Texas Declaration of Independence

In March, 1836, Texans declared independence from Mexico. The Texas Revolution was already underway. Fighting had begun in October 1835. Texans wrote a declaration of independence much as the United States had done sixty years previously. The link below will open a copy of the Texas Declaration of Independence. Read that document and then use the prompts below to write your paper.

Link (Links to an external site.)

1. Look at the fifth paragraph which begins “Nations, as well as individuals, . . .” and comment on why Texans chose to publish a written declaration of independence.

2. In the paragraph that begins, “It incarcerated in a dungeon, . . .” comment on who was incarcerated. What impact did that have on the course of the revolution?

3. What did the Texans refer to when they said “It has sacrificed our welfare to the state of Coahuila . . .”

4. Consider the paragraph that begins “It denies us the right of worshiping the Almighty . . .” Was that a reasonable complaint made by the Texans? Why or why not?

Details for your paper:

1. The length of the paper must be at least two full pages. It should not be more than five pages.

2. The paper should be double spaced with a font that I like. I especially like Times New Roman.

3. Margins should be standard one inch margins right, left, top, and bottom.

4. There should be a title for your paper.

5. You should include a bibliography or works cited page. This page should be at the end of the paper. It should be on a separate page. There should be a title on this page. You should use at least 4 sources. Sources should be good scholarly sources. That means books on the subject or scholarly articles. Sources that you should not use include your textbook, any wikis (especially Wikipedia), any dictionaries or encyclopedias. The one exception to the “encyclopedia” rule in Texas History is that you may use the Handbook of Texas. There is a link to the Handbook of Texas in one of the modules.

6. Your paper is due Sunday, April 2, at 11:59 p.m. I will not accept any late submissions.

7. I expect your paper to be well written. I expect you to use proper sentence structure, spelling, punctuation and anything else that comes under the heading of grammar. Failure to do so will affect your grade.

8. I expect your paper to be well organized with a beginning, a text in the middle, and a closing with your conclusion.