The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 52, July 1948 - April, 1949 Page: 32
512 p. : ill., maps ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Zhe irst treaty of the
Republic of rexas
R. EARL McCLENDON
THE technique of treaty-making in the Republic of Texas,
like many other phases of the organization and operation
of the government, was strikingly similar to that em-
ployed in the United States. The respective relevant constitu-
tional provisions, brief and general in the extreme, were virtually
identical; since, as is well known, that of the United States speci-
fied that the President by and with the advice and consent of the
Senate should make treaties, "provided two-thirds of the senators
present concur," while the Texas Constitution gave that power
to the President, "with the advice and consent of two-thirds of
the Senate." Well before 1836 the actual process in the United
States had crystallized into the now familiar pattern of five sep-
arate steps: namely, negotiation by or on the authority of the
executive; subsequent formal action by the upper body of Con-
gress; and, contingent upon the approval of the Senate, the for-
malities of ratification, exchange of ratifications, and promulga-
tion, all presidential functions. It was but natural for the Texans
to follow suit also with respect to exact procedure. To say the
least, however, certain irregularities appeared in connection with
the Cherokee Indian Treaty of February 23, 1836, the first to
claim the attention of the regularly constituted authorities of the
permanent government of the Republic of Texas.
Largely the handiwork of Sam Houston from its very incep-
tion, the Cherokee Treaty stemmed in reality, as the date suggests,
from measures adopted by one of the earlier, revolutionary bodies
in Texas. In what may be regarded as a sort of inaugural address,
on November 3, 1835, President Branch T. Archer reminded
members of the Consultation assembled at San Felipe de Austin
that several warlike tribes of Indians claimed portions of "our
land." After explaining that dissatisfaction had been created
1An adaptation of this article was presented as a paper at the annual meeting
of the Texas State Historical Association in Austin on April 25, 1947.
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 52, July 1948 - April, 1949, periodical, 1949; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101121/m1/38/?rotate=90: accessed March 28, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.