SLAVERY. Texas was the last frontier of slavery in the United
States. In fewer than fifty years, from 1821 to 1865, the "Peculiar
Institution," as Southerners called it, spread over the eastern two-fifths of
the state. The rate of growth accelerated rapidly during the 1840s and 1850s.
The rich soil of Texas held much of the future of slavery, and Texans knew it.
James S. Mayfield
undoubtedly spoke for many when he told the Constitutional Convention of 1845 that "the true
policy and prosperity of this country depend upon the maintenance" of slavery.
Slavery as an institution of significance in Texas began in Stephen F. Austin's colony. The
original empresario
commission given Moses
Austin by Spanish authorities in 1821 did not mention slaves, but when
Stephen Austin was recognized as heir to his father's contract later that year,
it was agreed that settlers could receive eighty acres of land for each bondsman
brought to Texas. Enough of Austin's original 300 families brought slaves with
them that a census of his colony in 1825 showed 443 in a total population of
1,800. The independence of Mexico cast doubt on the future of the institution in
Texas. From 1821 until 1836 both the national government in Mexico City and the
state government of Coahuila
and Texas threatened to restrict or destroy black servitude. Neither
government adopted any consistent or effective policy to prevent slavery in
Texas; nevertheless, their threats worried slaveholders and possibly retarded
the immigration of planters from the Old South. In 1836 Texas had an estimated
population of 38,470, only 5,000 of whom were slaves.
MaryLiz Jones on 07 Dec 12Important reminders and things to consider when visiting with parents.
