Before Texan independence, there existed very strong differences in Texas based on the issue of independence or, in other words, the break of Texas from Mexico. This was mainly associated with the racial lines that existed at that time. The Anglo whites in Texas who were mainly slaveholders wanted to break away from Mexico. This was because at that time Mexico had apparently banned slavery (Denial 1). Bearing this fact in mind, they knew that their ability to practice slavery would be in jeopardy if they did not disassociate themselves with Mexico.
Take, for instance, Jim Bowie, a well-known rebel at Texas who was apparently famous for his act of trafficking African-Americans; he was one of the people who wanted the break of Texas from Mexico (Edmondson 74). It was also obvious that the Mexicans who lived in Texas were the main people who opposed the independence of Texas since they knew that if Texas received its independence from Mexico, they would be led by the malicious Anglo whites who were famous for killing Indians and enslaving African Americans. Therefore, based on the above argument, it is evident that those who opposed the independence of Texas feared that the Anglo whites would take the advantage of that freedom to misuse and abuse the freed Texans.
The era of President Mirabeau Lamar saw him come up with harsh policies towards the Native Americans. This was based on his poor judgment of the natives; he felt that they should be removed from the land they had settled and placed in the Indian Territory of the Oklahoma (Murphree 1127). The reason for vacating them was so that the land could be given to farmers and ranchers.
Works Cited
Denial, Catherine. "Texas and Mexico: Centers for Cultural Collision." 2010. Teachinghistory.org. Web. January 2016 <http://teachinghistory.org/history-content/ask-a-historian/25470>.
Edmondson, J. R. Jim Bowie: Frontier Legend, Alamo Hero. New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, 2003. Print.
Murphree, Daniel S. Native America: A State-by-State Historical Encyclopedia [3 volumes]: A State-by-State Historical Encyclopedia. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2012. Print.
