On September 29, 1835, a detachment of the Mexican army arrived in Gonzales, Texas, a Mexican state, to confiscate a cannon . The cannon was well hidden, but eighteen armed men stood in plain sight. They taunted the Mexicans to "come and take it." The two sides talked and dickered, but no action was taken. However, the little band of men grew to 167 in two days. Early the next morning the Texans attacked the Mexican camp believing they were going to attack that day (Lord 38). With this attack the Texas Revolution was started. It was a revolution that Texas would eventually win. One of the greatest helps to the Texan cause was Santa Anna, the Mexican president, who provided the cause for revolution, stirred up the Texans' anger and zeal, and caused the Texans to win the final battle at San Jacinto.
In a sense Santa Anna started the Texas Revolution by repealing the Mexican Constitution of 1824. In general the Constitution gave considerable rights to the individual Mexican states. It was based on "a federal government of sovereign states" (Wood). Under this constitution, American settlers in Texas were exempt from any taxes, tariffs, and government services including defense, so the Texans governed themselves (Wood). They believed the constitution guaranteed self-government (Lord 32). In 1830, the Mexican congress passed a law saying that no more Americans could immigrate to Texas and it also allowed for the garrisoning of convict troops to police the area and enforce the laws (Binkley 41). Several factors led up to this decision. First, the United States repeatedly tried to buy Texas from Mexico, and the Mexicans were starting to wonder if the settling of Texas was some sort of covert effort to take over Texas (Binkley 5). Second, according to Lamont Wood, ethnic prejudices were very much alive. All someone had to do was exploit this to start a war (Wood). Third, many of the American settlers owned and used slaves. However, slavery was outlawed in Texas, but not in the rest of Mexico where it was not practiced (Wood). Finally, the American settlers tended to settle in the areas around Gonzales, about 65 east of San Antonio (see map). One reason Mexico opened Texas up for immigration in the first place was to have people settle between Mexico and the fierce Comanche Indians who lived in central and northwest Texas thus forming a buffer. However, the Texans never settled there, and Mexico's expectation went unfulfilled (Wood).
