Page:Vol 5 History of Mexico by H H Bancroft.djvu/187

Rh as they affected Texas, in the revolt against the legally or illegally constituted authorities, they were no worse than those dealt to citizens of other parts of the country under similar circumstances. The fact is, that the Texan rebellion and secession were the result of a preconcerted plan, as alluded to early in this chapter, to establish a market for African slaves in contempt of the Mexican laws, and afterward to annex the new country to the United States. It might have been, perhaps, more honorable, for the parties interested, if their project had been openly avowed from the first, instead of trickery and subterfuge being resorted to.

The national convention on the 17th of March, 1836, adopted a constitution. It also established a provisional government with plenary powers, electing David G. Burnet president, and Lorenzo de Zavala vice-president, with four secretaries of state. Samuel Houston was reappointed commander-in-chief of the forces.

Let us now consider what the Mexican government was doing to bring these rebellious subjects to allegiance. Resources were scarce, but the government made the most of them, and together with voluntary contributions from patriotic citizens, organized an army for the campaign. The chief command of it was intrusted to General Santa Anna, who in November 1835 visited San Luis Potosí to complete preparations and to set the troops in motion. Toward the end of December, the forces, said to be 6,000 strong, started for San Antonio de Béjar, then occupied by the enemy. They invested the Álamo, a