The Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association, Volume 15, July 1911 - April, 1912 Page: 175
382 p. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Declaration of Causes
desired only to preserve from destruction the republican consti-
tution of 1824. At the same time it represented a compromise
between the war party, which desired an outright declaration of
independence, and the conservatives, who believed that the time
for that had not arrived.
Dr. Branch T. Archer was elected president of the Consulta-
tion, and his inaugural address, which conformed very closely to
a list of suggestions which Stephen F. Austin had drawn up and
sent from the army, declared that "The first measure that will
be brought before the house, will be a declaration in which we
will set forth to the world the causes which have impelled us
to take up arms, and the objects for which we fight." A hint of
the tone which the President expected the declaration to take
can be gathered from his concluding words, "I do not view the
cause in which we are engaged, as that of freemen fighting alone
against military despotism; I do not view it as Texas battling
alone for her rights and her liberties; I view it in a nobler,
more exalted light. I view it as the great work of laying the
corner stone of liberty in the great Mexican republic."' A com-
mittee of twelve, one from each district, represented in the Con-
sultation was accordingly appointed to draft a declaration as the
President proposed.2 John A. Wharton was chairman of this
committee and it numbered among its members General Sam
Houston.
The committee soon found that its task involved a preliminary
settlement of the fundamental question of whether Texas was
fighting for independence or in defense of the constitution, and
the members, unable to agree among themselves, forced the de-
1Journals of the Consultation, 7, 9. Austin's memorandum (a copy),
with a letter accompanying it, is in the archives of the State Depart-
ment of Texas, Records, Vol. 3, pp. 24-25. It is summarized below, pages
178-179. The importance of the document lies in the fact that it shaped
Archer's inaugural speech, to which the Consultation in all its work
adhered very closely. The italics in the above sentence are the writer's.
2Journals of the Consultation, 12. The committee consisted of John
A. Wharton of the jurisdiction of Columbia, William Menefee of San
Felipe, R. R. Royall of Matagorda, Lorenzo de Zavala of Harrisburg, Asa
Mitchell of Washington, W. S. Fisher of Gonzales, R. M. Williamson of
Mina, Sam Houston of Nacogdoches, A. Houston of San Augustine, Wyatt
Hanks of Bevil, Henry Millard of Liberty, and S. T. Allen of Viesca.175
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Texas State Historical Association. The Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association, Volume 15, July 1911 - April, 1912, periodical, 1912; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101056/m1/180/: accessed April 30, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.