When Texas seceded from the United States on March 2, 1861, Texas’s own governor, Sam Houston, withheld from pledging allegiance to the Confederacy. This was the man that had defeated Santa Anna to get Texas independence from Mexico. He was also the man to start the movement to get Texas annexed into the United States. So, why did Texans fight in the Civil War? Texans fought in the Civil War to protect their families, to protect state’s rights, and to protect slavery. Texans fought in the Civil War to protect their families and the State of Texas. In Document D, one of the letters says, “If they come up to Austin they will take whatever they see that they want…”. People in Texas were worried that troops from the North would invade and kill their friends and families. Most in the state had lived in Texas their whole life and grew up to love the state and their families. They enlisted in the army to protect their families and their beloved home state from invasion Another reason Texans fought in the Civil War was to protect the idea of State’s Rights.
In Document C, the quote from O.M. Roberts, who was the resident of the Texas Secession Convention, said, “The crisis upon us involves not only the right of self-government but the maintenance of a great
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In Document B, the statement from the Texas Secession Committee said, “... the African race had no part in their establishment… the servitude of the African race… is mutually beneficial to both bond (slave) and free, and is… justified by the experience of mankind and the revealed will of the Almighty Creator.” Slavery fueled the entire southern economy. Many southerners worked on farms and ranches, and needed slaves to get work done and meet trade deadlines. People feared that if the South did not have slaves, the South could not farm. Because of this, Texans enlisted in the Confederate Army to protect not just slavery, but their entire