March 6, 1836 is a date whose memory will forever live on in the hearts and minds of all persons proclaiming to love life, liberty, and justice. On the dawn of that fateful day, the minions of Mexican dictator Santa Ana, numbering upwards of six thousand, converged on a small band of two-hundred ill-trained volunteers huddled in an antiquated Spanish mission named the Alamo. Among these volunteers were the brave, but mortally ill Jim Bowie, and the famous rifleman Davy Crockett. Both of these men along with 197 others were brutally butchered. The Mexicans took the lives of every single American held within the confines of the Alamo, save one, their commander Colonel W.B. Travis. The Texan battle cry, “Victory or Death” is exemplified by their efforts, as they fought valiantly until the bitter end. The Texans may have all perished but they took some six-hundred Mexicans with them. The conflict that occurred at the Alamo is the result of years of friction between the Texans and Mexicans over such issues as Slavery and American distaste for submission all of which resulted in further separation between the two sides.
The issue of slavery cast an immense dividing line between the Mexicans and the Texans. Mexico, as of 1830, was free of slavery and prohibited expansion of slavery within its borders. The Texans, however, were from America, and in America of 1832, slavery is a common practice. As a result they desired the expansion of slavery into the new territory of Texas and, despite Mexican emancipation, continued to bring slaves into Texas. Thus, the American settlers undermined Mexican authority and sovereignty, causing increased hostilities between the two sides.
The battle of the Alamo is result of years of friction between the American settlers and local Mexicans. The settlers agreed to practice Roman Catholic faith and become properly “Mexicanized” upon settlement. However, these two concessions were, in large part, ignored by the pioneers. They were American’s and, as is evidenced by past conflicts, not of the submissive sort. Because of American distaste for submission, they did not take kindly to the orders of a foreign government. Conflict was bound to ensue, and it exploded forth as the battle of the Alamo.
Early in 1836 the Texans declared their independence. In response Santa Ana, the Mexican dictator, raised an army of some six thousand men and converged on the settlers at a tiny Spanish Mission named the Alamo. Santa Ana, with his vicious slaughter of hundreds of American citizens, inadvertently ignited the passions of an entire nation. His actions, despite their understandable intentions, marked the begging of the end for Mexican occupation of Texas. Americans eventually rose to the occasion and, on April 12, 1836, defeated Santa Ana and assumed control of Mexican territory as far south as the Rio Grande.
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