Chapter 9: Life in Early Texas Section 1: Texas Fever

1. Chapter 9: Life in Early Texas Section 1: Texas Fever

2. Gone to Texas • During the 1820s-30s the population of Texas surged • Some settlers fromEuropeandother parts of Mexico

3. Gone to Texas • Most early settlers in Texas were farmers from the southern United States.

4. Gone to Texas • Pull factors: • Cheap land • Easy payments

5. Gone to Texas • Push factors: • Debts from the Panic of 1819 and resulting depression • Inability of U.S. officials to collect debts or get fugitives in Texas

6. Gone to Texas • Word spreads that Texas is a place filled with outlaws and undesirable people

7. Gone to Texas G.T.T. • Gone to Texas—a phrase that often meant that someone disappeared

8. The People of Texas • By 1834 a Mexican official estimated that Texas population was 21,000: • 15,000 from the U.S.—most were English, Irish, or Scottish ancestry • Squatters: people who do not legally own the land on which they live

9. The People of Texas • 1834: Tejano population was about 4,000 • Most lived around Nacogdoches or San Antonio • Most Tejanos welcome Americans—saw them as a boost to economy and protection against Indians

10. The People of Texas • Europeans: primarily of British, German, French, or Italian background • African Americans • 2000 slave • 150 free

11. Getting to Texas and Choosing Land • 1835: an estimated 1,000 settlers entering Texas each month • Coming to Texas: • Wagon trains • Horseback • Walked • Water

12. Getting to Texas and Choosing Land • Flatboats—LONG LOW BOAT means of transportation for many settlers

13. Getting to Texas and Choosing Land • Usually settled around rivers and streams • Cherokee, Chickasaw, Creek, Delaware, & Shawnee Indians came to Texas. • Fertile soil and mild climate attracted many U.S. settlers to the Gulf Coast Plain and Piney Woods • Avoided Apache & Comanche lands

14. G.T.T.