The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 61, July 1957 - April, 1958 Page: 272
591 p. : ill., maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Southwestern Historical Quarterly
organization will greatly promote the interest and welfare of the
people of this territory; therefore,
Resolved, That it is the opinion of this meeting that the ter-
ritory was acquired by the arms of the United States, and is the
common property of the Union.
Resolved, That we recommend a convention, composed of dele-
gates from the different sections of said territory, to devise a pro-
visional government, with suspended functions, until our claims
can be urged before Congress by a delegate chosen by the people.
Resolved, That the said convention consist of ten delegates from
each of the organized counties, to wit: Cameron, Starr, Webb, and
Nueces, and ten delegates from the unorganized portion of said
territory, chosen in such manner as the inhabitants of said sections
may deem proper, and that it be held in the city of Brownsville,
on Saturday, the 16th day of March next, at 12 M.
Resolved, That the United States has hitherto unjustifiably neg-
lected to extend to the people of this territory that protection and
government which our situation so imperatively demands, and that
we now call upon Congress to extend the benefits of a territorial
government to us as speedily as possible.
Resolved, That we put forth the following address to our fellow-
citizens of this territory, as expressive of the views of this meeting,
in relation to our connection with Texas.3
The first resolution brought back memories to those who
gathered in a frontier schoolhouse that February night in 1850.
Several of them had been soldiers in the army of General Zachary
Taylor and most of them had played a role in the Mexican War.
Less than four years had transpired since the dragoons of Zachary
Taylor had attached an American flag to a mesquite tree at a
point on the river opposite Matamoros; less than four years since
his armies had smashed the Mexican forces at Palo Alto and
Resaca de la Palma. Taylor took the territory by right of conquest,
but no government offered at that time a solution to the private
ownership of these lands. The question pressed for a solution. In
1846 the site of Brownsville was a mere cotton field; in 1850 the
young town had warehouses, wharves, and a booming trade with
Mexico.
From the beginning certain traders and land speculators had
insisted that Texas was to have no part in the government of the
Valley. To them the area was "separate and distinct from Texas."
albid.272
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 61, July 1957 - April, 1958, periodical, 1958; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101164/m1/330/: accessed May 5, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.