the threat of
attack from Native groups. They formed militias
to help defend their communities. These groups
later organized into the Texas Rangers
Would you want to live in one the early Texas
colonies?
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WHY U.S. SETTLERS CAME

• To escape hard times and debts
• Escaping criminal charges
• U.S. creditors and authorities had no power in
  Texas
• Cheaper land easier payment terms
• WHERE THEY SETTLED
• Fertile Brazos, Colorado, and Trinity River
  valleys along the Gulf Coast
• East Texas

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HOW SETTLERS TRAVELED AND CHOSE THEIR LAND

• On foot and on horseback
• By covered wagon
• By flatboats on rivers and oceangoing steamships
• Chose land by suitability for farming
• Climate, soil fertility, access to water, and
  appearance were factors in their choice
• Proximity to hostile American Indians Piney
  Woods and Gulf Coast Plain were popular locations

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• escaping hard times, debts
• escaping criminal charges
• U.S. creditors and authori-ties had no power in
  Texas
• Texas had cheaper landeasier payment terms

• on foot
• by covered wagon
• on horseback
• by flatboats on rivers
• by oceangoing steamships

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Question Why and how did U.S. settlers come to
Texas?
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Homes, Clothing, Food, Religion, and Education
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TYPES OF HOUSES IN THE 1820s AND EARLY 1830s

• Adobe or stone houses
• Jacales small huts made of sticks and mud
• Log cabins and dogtrot cabins a log home with
  an open passage separating two rooms

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SETTLERS CLOTHING AND DIET

• Wore clothing of buckskin, leather or cotton
• Ate game found locally and crops that grew well
  locally

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RELIGION AND EDUCATION IN EARLY TEXAS

• Education was usually at home or abroad
• Few public and private schools
• No organized educational system
• Privately worshipped as they pleased
• Publicly supported the official religion of
  Catholicism

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Education in Texas under Mexican Rule
Religion in Texas under Mexican Rule
home schooling a few small private and
community schools wealthier children schooled in
the United States
RomanCatholicism
most TejanosCatholic most U.S. settlers
Protestant, and privately worshipped as pleased.
few funds or goodteachers no public school
system little time for school for farm
children slaves denied schooling
plentiful traveling preachers missionaries
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Questions

• What ways did Texans adapt to their environment
  when building their homes?
• What type of Houses did settlers build in Texas?
• What were the clothing and diet of settlers in
  Texas like during this time period?
• How did settlers clothing demonstrate how Texans
  adapted to their environment?
• How did the Texas settlers use of corn
  demonstrate their ability to adapt to and modify
  their environment?
• How did US settlers maintain their cultural
  heritage?
• Why do you think the Mexican government tried to
  establish public schools in Texas?
• How did the settlers attempt to maintain their
  religious heritage while adapting to the local
  culture?
• Why were public schools rare in Texas?

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Question What were religion and education like
in early Texas?
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Business, Trade, and Transportation
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IMPORTANT ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES IN THE EARLY 1800s

• Economy was based on farming and ranching cotton
  was the main cash crop
• Some craftspeople, merchants some commercial
  centers engaged in free enterprise
• Traded by barter
• Exported some products and had a little
  manufacturing

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TRANSPORTATION IN EARLY TEXAS

• Few roads and in poor condition
• Few navigable rivers
• Ports located in the Gulf of Mexico (Galveston
  Bay) connected Texas to other regions but did not
  solve internal transportation problems

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• few roads and in poor condition
• few navigable rivers
• ports on the Gulf of Mexico (e.g. in Galveston
  Bay) connected Texas to other regions but did
  not solve internal transportation problems

• economy based on farming and ranching cotton
  main cash crop
• some craftspeople, merchants some commercial
  centersengaged in free enterprise
• trade mainly by barter
• exportscattle, corn, cotton, cowhides, furs,
  horses, pork, salt importsU.S. goods
• little manufacturing

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Questions

• What type of economy did Texas have in the early
  1800s?
• How did transportation in early Texas affect
  business and trade?
• Describe the Texas economy in the early to mid
  1830s.
• What economic activities were important to the
  Texas economy in the early 1800s?
• What was transportation like in Texas at that
  time?
• Explain the difference between imports and
  exports?
• Describe a Free Enterprise system and how did it
  work in Texas?

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Question What were the economic activities and
transportation routes in Texas in the early 1800s?
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Mexican Rule and Slavery
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MEXICAN CONSTITUTION OF 1824

• Formed the state of Coahuila y Texas
• Gave states strong local control (federalism
  the distribution of power between central and
  regional governments)
• Roman Catholicism became the official state
  religion

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CONFLICT OVER SLAVERY

• Many colonists believed slavery was necessary for
  the economy
• Some feared that the Mexican government would ban
  slavery

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• Local government could adjust to meet local
  needs particularly those of U.S. settlers.
• Local government became a mixture of Mexican and
  U.S. practices.

• The capital was far from Texas.
• It was hard for Texans to partici-pate in state
  government.
• Some Texans were angered.

• Texans, and in particular U.S. settlers, publicly
  claimed to be Catholic but pri-vately worshiped
  as they pleased.

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Questions

• How were the Mexican Constitution of 1824 and the
  US Constitution similar?
• How do you think US settlers unwillingness to
  adopt Mexican ways will affect Texas?
• How did the Mexican Constitution of 1824 affect
  Texas?
• Why did the issue of slavery cause increasing
  tensions in Texas?
• What is federalism?
• What did Eli Whitney invent that made processing
  cotton easier?
• What were Stephen F. Austins feelings toward
  slavery?
• How were Mexican laws different than U.S.
  political traditions?
• How many coastal towns were in Texas in 1834?

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Question How did the Mexican Constitution of
1824 affect Texas?
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Chapter Wrap-Up
1. Why did so many Texas settlers like how the
Constitution of 1824 divided government
power? 2. Do you think that Texas settlers who
broke Mexican laws were good citizens? Provide
reasons for your answer. 3. How did poor
transportation networks in Texas affect the
regions economy?
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