Texas is the only state to enter the United States by treaty instead of territorial annexation. The state was an independent country from 1836 to 1845. Texas Congressman Ted Poe gave the standard account: "Texas decided to gain independence from Mexico, because Mexico went from a democracy to a dictatorship. Sounds familiar, does it not? That dictator was by the name of Santa Ana. And when Santa Ana became the dictator of Mexico, he abolished what we enjoy as human rights, civil liberties. And that is why Texas gained independence and fought for independence, to have those basic rights that now all Americans have."
Prior to 1824 Texas was a Spanish possession and thereafter part of independent Mexico. Americans began to settle in Texas beginning in 1821 when Spanish authorities allowed American to acquire land in the sparsely settled region. Although prospective settlers were required to be Catholic, conduct their affairs in Spanish, and swear allegiance to Spain and then Mexico, the loyalties of the overwhelmingly Protestant settlers remained to the United States. Grievances against the Mexican Government grew.
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