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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." -
hey 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. -
59 delegates from all parts of the Texas settlement bravely met at Washington, Texas to make a formal declaration of independence from Mexico, proclaiming to the world that Texas was a sovereign nation. -
became the 28th state. For example, Texas had been part of Mexico, but in that year a group of settlers from the United States who lived in Mexican Texas declared independence. -
On February 2, 1848, the U.S.-Mexican War was brought to an end with the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo. The treaty established boundaries between the United States and Mexico, with Mexico officially recognizing Texas as a part of the United States. The United States added more than 25% of its present-day size, and Mexico lost over half its land as a result of the treaty. -
Modern communication is something we all take for granted, but 19th-century Texans weren't so lucky. The Texas and Red River Telegraph Company established service in Marshall, connecting to parts of Louisiana and Mississippi. -
After the Civil War, the United States entered the era of Reconstruction, during which the former Confederate States had to meet certain conditions for readmission into the Union. This included recognizing the U.S. constitutional amendments that ended slavery and rewriting their state constitutions. One of these delegates, George T. Ruby was elected to the Texas Senate a year later, becoming the first African American to serve in the legislature. -
The fight for women's equality began long before they won the right to vote in 1919. In the 1880s, Jenny Bland Beauchamp led the formation of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union. Although the group's primary focus was battling the ills of alcohol abuse, they pushed the Texas Legislature for many social reforms, including women's suffrage. -
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. -
The Texas Equal Rights Association was the first statewide women's suffrage organization. Organized by Rebecca Henry Hays of Galveston in 1893, the TERA advocated for equal voting and political rights for women, including the right to hold office and serve on juries.