Chapter 13: Pioneer Life - Texas History · 294 CHAPTER 13 Pioneer Life 1845 • Irish potato...

Why It MattersTexans had won their independence from Mexico; they now felt its influence

less and were open to other cultural and social forces. Much of thedistinctiveness of Texas culture comes from actions taken and decisions made

during the Republic of Texas period.

The Impact Today Settlement patterns begun in the days of the republic and early statehood period

can be seen today in the regions of Texas. The German influence in the Hill Countryand the “Old South” culture of East Texas both emerged during this period.

294 CHAPTER 13 Pioneer Life

1845• Irish potato famine began

1840★ Rutersville College opened

1842★ Galveston Daily News first published

1841★ Sam Houston returned

to the Texas presidency

1839• Slave rebellion on the Amistad

1838 1840 1842 1844 1846

1845• Mormons settled

in Utah

PioneerLife

1848• Revolutions broke out in Germany and France

1851• Gold discovered in Australia

295CHAPTER 13 Pioneer Life

Step 1 Fold a sheet of paper from side to side,leaving a 2-inch tab uncovered along the side.

Step 2 Turn the paper and fold it into thirds.

Step 3 Unfold and cut along the two insidefold lines.

Step 4 Label the foldable as shown.

Fold it so theleft edge lays2 inches fromthe right edge.

Cut along thetwo folds on

the front flap tomake 3 tabs.

Summarizing Information Study FoldableMake this foldable and use it to record informationabout the people and places and about thegrowth and development of Texas during its yearsas a republic.

Reading and Writing As you read the chapter,use what you learn to summarize how the earlyinfluences and developments of each group ofpioneers affects Texas today.

PIONEERS

Texasand

Immigrants

Farmingand

Ranching

Commerceand

Transportation

The painting above, by an unknown artist, is titled Moving West.Texas was an important destination in the westward movement of settlers.

TEXASHISTORY

Chapter OverviewVisit the texans.glencoe.comWeb site and click on Chapter 13—ChapterOverviews to previewchapter information.

1854★ Texas set aside $2 million

for public education

★ First telegraph line strung in Texas

1847★ German Emigration

Company had brought in 7,000 German immigrants

1848• Zachary Taylor elected president of the U.S.

1848 1850 1852 1854

http://www.glencoe.com/sec/socialstudies/ushistory/tx2003/content.php4/666/1


Free African Americans areallowed to petition to stay inTexas

German EmigrationCompany is formed

PopulationGrowth

Guide to ReadingMain IdeaImmigrants from the United States,Europe, and Mexico came to Texasduring the days of the republic.

Key Termimmigrant agent

Reading StrategyComparing and Contrasting As youread this section, complete the chartby listing population statistics in 1836and 1846.

Read to Learn• why immigrants chose to move to

Texas.• how African Americans were

treated.• why Mexican Texans faced tensions.

Section ThemeCulture and Traditions AfricanAmericans and Mexican Americansfaced challenges to their cultures.

Texas Congress passesHomestead Act

Preview of Events

Mathilda Wagner was born to hard-working German immigrants who set-tled near Fredericksburg. “The house my father made for us had only tworooms, the kitchen and the room where we slept. There was no stove in thekitchen, only the chimney. We made bread and everything in the chimneyfire . . .” Mathilda and her family were determined to succeed in making anew life in a new land.

—from Mathilda Wagner’s memoirs

The Republic Attracts ImmigrantsThe Republic of Texas grew rapidly. Thousands of colonists from the

United States crossed the Sabine and Red Rivers into Texas each year. In thedecade between the Battle of San Jacinto and statehood, the population

1836 1846Group Population PopulationAnglos and Tejanos

Slaves

✦1842✦1839

Early settler’s home

✦1840

nearly tripled. In 1836 approximately 35,000Anglos and Tejanos lived in Texas; by 1846 thepopulation had grown to more than 125,000.The enslaved population increased at an evenfaster rate—from an estimated 5,000 in 1836 toabout 38,000 in 1846.

The chart on page 300 shows how the consti-tution awarded land to settlers. Settlers were notrequired to live on the land and sometimes soldit to speculators. In 1839 the Texas Congresspassed an act, sometimes known as theHomestead Act. This law protected a family’shome, tools, and 50 acres (20 hectares) of landfrom seizure for nonpayment of debts.

William Bollaert, a Texas resident in the early1840s, identified what land meant to new settlers:

“It is their own and their children’s with noproud landowner to look up to, no rents ortaxes to pay. To use an American expression,‘One feels freed and one is free.’ They enjoy lifeand their families, certain that poverty cannotthreaten them.”

Immigrant Agents Bring SettlersCongress also granted contracts to

immigrant agents—people paid in land ormoney to relocate settlers to an area—tobring colonists to Texas. An agentreceived 10 sections of land (6,400 acres;2,592 hectares) for every 100 families.Often the agent also charged thecolonists for services rendered. W.S.Peters and Associates, Henri Castro,and the German Emigration Companywere three of the most successful agents.

W.S. Peters obtained a contract to set-tle colonists in an area from the Red Riverto slightly south of present-day Dallas.Despite many legal complications andsome mismanagement, Peters’s companysettled more than 2,000 families in this areabetween 1841 and 1848. Most of these settlerscame from Missouri, Tennessee, and Illinois.

Other agents brought colonists from Europe.Henri Castro, a French Jew, received two grants in

southwestern Texas. Like Stephen F. Austin, Castrospent most of his life, fortune, and energy workingfor the welfare of his colonists. In September 1844,he established the town of Castroville on theMedina River, about 25 miles (40 km) west of SanAntonio. Castro brought more than 2,000 coloniststo Texas between 1844 and 1847, mostly fromFrance, Germany, and Switzerland.

German nobles organized the GermanEmigration Company, or Adelsverein (ah•

DEHLS•vehr•ine), in 1842 to promote Germanimmigration to Texas. The company obtainedpermission to set up colonies in an area north ofSan Antonio. Overpopulation, poverty, heavytaxes, and political problems in Germany influ-enced many to leave their homeland. Under theleadership of Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfelsand John O. Meusebach, German settlers


Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels chose landsnorth of San Antonio forthe German immigrants.Name the two largesttowns in Texas settled byGerman immigrants.

History

William Goyens was afree African American bornin North Carolina. Hemoved to Nacogdoches in1820 and lived there therest of his life. He could notwrite, but was a wise andsuccessful businessman, inspite of the fact that theTexas laws at that time

made it very difficult forAfrican Americans to ownproperty. He made his for-tune as a blacksmith,wagon maker, and freighthauler.

Goyens was appointed asan agent to deal with theCherokees and negotiatetreaties. Over the course of

the Texas Revolution, heacted as an interpreter withSam Houston during treatynegotiations with theCherokees.

In 1936 the TexasCentennial Commissionerected a marker atGoyens’ grave to honor his memory.

William Goyens1794–1856


established several towns. The largest townswere New Braunfels and Fredericksburg, nearSan Antonio. In the 1850s, an American architectnamed Frederick Law Olmsted visited NewBraunfels and described it the following way:

“The main street of town . . . was verywide—three times as wide as . . . Broadway inNew York. The houses [that] thickly lined [themain street] on each side for a mile were small,low cottages . . . generally looking neat andcomfortable. Many [had] verandas and gardensand [most] were either stuccoed or painted . . .

There are four gristmills . . . A weekly news-paper is published—the Neu Braunfels Zeitung.There are 10 or 12 stores and small tradesmen’sshops, two or three drugstores, and as manydoctors, lawyers, and clergymen.

There are several organizations among thepeople which show an excellent spirit forsocial improvement . . . In New Braunfels andthe surrounding German towns, there are fivefree schools for elementary education, oneexclusive Roman Catholic school, and a privateschool. In all of these schools English is taughtwith German.”

By 1847 the German Emigration Companyhad helped about 7,000 Germans immigrate toTexas. Citizens in Boerne, Comfort, Sisterdaleand similar towns organized clubs to studyGerman writings and musical groups to playtheir favorite German tunes.

Identifying What was the immigrantagent’s job?

Slavery Continues in TexasNot all who arrived in Texas came freely. The

Mexican government had discouraged slaverybut did little to stop its spread. After indepen-dence the government of the Republic of Texasmade no efforts to limit slavery. Therefore, slav-ery increased during the early days of the repub-lic. People established plantations in East andcentral Texas. The planters brought slaves,sometimes in chains, to work their fields.

Farmers also used enslaved people, althoughin fewer numbers. One of every four families inTexas had at least one slave at this time. Evenpeople who did not own slaves, such as mer-chants, depended upon the success of the cottoncrop that slaves produced.

Although most slaves worked on farms andplantations, some labored in towns. There were


significant numbers of skilled slaves whoworked as blacksmiths, carpenters, bricklayers,and in other crafts. Other slaves worked onranches, tending cattle and breaking horses.

By the mid-1840s,African Americans madeup almost 30 percent ofTexas’s population. Taxrolls from 1845 showthat Harrison, Brazoria,Montgomery, Bowie,Nacogdoches, San Aug-ustine, Washington, and

Red River Counties had the largest number of enslaved people.

The treatment of slaves varied from oneslaveholder to another. Some cared for theirslaves and provided them with adequate food,clothing, and shelter. Other slaveholders over-worked their slaves; failed to provide adequatefood, clothing, and shelter; and whipped themas punishment.

Even under the gentlest slaveholders, slav-ery was inhumane. Slaves were denied the most basic human rights. They weresubject to physical and emotional abuse.Sometimes, families were broken up by thesale of family members.

Slaveholders justified slavery using differ-ent reasons. Some quoted parts of the Bible,while others cited “scientific” articles that“proved” the superiority of the white race. The underlying reason, however, was economic.

Slaveholders believed that cotton productiondepended upon slave labor.

Despite the harsh conditions, slaves were ableto sustain a rich culture through family, artisticexpression, and religion. Slaves also found waysto resist their owners and rebel against the insti-tution of slavery. Some slaves would withholdcooperation, break their tools, or pretend to be ill.A common form of protest was running away.Although most runaways were captured, somedid make their way to freedom.

Explaining How did slaveholdersjustify their actions?

Free African Americans Build LivesSeveral hundred free African Americans lived

in Texas before the Civil War. Some had servedwith Texas armies during the revolution andwere granted land for their service. Most freeAfrican Americans lived as farmers in ruralareas. William Goyens of Nacogdoches, whoserved as an interpreter of Native American lan-guages during the revolution, started a freightline, bought and sold land, and operated an inn,a sawmill, and a gristmill. In 1840 the Congressof the Republic of Texas passed a law allowingfree African Americans to petition for the right

Enslaved African Americans worked in the fields in Texasfrom “can see to can’t see” time. What were someoccupations of skilled slaves?

History

BowieRed River

Harrison

SanAugustine

Montgomery

Washington

Brazoria

Nacogdoches

Checking for Understanding1. Using Key Terms The immigrant

agent is similar to what modern-day profession? Explain.

2. Reviewing Facts Most immigrantscame to Texas for what purpose?

Reviewing Themes3. Culture and Traditions In what

ways did immigrant agents con-tribute to various cultural groupsinfluencing areas of Texas?

Organizing to Learn4. Classifying Create a chart like the

one below and fill in informationabout the three most successfulimmigrant agents.

Critical Thinking5. Determining Cause and Effect

The enslaved population in Texasincreased rapidly from 1836 to1846. Create a circle graph thatrepresents the enslaved populationof Texas in the mid 1840s.

Analyzing What was the single mostimportant factor leading to the fast risein the population of Texas? Explain.


Number AreaAgent of Settlers SettledW.S. Peters

Henri Castro

Adelsverein

to remain in Texas. Mary Madison, a nurse andfree African American, submitted a petitionaround 1850 signed by 80 of her whiteGalveston friends and patients, praising her as avaluable citizen and attesting to her kind andtender care of the sick. Her request was one ofthe few granted. Though most petitions weredenied, free people stayed anyway.

Mexican Texans Face TensionsMexican Texans, even those who fought for

Texas independence, also suffered hardships inthe new republic. Many new Anglo settlers afterthe revolution assumed that all Tejanos hadopposed the war for independence. Anglo set-tlers often held racial and religious prejudicesagainst Tejanos. Some Anglo settlers used forceto take the land from Mexican settlers. SomeTejanos, such as Patricia de León and her family,of Victoria, were forced to flee. Juan Seguín, whohad led troops at San Jacinto and was mayor ofSan Antonio, sought refuge in Mexico for sev-eral years. He felt as if he was “a foreigner in mynative land.” Nonetheless, the opportunity toown land and start a new life attracted otherMexicans to Texas. Between 1838 and 1841, morethan 500 Mexicans obtained land under Texas’sland policy.

Describing How were Tejanos treated after the war?

Head of family living in Texasbefore March 2, 1836

Head of family coming to Texasbetween 1836 and October 1837

Head of family coming to Texasbetween November 1837 and 1842

Veterans (people with experiencein the armed forces) arriving inTexas before August 1836

Additional bequests to disabledveterans; veterans of San Jacinto;heirs (those who inherit) ofsoldiers killed at the Alamo andother battles, and at Goliad.

African Americans

Native Americans

Married women

4,605 acres

1,280 acres

640 acres

4,605 acres

Various amounts

None

None

None

Land Provisions of theConstitution of 1836

Amount of LandReceivedCategory

Interpreting Information The Constitution of1836 specified the amount of land that Texansreceived from the republic. This varied according towhether a person had served in the military, was male or female, or was single or married. What other criteria were used to determine land grants?

Critical ThinkingCritical Thinking

Determining Relevance

Determining Relevance Create a topic researchquestion about your family’s history. Then ask questionsof your parents or other family members. Identify andlist three points that relate to your topic.

Glencoe’s Skillbuilder Interactive Workbook,Level 1, provides instruction and practice in keysocial studies skills.

Why Learn This Skill?When you do research, it can be confusing to sort

through many pieces of information. If you can deter-mine the relevance of each piece of information, youwill be able to select only the most important infor-mation that you need.

Learning the SkillHere are three important steps for determining

relevant information:• State your research topic as a question.• Read various pieces of information.• Decide which pieces of information help to

answer the research question.Example:

The topic “Occupations in the Early Republic ofTexas” can be turned into the question “What didmost people do in the Republic of Texas?” One ofthe following statements would be relevant: a) ManyGerman settlers did not get the best farmland, or b) Most early Texans were farmers and ranchers.Statement b would be relevant.

Practicing the SkillRead each topic below. Then restate each one as a

question.

education in the Republic of Texas

land policy in the Republic of Texas

German settlement in Texas

Now read the topic question and the quotations thatfollow. Decide whether each quotation is relevant tothe topic question. Then explain your answer.

Topic: How wereGerman and AngloAmerican settlementsin Texas different?

1“While mostAmerican Texansseemed satisfied withtheir drafty lean-tosand dog-trot log cabins,the Germans . . . were busily buildingsnug homes.”

2“There are four gristmills . . . A weekly newspaperis published—the Neu Braunfels Zeitung.”

3“There was no orphanage in [the German settle-ment of] Fredericksburg, although there was oneat New Braunfels [another German settlement] atthe time.”

4“The one big difference between Anglo and Germanfarmers was that the [Germans] were less mobile.When Germans put down roots, they did not leave.”

5“Unlike some Southerners, who sought fortunes,many Germans came for political freedom.”

301


Kerrville is established

Texans on Farmsand Ranches

Guide to ReadingMain IdeaAlthough most Texans lived on farmsand ranches, new towns began todevelop throughout the state.

Key Termsubsistence crop

Reading StrategyAnalyzing Create a chart similar tothe one below. Explain why thesetowns were settled.

Read to Learn• what cash crops were grown.• what subsistence crops were grown.• why new towns were built.

Section ThemeEconomic Factors The fertile soil,abundant and nourishing grasslands,climate, and rivers contributed to thegrowth of Texas.

Dallas settlementbegins

Preview of Events

Immigrant parents often found it hard to earn enough money to feed alarge family. When Mathilda Wagner was about nine, she was sent to work fora family in San Antonio. She wrote in her memoirs, “While I stayed at theLongrapers I had to go to New Braunfels each summer to pick cotton. I had tobring [home] every nickel I made . . . We were fed one thick piece of cornbread and a glass of buttermilk. We got twenty-five cents for one hundredpounds of cotton. Sometimes I didn’t have a quilt to lie on at night.”

Texas Life Centers Around FarmingAt this time, most Texans farmed or raised livestock. Most farms in Texas

grew both cash crops and subsistence crops. Cash crops were sold to raisemoney so that Texans could buy things that they could not make for

Towns Reasons for SettlingMarshall

Grand Saline

Preston

Liberty

✦1856✦1841

Picking cotton

themselves. Food prod-ucts that are eaten onthe farm where they are grown are called subsistence crops. Cornwas the main subsis-tence crop, eaten in theform of cornbread, tor-tillas, and hominy.Farmers also fed cornto their horses, mules,and oxen that pulledplows and wagons.

Sugarcane was an important cash crop alongthe Brazos and Colorado Rivers in Matagorda,Brazoria, and Fort Bend Counties. The mostimportant cash crop, though, was cotton. It wasgrown on the fertile bottomlands of Texas’srivers and on the less fertile sandy soil of thehills of East Texas. Cotton farmers also beganmoving into the rich, productive soils of theBlackland Prairie. In 1849, for example, Texansproduced 58,000 bales of cotton. Most of it wentby boat to Europe and the northeastern United

States. By 1869, cotton production had soared tomore than 350,000 bales.

Other crops were sweet potatoes, white pota-toes, and other vegetables. Pork was the mostcommon meat. A typical Texas farm also wouldhave a milk cow and chickens.

Both men and women worked hard on Texasfarms. Women usually took care of the animalsand gardens. They also worked long hours pre-paring the food and making clothes. Alongsidethe men, women cleared the land, cut wood, builtfences, and picked cotton, in addition to cooking,weaving, and sewing. Native American womenworked hard, too, although not in farming. It wastheir work to butcher the buffalo, cure the hides,and turn them into tepee coverings and clothing.

Ranches FlourishWhile some of the Mexican ranchers in the

Goliad–Victoria area lost their enormous hold-ings after independence, many Tejanos kept theirproperty and continued to raise cattle. One of themost successful was Doña María del Carmen

Calvillo of Floresville.She inherited a ranchfrom her father andincreased the ranch’slivestock to 1,500 cat-tle and 500 goats,sheep, and horses.

It was relativelyeasy for new settlersto get into the cattlebusiness. Herds of

TEXASHISTORY

Student WebActivity Visit thetexans.glencoe.com Website and click onChapter 13—StudentWeb Activity to learnmore about cottonfarming before the Civil War.


History Through Art

Mama Blows the Hornby Velox WardFarm families would be calledin from the fields to eat mealsof cornbread, sweet potatoes,and fresh or salt pork. Whatsubsistence crop did farmersmost often use at mealtime?

http://www.glencoe.com/qe/qe31.php?&st=666&pt=2&bk=20

wild cattle roamed much of South and East Texas.The region’s climate was well suited for livestock,and the nourishing and abundant grass helpedthe cattle population multiply.

While most of the planters and ranchers weremen, women also owned and managed planta-tions. Mildred Satterwhite Littlefield owned a largeplantation along the Guadalupe River in GonzalesCounty. Sarah Mims and Rebecca Hagerty alsoowned and managed their own plantations. Thewriter Amelia Barr of Austin remarked:

“The real Texas women were . . . brave andresourceful . . . They were then nearly withoutexception fine riders and crack shots, and quiteable, when the men of the household were away,to manage their ranches or plantations, and keepsuch faithful guard over their families and house-hold[s], that I never once in ten years, heard ofany Indian, or other tragedy occurring.”

Examining Why did so manyranches flourish?

Settlers Establish New TownsMore settlers came to Texas from the

United States after independence. Some of the older settlements declined in importance as new towns were established. San Felipe and Harrisburg, whichwere burned during the revolution, neverregained their formerimportance.

At the time of therevolution, only Clarks-ville, Jonesborough, andPecan Point existed innortheastern Texas. Settlers, especially fromTennessee, Arkansas, and Missouri, establishednew towns. Some towns, like Marshall andJefferson, were built along transportation routes.Before railroad lines, Jefferson was the outlet forcotton grown in northeastern Texas. Steamboatswent from Jefferson to Louisiana by way ofCypress Bayou, Caddo Lake, and the Red River.

Other towns were created to serve as seats ofgovernment for newly created counties. A few

Cypress Creek

CaddoLake

Red

Rive

r

Jefferson

Albers Conic Equal-Area projection

200

2000 mi.

0 km

N

S

EW

100°W 95°W

35°N

Gulf ofMexico

Red River

Nacogdoches

Shelby

Milam

MinaWashington

Liberty

Gonzales

Goliad

San Patricio

Colorado

Refugio Victoria

Jackson

Matagorda

Brazoria

AustinHarrisburg

Jefferson

Jasper

SanAugustine

Sabine

MEXICO

ARK.

LA.

UNORGANIZEDTERRITORY-U.S.

Disputed Area

Texas Counties in 1836

Albers Conic Equal-Area projection200

2000 mi.

0 km

N

S

EW

100°W 95°W

35°N

30°N

Gulf ofMexico

MEXICO

ARK.

LA.

UNORGANIZEDTERRITORY-U.S.

Fannin

Disputed Area

LamarRed River

Bowie

Robertson

Nacogdoches

Rusk

Harrison

Shelby

SabineSan AugustineHouston

Milam

Brazos

Montgomery

JasperLiberty

JeffersonTravis

Bastrop

Bexar

Gonzales

San Patricio

Goliad

RefugioVictoria

Fayette

Colorado

Austin

FortBend

Harris

Jackson

Matagorda

Brazoria

Galveston

Washington

Texas Counties in 1845

As the population increased in Texas between 1836and 1845, the number of counties increased as well.Making Generalizations Explain how some nameswere chosen for the new counties.

304

Checking for Understanding1. Using Key Terms Describe what

you might find on a farm in Texasgrowing subsistence crops.

2. Reviewing Facts Why did newsettlers often choose to becomecattle ranchers?

Reviewing Themes3. Economic Factors Cotton was the

main cash crop in Texas. In whatareas of the state was cotton grown?

Organizing to Learn4. Analyzing Draw a chart like the

one below. List the common usesfor cotton and corn. Keep in mindthe definitions of subsistence andcash crops.

Critical Thinking5. Decision Making What would be

the determining factors as towhether a farmer concentrated ongrowing cash crops or subsistencecrops?

Analyzing If most Texans farmed orraised livestock, why was it an advan-tage to have towns located nearby?

Uses for Cotton Uses for Corn(cash crop) (subsistence crop)


settlements were founded to take advantage ofsome natural resource. In the case of GrandSaline, it was salt mines. Preston, in GraysonCounty, soon became the gateway for immigrantsmoving into North Texas. John Neely Bryanstarted a settlement near the fork of the TrinityRiver in 1841. This settlement was the beginningof the town of Dallas.

In southeastern Texas, towns were oftenlocated along rivers. Liberty and Beaumont bothincreased in population during the days of therepublic. Houston’s site was chosen because theAllen brothers thought that steamboats could goup Buffalo Bayou no farther than Houston. Theboats would have to unload cargo there.

Conflicts with Native Americans kept Anglosfrom settling in the Brazos Valley north of the OldSan Antonio Road until the early 1840s. In 1845 animmigrant from Scotland, Neal McLennan, set-tled on the South Bosque River north of an oldWaco settlement. Four years later George Erath,an immigrant from Vienna, Austria, and Jacob deCordova surveyed the town of Waco.

The Hill Country was more rugged than landsfarther to the east, but settlers pushed up the val-leys of the Blanco, Guadalupe, and PedernalesRivers. Kerrville was organized by a group ofcypress shingle makers in 1856.

South Texas grew slowly as the region wasexposed to raids by Native Americans, Mexicans,and Anglo desperadoes. New towns, however,sprang up. Indianola, called Karlshaven by the

Germans, was established on the west bank ofMatagorda Bay. H.L. Kinney built a trading postat the mouth of the Nueces River. Other traderssettled in this area, and the town of Corpus Christiwas established.

Developments in other parts of Texas had littleeffect on the area south of Corpus Christi and theNueces River. The economy of the area was linkedmore to Mexico than to the United States.

Along the Rio Grande, the oldest settlement inTexas was Laredo, founded by Tomás Sánchez in 1755. Upstream from Laredo were crossings of the Rio Grande near San Juan Bautista. The settlements of Eagle Pass, Texas, and Piedras Negras, Mexico, developed near these crossings.

Analyzing Why did Texas townsoften develop along rivers?

Raising cattle, such as this Texas longhorn, was a major economicactivity of the new settlements.


Baylor Universityis established

Texas and Red RiverTelegraph Companystarts service

Commerce andTransportation

Guide to ReadingMain IdeaAs the population increased, therewere advances in commerce, trans-portation, and education.

Key Termsraftcharterfiesta

Reading StrategyClassifying Information As you readthe section, draw a chart like the onebelow. Next to each title, list as manyspecific examples of occupations asyou can find.

Read to Learn• about trades and professions.• about types of transportation.• about social functions.• about types of education.

Section ThemeEconomic Factors Growth of com-merce and transportation reliedheavily upon rivers and existingroads.

Galveston DailyNews begins

Preview of Events

Mail service is establishedbetween San Antonio andSan Diego, California

As an immigrant child, Mathilda Wagner worked long hours in the fields. “I couldn’t spend a nickel of the money I earned for candy or something Iwould have liked . . . I couldn’t play. I never had anything at Christmas time. I remember I was given a big red apple one year, and I thought it was sobeautiful that I put it in my trunk . . . When the lady who had given it to measked once, ‘Did you eat your apple?’ I told her I was saving it, but went tosee it and it had rotted.”

✦1842 ✦1854

Trades and ProfessionsSome Texans made their living in trades, including brick masons, black-

smiths, carpenters, and wheelwrights. Others entered professions such aslaw, medicine, the ministry, and teaching.

General Occupation ExamplesTradesmen

Professions

Industry

✦1857✦1845

A Christmas present

The increase in Texas population meant morepeople with specific skills settled in the republic.Doctors, ministers, and lawyers arrived but oftendivided their time between their professions andfarming. Ashbel Smith was a diplomat, soldier,educator, planter, and scientist, as well as a doc-tor. John S. “Rip” Ford, the famous Texas Rangerand frontiersman, was a physician. He was alsoa newspaper editor, lawyer, politician, and play-wright. Frances Cox Henderson ran her hus-band’s law office while Mr. Henderson and hispartner were out of town.

Some physicians increased their incomes byselling medicines, hair tonics, and perfumes. Adoctor in New Braunfels was also a baker anddruggist. Another Houston physician formed apartnership with a local barber. Together theyoffered shaves, haircuts, tooth pulling, and surgery. Midwives—women who helped deliverbabies—also performed valuable services.

Industry and Commerce Fuel GrowthThe few industries in early Texas were located

in towns or along major roads or rivers. Mostcommunities already had a sawmill for cuttinglumber and a gristmill for grinding grain. Overtime Texans built brickyards, tanneries, ironfoundries, cotton gins, soap factories, carriagefactories, and textile mills.

Able and creative leaders promoted thegrowth of business. Gail Borden, Jr., an early

resident of San Felipe de Austin, moved toGalveston in 1837 as a customs collector andinventor. Among his early inventions was ameat biscuit that won a gold medal at the 1851Crystal Palace Exhibition in London. He alsodeveloped a process for making condensedmilk. He moved his factory to New York State sohe could sell Borden products to a larger market.

Better Transportation Is NeededEven local travel in Texas was difficult. Some

of the roads had been Native American trails,while others were originally built in the Spanishand Mexican eras. Almost all the roads wereunpaved, and rains often turned them intomud. Crossing streams was especially danger-ous, and travelers had to be prepared to swimto safety.

Almost all of the goods transported in earlyTexas were carried by freight wagons drawn byoxen or mule teams. In San Antonio and othertowns of South Texas, Mexican Americansplayed an important role in moving goods fromone part of Texas to another.

Stagecoaches and SteamboatsThe stagecoach was a popular but expensive

means of travel. The Butterfield OverlandLine crossed Texas from near Preston onthe Red River to El Paso. This line provided

History Austin

★Austin

★

307

What farmers and ranchers could not grow or produce for themselves they came to shop for intown. In 1857, Walter and Eduard Tipestablished a hardware store on CongressAvenue in Austin, with tin, ironware, pig iron, leather goods, and generalmerchandise for sale. What other typesof goods and services could be foundonly in the towns?

waterways. The Colorado River, for example,could not carry heavy traffic for a time becauseof a large raft near its mouth.

Buffalo Bayou, which connected Houston withthe port of Galveston, was the most heavily trav-eled waterway in Texas. The bayou was narrowand surrounded by overhanging limbs. Still, it wasan effective passageway for steamboats that car-ried cotton from the interior of Texas to Galveston.

Identifying What was the mostheavily traveled waterway in Texas at this time?

Railroads Aid BusinessThe first Texas railroads were built shortly

after statehood and into the early 1850s. In 1852work began on the Buffalo Bayou, Brazos, and

transportation and all mail service to St. Louisand Memphis to the east and San Franciscoto the west. In 1857 mail and passenger serviceopened between San Antonio and San Diego,California. The scheduled trip took about 30days and cost $200 for a one-way ticket. For manyTexans this amounted to about a year’s wages.

Stagecoach lines connected towns and citieswithin Texas. Stagecoaches traveled at five toeight miles per hour in good weather. In wetweather, travel was much slower. Passengersfrequently had to get out and push the stage-coach out of mud holes.

Steamboats carrying passengers and freightoperated on Texas’s major rivers. While steam-boat travel was comfortable and cheap, it wasnot free of problems. Driftwood tangles, or rafts,and sandbars blocked parts of the twisting

2000 kmAlbers Conic Equal-Area projection

2000 mi.

N

S

EW

90°W95°W100°W105°W

30°N

25°N

35°N

Gulfof

Mexico

Rio

Grande

U N I T E D S T A T E S

M E X I C O

NEW MEXICO TERRITORY

UTAH TERRITORY

UNORGANIZEDTERRITORY

KANSAS TERRITORY

ARK.

LOUISIANA

MISS.

TENN.

KY.

ILLINOIS

TEXAS

CA.

MISSOURI

El Paso

FortDavis Fort Stockton

SanAntonio

San FelipeSprings

Presidio

San JuanBautista

Laredo

Rio GrandeCity

Brownsville

IndianolaVictoria

BrenhamHouston

Galveston

Beaumont

DallasFort

Worth

Preston

St. Louis

Brazoria

Alleyton

Memphis

Shreveport

Little Rock

NewOrleans

Roma

Waco

TylerMarshall

Austin

Gonzales

Although stagecoaches, steamboats, and railroadsimproved transportation in Texas, there were chal-lenges using each of these methods.Analyzing Which city is located in the center of rail-road activity, like the hub of a wheel?

Transportation in Texas, c. 1860

Overland routes

Gulf steamboat routes

Railroads (1860)

Colorado Railroad, commonly calledthe Harrisburg Railroad. Sidney Sher-man, a veteran of San Jacinto and a busi-ness leader in early Harrisburg andHouston, organized the railroad.

To encourage the extensions of therail lines, the state gave bounties ofland and loaned money from the schoolfund to railroad companies. Some localcommunities and counties also sup-ported railroad development. The citi-zens of Houston strongly encouragedrailroad building. By 1860 several rail-roads connected Houston with neigh-boring communities. These railroadsbrought many kinds of products in andout of Houston and helped to make itone of the state’s most vital cities.

Telegraph and NewspapersOne of the first telegraph lines in Texas

connected Houston with Galveston. Atelegraph firm called the Texas and RedRiver Telegraph Company had beenchartered, or established by a state con-tract, in January 1854. The companyopened the first telegraph office inMarshall in 1854 and began extendinglines to Shreveport, Henderson, Rusk,Crockett, Montgomery, Houston, andGalveston. In 1856 another companybegan constructing lines from Galvestonto San Antonio and Austin.

In early Texas, newspapers were animportant source of information. TheTelegraph and Texas Register, publishedoriginally in San Felipe and later inHouston, was the most influential ofthe early newspapers. Another widelyread paper, the Galveston Daily News,published its first issue in 1842. In 1848Simon Mussina, a Jewish attorney inBrownsville, began publishing theAmerican Flag.

Many newspapers began publish-ing after Texas became a state. By 1860there were more than 70 newspapers

A Southern Belle in San Antonio in 1839

This year our [slaves] plowed and planted

above the Alamo and were attacked by

Indians. In November, a party of ladies and

gentlemen from Houston came to visit San

Antonio—they rode on horseback. They

were, ladies and all, armed with pistols

and bowie knives. I rode with this party

around the head of the San Antonio

River. We galloped home, and doubted

not that Indians watched us from the

heavy timber of the river bottom. The

gentlemen of the party numbered six,

and we were all mounted on fine animals.

—from Memoirs of Mary A. Maverick,

published in 1921

Frontier WomenAdjusting to life on the Texas frontier was easier for women whosefamilies were prosperous. Compare the two views below and thenanswer the questions.

Learning From History

1. Why do you think these women’smemories are so different?

2. Do you think men and womenmight remember the same expe-riences in different ways?

A German Immigrant in the 1840s

My years in San Antoniowere hard, lonesome

years. It seems to me that Istayed there a long time, work-ing and longing all the time. The cholera hit San Antonio justafter I came here. The peopledied by the scores. The grave-yards filled in a hurry and many,many little orphans were made.There were few houses where

death didn’t come. —from Mathilda Wagner’s

memoirs

309

Pioneer Flour In 1851 Carl Hilmer Guenther, a young Germanimmigrant, founded his first flour mill on Live Oak Creek near Fredericksburg(below). Relocated a few years later to San Antonio, C.H. Guenther & Son, Inc.,is now more than 150 years old. Today, the 20-story Pioneer grain elevatorrises above the mill in San Antonio (right). The maker of Pioneer Brandflour and other baking products is believed to be the oldest family-owned business in Texas and the oldest continuously operatedfamily-owned milling company in the United States. The Pioneer Flour Mills logo (below right) is still used today.

in publication. Most were printed only once aweek, but there were several daily news-papers as well.

Texans Gather for Social LifeDuring the 1850s most Texans lived on iso-

lated farms and had few occasions to visit withtheir neighbors. Texans combined many socialactivities with work. Log rollings, shootingmatches, husking bees, quilting parties, house-raisings, church dinners, and cotton choppingswere practical activities that made work moreenjoyable. Hunting and fishing were sportsthat provided food for the family table.

Dancing was one of the most popular formsof recreation. According to most accounts, thedancing was lively and the music wasloud. Among the more popular tunes were“Molly Cotton-Tail,” “Money Musk,” “LeatherBreeches,” and “Piney Woods.” The fandango,a spirited Spanish dance, was a favorite with

some Hispanic residents. The baile, held in ahall or in the open air, was a popular dancingoccasion with Mexican Americans. On moreformal occasions, such as the San Jacinto Ballheld in Houston each year, Texans wearingtheir finest clothes danced graceful waltzesand reels. In the slave quarters, people some-times enjoyed “ring” dances.

The fiesta, a festival or religious celebration,was a part of the Hispanic culture and animportant part of life for everyone. Dancing,games, exhibitions of art and culture, andrefreshments such as chocolate, coffee, lemon-ade, and pastry were part of this celebration.

Formal Education Advances SlowlyAlthough the Texas Congress set aside land

for public education during the Lamar admin-istration, no state public school system wasestablished. There were many private schools,but only Houston had a public school. In 1839


the Houston city council hired the first publicschool teacher in the republic, the ReverendRichard Salmon of New York. In rural areas,mothers often taught their children the basicsof reading, writing, and arithmetic. Some ruralarea families hired teachers, who were usuallypaid in produce, not money. Nearly every townhad a private elementary school.

Under the leadership of Governor Elisha M.Pease, the legislature in 1854 set aside $2 mil-lion as a permanent school fund. Interestearned by the permanent fund was distributedaccording to the number of school-age childrenliving in each county. Even with the schoolfund, Texas established few public schools.

Colleges were also founded by churches.Methodist leaders established Rutersville Col-lege near La Grange in 1840. Baylor University,a Baptist school, was chartered at Inde-pendence in 1845. In 1849, Presbyterian leadersestablished Austin College in Huntsville. It waslater moved to Sherman. Other early collegeswere founded at Galveston, San Augustine,Clarksville, and Chappell Hill.

Religious Diversity FlourishesBefore the Texas Revolution, the Mexican gov-

ernment recognized only the Roman Catholicfaith. It did little, however, to stop Anglo settlers

from worshipping in their own way. Many immi-grant towns built various places to worship.

After independence, the Constitution of 1836guaranteed freedom of religion, and Protestantchurches grew in popularity. The MethodistChurch had the biggest gains, and the Baptist andPresbyterian faiths also were successful. In 1852the first Jewish services were held in Galvestonthanks to the efforts of Rosanna Osterman, anearly resident. The Roman Catholic Churchremained a strong force, however. Besides reli-gious services, churches were also social centers.

Identifying Where was the firstpublic school?

Checking for Understanding1. Using Key Terms Write three sen-

tences in which you use the termsraft, charter, and fiesta to showthat you understand theirmeanings.

2. Reviewing Facts Why were socialactivities combined with work?

Reviewing Themes3. Economic Factors Why was it

important to locate industries intowns or along major roads orrivers?

Organizing to Learn4. Considering Options Draw a

chart like the one below. List thepositive and negative aspects oftransportation in Texas at this time.

Critical Thinking5. Analyzing On page 307 the state-

ment is made that “doctors, minis-ters, and lawyers arrived but oftendivided their time between theirprofessions and farming.” Why doyou think it was necessary forthese individuals to do both?

Making Judgments Why was thegrowth of commerce directly dependentupon better transportation in Texas?


While Texas took small steps to provideeducation for some children, a revolution inschooling occurred in Massachusetts. There,former lawyer and state secretary ofeducation Horace Mann led a reformmovement that would result in free publicschools for all children. Eventually all states would adopt the Massachusetts reforms.

Type of Positive NegativeTransportation Aspects AspectsFreight wagon

Stagecoach

River transportation

Railroad

Reviewing Key TermsUse a dictionary or thesaurus to find synonyms (words thatmean the same) for these terms. On a separate sheet ofpaper, write these synonyms beside the terms.

1. immigrant agents2. raft3. fiesta4. subsistence crop5. charter

Reviewing Key Facts6. List three of the most important immigrant agents. 7. Name a free African American who was an important

businessman during this period. 8. What is the difference between a cash crop and a subsis-

tence crop? 9. What two industries were usually the first to be estab-

lished in early Texas towns? 10. When rural families hired teachers for their children, what

did they often use for payment?

Critical Thinking11. Making Judgments Was life in Texas more difficult for

men or women?12. Making Inferences What do you think would have hap-

pened if slavery had been abolished in Texas at this time?13. Analyzing Geographic Factors Why were most settle-

ments near major rivers and how would this affect socialand economic development?

14. Comparing Compare the education available to childrenduring the days of the republic with that which is availablenow.

15. Evaluating What would be some effects on Texasresources such as land and water as a result of steam-boats and railroads?

16. Taking Action Slaves were able to resist their owners inprotest against their conditions. What were some methodsslaves used to resist?

17. Analyzing What reasons caused Germans to leaveGermany and where did they tend to settle in Texas?

18. Analyzing In what ways did German immigrants maintain their culture?

Pioneer Life1839• First public school teacher is hired in

Houston.• Texas Congress

passes the Homestead Act.

1840• Rutersville College

is established.

1842• Galveston Daily News

publishes its first issue.• German immigrants begin

to arrive in Texas.

1845• Baylor University is

established.• Slaves account for almost

30 percent of Texas population.

1852• Work begins on Buffalo Bayou,

Brazos, and Colorado Railroad.

1854• First telegraph lines are built in Texas.• $2 million is set aside as permanent

school fund by the legislature and Governor Pease.

1857• Stagecoach service begins between

San Antonio and San Diego, California.

1860• Several railroads connect Houston

with neighboring communities.• More than 70 newspapers are in print.


★

★

★

★

★

Geography and History ActivityRefer to the Transportation in 1860 map on page 308.19. If you lived in Houston in 1860, explain how you might

travel to Memphis, Tennessee.20. What area of Texas had the most railroads in 1860?21. Name one town or city that was connected by roads,

steamboats, and the railroad.

Building Technology Skills 22. Using Calculators Fill out the population chart below

and write two questions relating to the statistics. Use yourown calculator or one on a computer to do the calcula-tions. Provide the answers to your questions.

Portfolio/TAKS Writing Activity23. Writing a Letter You are a new immigrant to Texas.

Write a letter to a friend or relative (who lives in thecountry from which you came) in which you describe thegood and bad aspects of your life in Texas during therepublic. Use standard grammar, spelling, sentencestructure, and punctuation.

Cooperative Learning Activity24. Creating a Newspaper In small groups, create a news-

paper that could have been published in one of the set-tlements founded in the early days of the republic. Assignvarious tasks such as editor, illustrator, reporter, and typ-ist. Possible articles would include political events, sociallife, and economic activities. Create or include advertise-ments, cartoons, and an opinion column. Refer toChapters 12 and 13 for material and consult encyclope-dias and the Internet if necessary.

Practicing Skills25. Determining Relevance Read the following question

and statements. Decide which statements providerelevant information.What was life like for Mexicans in the Republic of Texas?a. Many Mexicans in Texas lost their land.

b. Many Mexicans were small farmers or ranchers whooften faced many hardships.

c. Immigrant agents brought many Germans to Texas.d. Some free African Americans started their own

businesses.


Self-Check QuizVisit the texans.glencoe.com Web site and click onChapter 13—Self-Check Quizzes to prepare for the chapter test.

TEXAS HISTORY

Use the graph to answer the following question.

About what portion of Texas’s total population wasenslaved in 1850?A 1/4 C 3/4B 1/2 D 1/10

Test-Taking Tip:

You will have to approximate to answer this question. Inreal life, figures rarely come out to an even number.

Rounding off to the nearest 5 percent will lead you to the correct answer.

Group 1836 Population 1846 PopulationAnglos andTejanos

Slaves

White, Tejano, andNative American

population72.45%

Free African Americanpopulation 0.19%

EnslavedAfrican American

population 27.36%

Texas Population in 1850

http://www.glencoe.com/qe/qe31.php?&st=666&pt=3&bk=20

Traveling Trunk Immigrants brought with them personal items needed to begin a new life in Texas.

▲

O n e of the few points of agreement betweenpresidents Sam Houston and Mirabeau Lamar was that

citizenship in the Republic of Texas should be granted to maleAnglos and Tejanos—about 60 percent of the population.Overall, the population of Texas grew quickly during the years of the republic.

Success Story Despite support from prominentHoustonians, FannyMcFarland’s petition to stay in Texas as a free African American wasdenied. She stayed anywayand from humble begin-nings as a laundress, shebecame one of Houston’sfirst real estate developers.

▲

Comanche War BonnetThe Comanches were fierce and skilled warriors. At first, relations with the Anglos were friendly, but the advance of settlers into the Comanchériadashed hopes for peace. Below is a Comanche tepee, decorated with drawings of a successful buffalo hunt.▲

▲

Tejano Statesman José Antonio Navarro stayed in the Republic but faced increasing prejudice from some Anglo Texans.

▲

315

Visit The Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum in Austin to see artifacts and exhibits such as these about Texas history and heritage.

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