The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 90, July 1986 - April, 1987 Page: 12
492 p. : ill. (some col.), maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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12 Southwestern Historical Quarterly
1832, to consider how best to capitalize on their alignment with Santa
Anna's forces. At least ten members of the convention had participated
in the recent rebellion, but the more cautious element dominated the
session. Stephen F. Austin was chosen over William Wharton as presid-
ing officer by a vote of thirty-one to fifteen. The election marked the
beginning of factions supporting and opposing the empresario, with
the latter group headed by Wharton. The Whartonites deplored Aus-
tin's proclivity for appeasing the Mexican authorities and preferred in-
stead to demand rights similar to those in the United States. Some
threatened to break ties with Mexico and ask for union with the United
States if reform was not forthcoming.'"
The convention asked for three major reforms: repeal of the ban on
immigration from the United States, extension of the exemption from
the tariff, and separate statehood for Texas. Since 1824, when the na-
tional government had joined Texas and Coahuila as a single state be-
cause of their low population, Texans, both native-born and Anglo, had
chafed at the inconvenience of conducting business in Saltillo, the capi-
tal, more than 700 miles from the Brazos. Moreover, the state legisla-
ture was heavily weighted in representation from Coahuila, a ranching
area that had little understanding of, or sympathy for, Anglo-Texan
culture or agricultural needs. All Texans agreed that separate state-
hood could solve many of the current problems.'9
While no native-born Texans had attended the convention, many in
San Antonio agreed in principle with the demands. The convention,
however, was an illegal gathering under Mexican law and the jefe con-
demned the proceedings, which should have been preceded by sending
remonstrances through proper channels in order that the jefe could in-
stigate the meeting. On December 19, 1832, the ayuntamiento at San
Antonio issued the proper remonstrance and made plans to hold a
meeting there in the spring.20
The members of the Wharton faction were impatient, and while the
empresario was in San Antonio completing plans for a cautious pro-
gram of reform, they called for a second meeting to be held at San Fe-
lipe in April, 1833. Adopting techniques of the American Revolution,
"'Barker, Life of Stephen F. Austin, 348-351, 386; H. P. N. Gammel (comp.), The Laws of Texas,
r822-I897 ... (so vols.; Austin, 1898), I, 475; S. F. Austin to James F. Perry, Aug. 25, 1834,
Eugene C. Barker (ed.), The Austin Papers (3 vols.; Vols. I, II, Washington, D.C., 1924-1928;
Vol. III, Austin, 1927), II, 1,076.
'1Barker, Life of Stephen F. Austin, 349-350; S. F. Austin to S. M. Williams, Dec. 6, 1832,
Williams Papers (also in Barker [ed.], Austin Papers, II, 898).
20 Barker, Life of Stephen F. Austin, 351-357; S. F. Austin to S. M. Williams, Dec. 6, 1832,
Williams Papers (also in Barker [ed.], Austin Papers, II, 898).
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 90, July 1986 - April, 1987, periodical, 1986/1987; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth117152/m1/38/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.