Page:Confederate Military History - 1899 - Volume 1.djvu/253

Rh The people of the whole country had watched with sympathy the efforts of the Spanish-American provinces toward establishing themselves as independent republics. The Southern people viewed with deep interest the efforts of Texas to throw off the yoke of Mexico. Propositions had been made by the United States in 1827, during the Presidency of Mr. Adams, for the purchase of Texas, which had been emphatically declined by Mexico. The next move was in Jackson s administration. Says Mr. Schouler (Schouler, vol. 4, p. 249): &quot;The vigilant Jackson, during his first presidential term, negotiated with Mexico for amity, commerce and navigation. But he soon saw that the Southern bent was for territorial extension, and all the more eagerly now that the Northern abolition movement and British emancipation in the West Indies showed that there was danger of a conscience crusade overtures were made to Mexico for the purchase of Texas and the territory north of the 3yth parallel from the Rio Grande to the Pacific. These overtures were declined.

Meanwhile, flourishing settlements were established in Texas by emigrants from the United States, mainly from the Southwest. When Mexico revolted against Spain, a number of ardent young men, impelled by the same spirit which stirred Lafayette to fight for American liberty, tendered their services to the struggling Mexicans. Among these a large number were from Tennessee, descendants of those pioneers who had won the West. Reuben Ross, a native of Virginia, who had removed to Tennessee, gained the commission of Colonel in the Mexican army, and received for his gallantry an extensive grant of land. Similar grants were made to other American volunteers and were located in Texas. Thus, the American colony gained a strong foothold. Their growth was promoted by the action of the Mexican government encouraging immigration by offering for sale large tracts of land to immigrant societies. Companies