16. The causes of the Texas Revolution were many and varied
The native-born citizens of Texas were known as Tejanos and the American immigrants as Texians in 1835. Of the latter, most were from the southern American states, Protestants, and supported or were willing to tolerate slavery. Most Tejanos were Catholic, spoke Spanish, and were opposed to slavery. The Constitution of 1824, which created the federal government of Mexico, allowed slavery in the Mexican states. In 1829 the Mexican government banned slavery, leading to dissension among the slave-owners in Texas. Many, like James Bowie, hoped to establish large plantations along the lines of the states of the American South. Slavery was then essential to the operation of large plantations and their labor-intensive crops.
Immigration was banned by the Mexican government in 1830, but the settlers in Texas simply ignored the ban. By the end of 1834 there were approximately 30,000 Americans in Texas, compared to about 7,500 Tejanos. In 1832 Mexican General Santa Anna overthrew the government and established himself as President of Mexico. For the next three years, the Mexican government made some concessions to the concerns of the Americans in Texas, but they ended in 1835 when Santa Anna ordered the Constitution of 1824 abolished, the militias in all Mexican states disbanded, and the state legislatures dismissed. Several Mexican states rebelled against Santa Anna, though only Texas was successful in breaking from Mexico.