|
Texas Declaration of Independence
|
The Texas Declaration of Independence.
The Texas Declaration of Independence was the formal declaration of independence of the Republic of Texas from Mexico in the Texas Revolution. It was adopted at the Convention of 1836 at Washington-on-the-Brazos on March 2, 1836, and formally signed the following day after errors were noted in the text.
Richard Ellis, president of the convention , appointed a committee of five; George C. Childress, Edward Conrad, James Gaines, Bailey Hardeman, and Collin McKinney (the last being the oldest member of the convention at age 70), to write the declaration, but the declaration was largely the work of Childress. As the text was completed in only one day after the committee was appointed, it is largely believed that Childress came to the convention already prepared with a draft.
Among others, the declaration mentions the following reasons for the separation:
Based upon the United States Declaration of Independence, the Texas Declaration also contains many memorable expressions of American political principles:
- "the right of trial by jury, that palladium of civil liberty, and only safe guarantee for the life, liberty, and property of the citizen."
- "our arms ... are essential to our defence, the rightful property of freemen, and formidable only to tyrannical governments."
Signatures
Replica of the building at Washington-on-the-Brazos where the Texas Declaration was signed. An inscription reads: "Here a Nation was born".
See also
External links
Wikisource has original text related to this article:
|
