Convention of 1833

Despite the political uncertainty succeeding from a recently-concluded civil war, 56 delegates met in San Felipe de Austin to draft a series of petitions to the Alamo.

Austin, frustrated with the lack of progress, in October wrote a letter to encourage Texans to form their own state government.

During his imprisonment, the Mexican and state legislatures later passed a series of measures to placate the colonists, including the introduction of trial by jury.

Bankrupt and unable to provide much military assistance, the Mexican government legalized immigration from the United States and Europe In 1824 in the hope that an influx of settlers would discourage raiding.

[2] As the number of Americans living in Texas increased, Mexican authorities became apprehensive that the United States intended to annex the area, possibly by force.

[4][5] To curb the perceived threat, the Mexican government passed the Law of April 6, 1830, which restricted immigration from the United States to Texas and called for the first enforcement of customs duties.

[6] In 1832, General Antonio López de Santa Anna led a revolt against President Anastasio Bustamante's centralist government.

[7] Under the pretext of supporting Santa Anna, a small group of armed Texians overthrew the commander of the garrison, which was enforcing the new customs duties.

[9] Buoyed by their military success, Texians organized a political convention to persuade Mexican authorities to weaken the Laws of April 6, 1830.

[10] Although the two municipalities with the largest Tejano populations, San Antonio de Béxar and Victoria, refused to participate, 55 delegates met in October for the Convention of 1832.

[12] Before the list of concerns could be presented to the state and federal governments, Ramón Músquiz, the political chief of the Department of Béxar, ruled that the convention was illegal.

[13] The law directed citizens to protest to their local ayuntamiento (similar to a city council), which would forward their concerns to the political chief.

[12] As a compromise, the ayuntamiento of San Antonio de Béxar drafted a petition containing similar language to the convention's resolutions.

The governor of Coahuila y Tejas had died in September 1832, and his replacement, the federalist Juan Martín de Veramendi, immediately dissolved the state legislature, which had centralist leanings.

If no action was eventually taken, he advised that Texas residents would form their own state government and essentially declare independence from Coahuila, if not from Mexico.

Towards the end of December, the central committee called for a new convention to meet in San Felipe de Austin in April 1833.

[17] In a departure from the previous election, San Antonio de Béxar also sent delegates, including James Bowie, the son-in-law of Governor Veramendi.

"[19] Several delegates argued that the recently-concluded civil war had left Mexico in too much turmoil to provide effective rule for Texas.

Although Houston had not lived in Texas for very long, he was well-known since he had served as governor of Tennessee and as a member of the United States Congress.

[25] Delegates also agreed to protect "free communication of thoughts and opinions,"[26] a phrase that was carefully drafted to imply freedom of speech, of assembly, and of the press.

Although it could also be interpreted to imply freedom of religion,[21] delegates were unwilling to grant that right explicitly since they knew that it would cause an uproar in Catholic Mexico.

Delegates retained the traditional Spanish prohibition of seizing a debtor's physical property[27] and extended it to forbid imprisonment as a punishment for debt, which was a novel idea.

[23] When the constitution was completed, David G. Burnet headed a subcommittee to craft a letter to Mexican authorities to explain the merits of the proposal.

[23] In addition to the development of a state constitution, delegates passed a series of resolutions that asked Mexican authorities for reforms.

Resolutions also requested additional protection from raids by native tribes and for the government to implement a more efficient mail delivery system.

Perhaps to atone for some of the more revolutionary items that they had requested, as one of their final acts delegates passed a resolution that condemned the slave trade within Texas.

[32] Other residents suggested that the capital of Coahuila y Tejas should be moved to San Antonio de Béxar, which would give Texas more power.

[36] Immediately after Santa Anna had taken office in April, he had handed over all decision-making authority to his vice president, Valentín Gómez Farías, and retired to the countryside.

As he waited for the legislature to reconvene, Austin heard rumors that Texians were planning a third convention to unilaterally declare themselves a separate state.

[45] An American immigrant was named state Attorney General, and for the first time, foreigners were granted explicit permission to participate in retail trade.