Texas Almanac, 1966-1967 Page: 78
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78 TEXAS ALMANAC-1966-1967
freemen, and formidable only to tyranmcal govern- and are fully invested with all the rights and attri-
ments. butes which properly belong to the independent na-
It has invaded our country, both by sea and by tions; and, conscious of the rectitude of our inten-
land, with intent to lay waste our territory and drive tions, we fearlessly and confidently commit the issue
us from our homes; and has now a large mercenary to the decision of the Supreme Arbiter of the des-
army advancing to carry on against us a war of ex- tinies of nations.
termination. RICHARD ELLIS, president of the convention and
It has, through its emissaries, incited the merci- ChDarles B. Stewart Chas. S. Taylor
less savage, with the tomahawk and scalping knife, Thos. Barnet John S. Roberts
to massacre the inhabitants of our defenseless fron- John S. D. Byrom Robert Hamilton
tiers. Franco. Ruiz Robert Hamilton
It hath been, during the whole time of our connec- J. Antonio Navarro Collin McKinney
tion with it, the contemptible sport and victim of Jesse B. Badgett Albert H Latimer
successive military revolutions and hath continually Wm. D. Lacey James Power
exhibited every characteristic of a weak, corrupt, William Menefee Sam Houston
and tyrannical government. Jno. Fisher David Thomas
These, and other grievances, were patiently Mathew Caldwell Edwd. Conrad
borne by the people of Texas until they reached that William Mottley Martin Parmer
point at which forbearance ceases to be a virtue. We Lorenzo de Zavala Edwin O. LeGrand
then took up arms in defense of the national consti- Stephen H. Everitt Stephen W. Blount
tution. We appealed to our Mexican brethren for as- Geo W Smyth Jas. Gaines
months have elapsed, no sympathetic response has Elijah Stapp Wm. Clark, Jr
sistance. Our appeal has been made in vain. Though Claiborne West Sydney O. Penington
yet been heard from the Interior. We are, therefore, Wm B Scates Wm. Carrol Crawford
forced to the melancholy conclusion that the Mexican M. B. Menard Jno Turner
people have acquiesced in the destruction of their A. B. Hardin Beni. Briggs Goodrich
liberty, and the substitution therefor of a military J. W. Bunton G. M. Barnett
government-that they are unfit to be free and in- Thos. J. Gazley James G. Swisher
capable of self-government. R M Coleman Jesse Grimes
The necessity of self-preservation, therefore, now Sterling C. Robertson S. Rhoads. Fisher
decrees our eternal political separation. Jas Collinsworth John W. Moore
We, therefore, the delegates, with plenary powers, Edwin Waller John W. Bower
of the people of Texas, in solemn convention assem- Asa Brigham Saml. A Maverick
bled, appealing to a candid world for the necessities Geo. C. Childress (from Bejar)
of our condition, do hereby resolve and declare that Bailey Hardeman Sam P Carson
our political connection with the Mexican nation has Rob. Potter A. Briscoe
forever ended; and that the people of Texas do now Thomas Jefferson Rusk JB Woods
constitute a free, sovereign and independent republic, Test. H. S. Kemble Secretary
Texas Boundary Disputes
Three centuries of disputes over the exact present mineral production and prospective
boundaries of Texas continued as this edition production on both sides of the boundary.
of the Texas Almanac was published. Two In addition to the Louisiana Purchase in-
major developments have marked the recent volvement, the dispute centers around the
history of this issue. First of these was the agreement by which Texas joined the United
settlement of differences between the Repub- States in 1845. Complicating the matter is the
lic of Mexico and the United States over the fact that Texas' boundary extends three
"Chamizal" area on the Rio Grande at El leagues into the Gulf of Mexico (approxi-
Paso. The other matter involved the bound- mately 10.35 miles) as established in the
ary between Louisiana and Texas at the famed tidelands case. But Louisiana's juris-
mouth of the Sabine River. diction is only three miles, as set in the
same case.
Chamizal Settlement Spanish and French claims raised the first
question as to the eastern boundary of what
Negotiations initiated by the late Presi- now is Texas. When La Salle's colony set-
dent John F. Kennedy early in his adminis- tled on Lavaca Bay in 1685, the Spaniards
tration resulted in settlement of the Chamizal sent De Leon's expedition into the area in
dispute. Agreement between the two coun- 1689, following this with the appointment of
tries was announced in July, 1963, and a a Governor and designation of Texas as a
treaty was ratified later. On Sept. 25, 1964, state.
President Lyndon B. Johnson and President The first definite agreement relative to the
Adolfo Lopez Mateos of Mexico met on the eastern boundary of Texas apparently was in
boundary between El Paso and Juarez for 1736, when local Spanish and French authori-
the official ending of the dispute, ties recognized the course of the Arroyo Hon-
The disagreement resulted from a shift of do, a stream running about halfway between
the Rio Grande River between the signing Natchitoches. La., and the Sabine, as the
of the U.S.-Mexican Treaty of 1848 and a sur- boundary There had previously been a good
vey of the boundary. A 1910-11 arbitration deal of jockeying for position in this territory.
commission awarded land south of the pres- The Arroyo Hondo line disappeared with
ent river channel to Mexico, but the U.S. re- the cession of Louisiana to Spain in 1762, re-
fused to accept the decision until 1963. At appeared a few years later with the re-ceding
that time, Mexico was awarded 437 acres of of Louisiana to France, and became a new
land, known as the Chamizal because of a issue with the Louisiana Purchase by the
weed that once covered much of this acreage. United States in 1803. Many Americans be-
Louisiana-Texas Boundary lieved that the Louisiana Purchase included
As 1965 began, Texas Land Commissioner Texas and an offer of $1,000,000 was made by
Jerry Sadler raised a question as to the the United States as late as 1825 to Mexico
Texas-Louisiana boundary, inviting Louisiana for the cession of Texas.
to confer on the matter, which also involved The Neutral Ground
the United States because of differences in For a few years after 1803 no definite steps
offshore boundaries of the two states. toward fixing a boundary were taken, but the
The question is whether the boundary be- Aaron Burr conspiracy made the Spanish un-
tween Texas and Louisiana is the middle of easy and General Herrera, Spanish com-
the Sabine River and Sabine Lake, or mander at Nacogdoches, crossed the Sabine
whether it is the west bank, as claimed by with an armed force. Gen. James Wilkinson
the State of Louisiana. Also involved is an of the United States Army countered this
extension of the line out into the Gulf of move. They agreed that the area between the
Mexico. Sabine and the Arroyo Hondo should be neu-
The issue is highly important because of tral territory. This agreement of 1806 was
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Texas Almanac, 1966-1967, book, 1965; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth113808/m1/80/: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.