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Mexico encourages foreign settlement in Texas.
Mexico established rules for settling colonies in 1824. During this time, they also joined Coahuila and Texas, forming a unified Mexican state "Coahuila y Tejas." With the passage of the Coahuila-Texas colonization law, Mexico encouraged foreign settlers to buy land in the territory with a $30 down payment, without the requirement of paying taxes for ten years after that. -
Mexico bans U.S. immigration
Fearing the possibility of losing control of Texas, Mexico banned further immigration from the United States on April 6, 1830. They encouraged immigration from Mexico and European countries, placed more restrictions on slavery, and increased military presence in the region. This initiative angered Texans, who pushed for statehood and self-rule. -
Texas Revolution Begins: “Come and Take It!”
Tension grew between Texas and Mexico. Texans, with a growing influx of American settlers, pushed for separate statehood, resulting in many minor skirmishes with Mexico. The first notable battle of the Texas Revolution occurred when Texans at Gonzales refused to return a small cannon lent to them by Mexican authorities. On October 2, Colonel John H. Moore and his company famously rolled out the cannon under a flag that read, “Come and Take It.” -
Battle of San Jacinto, Texas wins Independence
April 21, Houston ordered the attack on the Mexican army. With shouts of "Remember the Alamo!" and "Remember Goliad!", the ragtag militia descended upon the Mexican army. It is widely believed Santa Anna and his soldiers were indulging in an afternoon siesta and therefore were not ready to face the attack, which lasted approximately 18 minutes. Nine Texans were killed, and 630 Mexicans lost their lives. Santa Anna was captured after the battle. -
Beginning of the U.S.- Mexican War
President Polk defined the border between Texas and Mexico at the Rio Grande, but Mexico did not agree. Polk ordered to position the troops along the north bank of the Rio Grande to protect the Texas boundary. The Mexican government saw this as an invasion and thus an act of war, resulting in the Battle of Palo Alto in Brownsville on May 8, 1846—the first major battle of the U.S.-Mexican War. War was officially declared by U.S. Congress on May 13. -
First railroad in Texas is established
Travel was difficult in antebellum Texas, worsened by the expansive and unforgiving terrain in the west. Businesses also needed a way to ship their goods through the expanding area. This prompted the construction of the first railroad in Texas, which opened in 1853. Known as the "Harrisburg Railroad," the Buffalo Bayou, Brazos, and Colorado Railway ran about 20 miles from Harrisburg to Stafford's Point. -
Abraham Lincoln was elected President of the United States
Abraham Lincoln is elected the 16th president of the United States over a deeply divided Democratic Party, becoming the first Republican to win the presidency. Lincoln received only 40 percent of the popular vote but handily defeated the three other candidates. -
Beginning of the Civil War; pro-slavery and anti-slavery
The war began because a compromise did not exist that could solve the difference between the free and slave states regarding the power of the national government to prohibit slavery in territories that had not yet become states. -
Juneteenth; end of African American slavery
Juneteenth is a holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the United States. It is also called Emancipation Day or Juneteenth Independence Day. The name “Juneteenth” references the date of the holiday, combining the words “June” and “nineteenth.” -
Texas Railroad Commission established
The Texas Railroad Commission was founded in 1891 after Governor James S. Hogg campaigned on a platform of regulating railroads. The commission was established to oversee the rates and operations of railroads, wharves, terminals, and express companies, but it gained national importance with its oversight of oil and gas production in the 20th century.