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The Convention of 1832 was the first political gathering of colonists in Mexican Texas.
On August 22, the ayuntiamento (city council) at San Felipe de Austin (the capital of Austin's colony) called for each district to elect five delegates.[1] Sixteen communities chose delegates.[2] The two municipalities with the largest Tejano population, San Antonio de Béxar and Victoria, refused to participate.[3] The majority of the elected delegates were known as relatively even-tempered. Many known agitators, such as James Bowie and William B. Travis, were defeated.[2] Tejanos did not have a large presence at the convention, largely due to the boycott by the Béxar and Victoria municipalities. Convention organizers invited several prominent Tejanos from these towns to attend, but all declined.[3]
On October 1, 1832, 55 delegates met in San Felipe de Austin;[3] attendance may have been diminished due to the short notice.[4] Over the next six days, the delegates adopted a series of resolutions requesting changes in the governance of Texas.[2] Historian Eugene Campbell Barker suggests that the discussions would likely not have concluded so swiftly unless the delegates had done "considerable preparation before the meeting".[5]
After approving the list of resolutions, delegates created a 7-member central committee to convene future meetings.[6][Note 1] The central committee would be based in San Felipe "for the purpose of circulating information of events of importance to the interest of the people".[7]
The convention adjourned on October 6 after unanimously electing William H. Wharton to deliver the resolutions to the state legislature in Saltillo and to the Mexican Congress in Mexico City.[8][9] Just before the group dispersed, Rafael Manchola, the alcalde (mayor) of Goliad, arrived. He was the only delegate from Goliad and the only Tejano to appear at the convention.[2] Manchola volunteered to accompany Wharton at his own expense—he and other delegates thought the expedition might have more success if a Tejano was also involved.[10] Days later, Austin wrote that "we have just had a convention of all Texas, native Mexicans and foreign settlers – all united as one man".[8]
- Appeal of immigration ban (Immigration)
- Reduction of tariffs (Tariffs)
- Land business east of San Jacinto (Land business)
- Indian affairs (Native land claims)
- Regulate Customs affairs while no inspector (Customs)
- Schools
- Independent statehood (Statehood)
- Organize militia (Militia)
- English as a second language (English)
- Central Committee proposal
- Appoint a surveyor-general for Texas
| Name | District | Committees | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| John Austin | Victoria[11] | Customs (chair)[12] Militia (chair)[13] Native lands[14] Statehood[15] Tariffs[16] | Presided over convention prior to election of president[17] |
| Stephen F. Austin | San Felipe de Austin[11] | Finance[9] Surveyor-General[18] | Elected President of the convention[3] Supervised translation of documents[19] Took a short leave of absence due to indisposition[20] Named to Central Committee[21] |
| Thomas D. Beauchamp | Snow River[22] | English[14] | |
| John M. Bradley | Tenahaw[22] | Native lands[14] Statehood[15] | |
| Henry S. Brown | Gonzales[17] | Statehood[15] | |
| Samuel Bruff | Alfred[11] | Schools[23] | |
| Jesse Burnham | Alfred[11] | Indian affairs[23] Statehood[15] | |
| George Butler | Tenahaw[22] | Statehood[15] | |
| Nestor Clay | Hidalgo[11] | Customs[23] Indian affairs[23] Militia[14] Statehood[15] | |
| John Connell | Mill Creek[17] | Statehood[15] | |
| Silas Dinsmore | Mina[11] | Statehood[15] | |
| Archelaus Bynum Dodson | San Jacinto[11] | Statehood[15] | [24] |
| Samuel C. Douglass | Mill Creek[25] | Statehood[15] | |
| William K. English | Tenahaw[22] | Land business[23] | |
| Frederick Foy | Tenahaw[22] | Land business[23] | |
| Jacob Garrett | Ayish Bayou[22] | Land business[23] | |
| Jared E. Groce | Viesca[11][Note 2] | English[14] Finance[9] Militia[14] Statehood[15] Tariffs (chair)[26] | |
| Joshua Hadley | Viesca[11] | ||
| Warren DeWitt Clinton Hall | Liberty[22] | Finance[9] | |
| Wyatt Hanks | Ayish Bayou[22] | Land business[23] Militia[14] Native lands[14] Statehood[15] | |
| Jonas Harrison | Tenahaw[22] | Finance[9] Immigration[16] Land business[23] Native lands[14] Surveyor-General[18] | |
| Thomas Hastings | Nacogdoches[27] | Schools[23] | |
| William R. Hensley | Alfred[11] | Indian affairs (chair)[18] Statehood[15] | |
| Hyman Hertz | Nacogdoches[27] | Statehood[15] | |
| Benjamin Holt | Sabine[27] | Finance (chair)[28] Land business[29] Statehood[15] | |
| Absalom Hyer | Sabine[27] | Statehood[15] | |
| Ira Ingram | Mina[30] | English[14] Central (proposed) (chair)[31] | |
| Elijah Isaacs | Snow River[22] | Land business[23] Statehood[15] | |
| Patrick Churchill Jack | Liberty[32] | Immigration[16] Land business[23] | |
| Frank W. Johnson | San Felipe de Austin[11] | Militia[14] | Elected Secretary[33] Named to Central Committee[21] Recommended as Surveyor-General[18] |
| James Kerr | Linnville[11] | Central (proposed)[31] English[14] Finance[9] | |
| William D. Lacy | Alfred[11] | ||
| Luke Lesassier | San Felipe de Austin[11] | Immigration[16] Schools (chair)[12] Statehood[15] Surveyor-General[18] | Served as temporary chairman while Stephen Austin was indisposed[20] |
| James Looney | Snow River[32] | ||
| Joseph K. Looney | Lavaca[11] | Central (proposed)[31] Militia[14] Tariffs[16] | |
| Samuel Looney | Snow River[32] | Indian affairs[23] Statehood[15] | |
| Rafael Manchola | Goliad[10] | Manchola arrived after the convention adjourned. The only Tejano to participate in any way, he volunteered to accompany Wharton to deliver the petitions to Mexico City.[10] | |
| Wylie Martin | San Felipe de Austin[11] | Customs[23] Native lands[14] Statehood[15] | Named to Central Committee[21] |
| Donald A. McDonald | Ayish Bayou[22] | ||
| William McFarland | Ayish Bayou[22] | Customs[23] Land business[23] Militia[14] Native lands[14] Schools[23] Statehood[15] | |
| Hugh McGuffin | Lavaca[11] | ||
| George B. McKinstry | Victoria[11] | Central (proposed)[31] Tariffs[16] | |
| William Menifee | Lavaca[11] | Schools[23] Statehood[15] | |
| Eli Mercer | Victoria[11] | Statehood[15] | Granted a leave of absence for "extreme indisposition"[12] |
| James Morgan | Liberty[32] | Finance[9] Land business[23] Statehood[15] Tariffs[16] | |
| Jesse Parker | Sabine[27] | ||
| George F. Richardson | San Jacinto[11] | Statehood[15] | |
| William Robinson | Viesca[11] | Statehood[15] | |
| Charles Sayre | Victoria[11] | Tariffs (chair)[16] | |
| Clay C. Stinett | Gonzales[17] | Indian affairs[23] Statehood[15] | |
| Philip A. Sublett | Ayish Bayou[22] | Land business[23] Native lands[14] | |
| George Sutherland | Lavaca[11] | Customs[23] Immigration[16] Militia[14] Statehood[15] | |
| Charles Stanfield Taylor | Nacogdoches[34] | English[14] Finance[9] Land business[23] Native lands (chair)[31] Statehood[15] Tariffs[16] | Nominated for secretary of the convention (defeated)[33] |
| Alexander Thompson | Hidalgo[11] | Statehood[15] | |
| Claiborne West | Liberty[32] | Statehood[15] | |
| William H. Wharton | Victoria[11] | Immgiration (chair)[16] Statehood[15] | Nominated for president of the convention (defeated)[3] Wrote petition requesting independent statehood[35] Elected to deliver the petition to Mexico City[8] |
| Robert Wilson | San Jacinto[11] | Central (proposed)[31] | |
| David Wright | Alfred[11] |
- The central committee was composed of Johnson, James B. Miller, Stephen F. Austin, Lewis Veeder, Robert Peebles, Wylie Martin, and William Pettis. (Gammel (1898), p. 496.)
- Viesca was bounded by the Brazos River and the San Jacinto and Trinity Rivers, and the Atascocita and Old San Antonio Roads.
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