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Forts part 2

Mexican – Anglo Relations

Welcome to the Hidden History of Texas. This is Episode 47 – Mexican Anglo Relations –  I’m your host and guide Hank Wilson. And as always, brought to you by Ashby Navis and Tennyson Media Publishers, producers of  a comprehensive catalog of  audiobooks and high-quality games, productivity, and mental health apps. Visit AshbyNavis.com for more information.

Relations between the Anglo settlers and Mexicans or Tejanos (Tejanos are those of Mexican or Spanish decent who were born in Texas, either when it was a province of Mexico or as a Republic) have almost always been strained. The Anglo settlers who immigrated into Texas were primarily from the South and as such they carried with them all of their innate prejudices. While some of the earliest settlers did learn to adapt to a Spanish way of life and to live in peace with their Mexican neighbors, many of the newcomers had no such desire.

One area of conflict concerned itself with the issue of slavery.  Mexico began to restrict slavery during the 1820s and finally completely outlawed it in 1829. However, the Mexican government exempted Texas from this law in order to appease Anglos. Initially that didn’t seem like very important because it is estimated that in 1825 there were only about 400 slaves in Texas. However, by 1835 and the real beginning of the battle for Texas independence it is believed that there were more than 5,000 slaves in the region.  

In 1836 after Texas won at the Battle of San Jacinto, and claimed to be an independent republic there was still trouble. Because there was no formal treaty solidifying Texas status as independent. Mexico refused to recognize Texas’ independence and considered it a rebellious territory. The Mexican government believed that Santa Anna had no legal authority to sign the Treaties of Velasco while a prisoner, and that the Mexican government had no obligation to honor the agreements. Now  because of that, there was the very real fear that Mexico would invade and try to take Texas back. Then when in 1837, Mexico abolished slavery, this time without any exceptions, the Anglo residents of Texas began to fear that their slaves would start to side with Mexico in any type of dispute. And since many of the Anglos already distrusted the Mexican people in the state as the Texas Republic took shape, officials placed more and more obstacles before the non-Anglo population.

For example, In the world of politics,  Anglo leaders excluded Tejanos from almost every type of meaningful political participation. For example, Juan Seguín, one of the most influential Tejano political leaders, an Alamo defender, and who played an important role in the development of the Republic, and who fought for and stood side by side with those opposing Mexico and Santa Ana, was forced to flee to Mexico after a white mob chased him out of San Antonio. 

When it came to education, well Texas wasn’t big on public schools as a way of insuring equality. In fact, from 1836 to 1900 private individuals, such as the Catholic Church, Protestant groups, and public officials all regarded schools as critical to preserving the social order. They saw them not only as ways to increase literacy, but also as vehicles to perpetuate existing class, sex, and ethnic roles. After Texas became a state, Mexican children often had no access to public schools. As the decades passed, that began to slowly change and  by the 1880s the children did increasingly have access to rural schools. By the 1890s Mexican working-class children in urban areas were admitted to city schools. In both cases access was limited to segregated classes in the elementary grades. No secondary or postsecondary facilities were available to them. Only the children of wealthy families attended colleges and universities. The decision to segregate elementary schools in Texas was due to racial prejudice, residential location, and lack of a Mexican American voice in school affairs. As it was with the majority of educational programs taught in  the United States at that time, Anglo heritage was the mostly heavily promoted and taught.

After Independence and Texas adopted a constitution there was a clause inserted that made it difficult for Mexicans and even original Tejanos to have rights.  The Texas constitution denied citizenship and property rights to anyone who didn’t support the revolution, which was assumed to include all people of Hispanic ancestry.  As a result of this type of discrimination, many Tejanos lost their land, with squatters quickly taking over their properties and they had no legal recourse for the families.

So what was at the heart of these types of injustice? As I mentioned, many of the early Anglo citizens of Texas were from the South and they carried their prejudices with them. Another factor that contributed to the problems was that from 1845 to 1865, America operated under the concept of Manifest Destiny as put forth by John L O’Sullivan when in 1845, he wrote,  “…the fulfillment of our manifest destiny to overspread the continent allotted by Providence for the free development of our yearly multiplying millions”. 

Although originally written as a defense in the argument for admitting Texas into the Union, the article laid the foundation for justification of government actions that consequently had a negative effect on those who fell outside of the White Anglo-Saxon Protestant group. By 1850 one outgrowth of this belief was the birth of  a secretive society known as the American Order. The group stood firmly against Catholics, foreigners, and supported restrictions on immigration. They came to be known as the “National American Party’ or more commonly labeled the “Know-Nothing” political party.

In Texas, they were known as the “American Party” and as a whole they argued that any foreign-born citizen be barred from voting or holding public office. In Texas, the party was anti-Mexican, pro-slavery, and they pledged to vote only for native-born Protestants for public office. Anglo residents of Texas, especially those who belonged to the Know-Nothings, held deep seated racial and ethnic animosity towards Mexicans. This stemmed in part from the recent Mexican American war and the feeling that the Mexican population supported anti-slavery forces. In 1855 the tension between Anglo and Mexican Texans exploded in what came to be known as the Cart War. In the mid-1850s, Mexicans and Tejanos had built thriving businesses bringing food and other supplies from the Gulf Coast to San Antonio. By using Oxcarts, they were able to move more freight faster than their Anglo counterparts. The Anglos, already resentful of having to share territory with the Mexican drivers, began to wreck carts, steal merchandise, and in several cases, murder the drivers. Things came to a head in 1857 when the violence became so prevalent with no reaction from local authorities that many felt that a campaign of  death against Mexicans was underway.  It was only resolved when the then Texas Governor Elisha M. Pease urged the legislature to create a militia to intercede. The violence was curtailed, but the Anglo citizens of Kearnes County, wanted the Mexicans to put be run out of business, and resented having armed forces escorting the Mexican cart drivers.

Sadly, even in 2024, we still see many of the same issues that strain relations between the Anglo power structure and various minority communities. We still have people trying to teach  only one side of the story and in my opinion, that’s a major disservice to everyone.

Well that’s going to do it for this episode. Next episode I’ll talk about something that might make folks a tad uncomfortable and that’s I want to take a closer look at the whole slavery issue.

Please subscribe to the podcast, I’m back and I’ll keep posting new episodes, sometimes though life gets in the way which is why there’s been a gap between episodes. If you want more information on Texas History, visit the website of the Texas State Historical Association. I also have four audiobooks on the Hidden History of Texas, The Spanish Bump Into Texas 1530s to 1820s,  Here Come The Anglos 1820s to 1830s, Years of Revolution 1830 to 1836. And, my latest A Failing Republic Becomes a State 1836-1850. You can find the books pretty much wherever you download or listen to audiobooks. Just do a search for the Hidden History of Texas by Hank Wilson and they’ll pop right up. Or visit my website https://arctx.org. By the way if you like audiobooks, visit my publisher’s website there’s an incredible selection of audiobooks there. In addition to mine you’ll find the classics, horror, science fiction, mental-health, and much more. Check it out visit https://ashbynavis.com

Thanks for listening y’all