That word echoed throughout Texas in the fall of 1835. Texas was then part of Mexico, a country wracked by civil war in the early 19th century. Then the government, led by dictator Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, set harsh new policies, including banning immigration from the United States. American immigrants already there--Texans--were angry enough to challenge his authority. On October 2, 1835, tensions exploded into all-out war: the Texas Revolution.
Santa Anna: You must be a great man to have captured me! A great man would be generous to those he defeats.
Houston: The way you were to our men at the Alamo and Goliad?
Santa Anna: You intend to kill me?
Houston: You're going to order all your armies out of Texas. If you don't, then yes, I will kill you.
Narrator D: Santa Anna gives the order and is spared. His armies leave Texas. News of Houston's victory spreads quickly.
Dilue Rose: Hallelujah! We are saved! Sam Houston whipped the Mexicans. We can all go home!
Epilogue narrator: Hundreds--perhaps thousands--of people died during the Runaway Scrape. Thousands of others lost everything they owned.
The event was soon overshadowed in history books by the battles at the Alamo and San Jacinto. But the people who survived that terrible journey could never forget it.
Despite those hardships, the worst had passed. For the next 10 years, Texas was a republic. Sam Houston became its first President. In 1845, Texas joined the U.S. as the 28th state.
1. Why were Texans angry at Mexico in 1835?
2. What are some reasons why Texans may have wanted to return home after the Scrape?
In 1835, Mexico's government was unhappy about the many settlers who were flowing into its Texas region from the United States. Today, the tables have turned: It is the U.S. government that is struggling to manage the flow of people who enter the States by crossing the Texas-Mexico border, many illegally.
Mexicans account for about 59 percent of all people living in the U.S. illegally. Most come for the same reasons Americans started moving to Mexico's Texas area nearly two centuries ago: a chance for a better life.
Many Americans resent illegal immigrants. They worry that the newcomers take jobs from legal residents. On the other hand, some Mexicans who know their history point to the fact that Texas was once part of their homeland.
