Convention_of_1836

Replica of the building at Washington-on-the-Brazos where the Texas Declaration of Independence was signed. An inscription reads: "Here a Nation was born".

History of Texas
Spanish Texas
French Texas
Mexican Texas
Republic of Texas
State of Texas
Slavery

The Convention of 1836 was a meeting of elected delegates in Washington-on-the-Brazos, Texas, then part of Mexico, at which was adopted the Texas Declaration of Independence written by George C. Childress.

Elections for delegates were held on February 1, 1836, amid the backdrop of an impeding invasion of Texas by the Mexican Army under Antonio López de Santa Anna. The convention was convened on March 1 with Richard Ellis as president. Fifty delegates attended, representing each of the settlements of Texas.

The delegates quickly wrote and adopted a Declaration of Independence, which was signed and proclaimed the next day on March 2, 1836. The delegates also prepared a Constitution for the new Republic of Texas and organized an ad-interim government which served until the following October.

The officers chosen for the interim government were:

• David G. Burnet, President
• Lorenzo de Zavala, Vice-president
• Samuel P. Carson, Secretary of State
• Thomas J. Rusk, Secretary of War
• Bailey Hardeman, Secretary of Treasury
• David Thomas, Attorney General

The convention adjourned on March 17 amid news of the impending arrival of the Mexican Army.

See also

• History of Texas

External links

• Journals of the Convention at Washington, 1836 from Gammel\'s Laws of Texas, Vol. I. hosted by the Portal to Texas History.
• Lone Star Junction: Convention of 1836

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