Alamo, Battle of the

Manifest Destiny

After Mexican independence from Spain in 1821, the government offered land grants to Anglo Americans in the area of Texas as part of a policy of settlement and pacification of its northern territories, what is now the southwestern part of the United States. It was a predecessor to the Homestead Act, but more generous in allocation. Unable to populate Texas with enough of its own citizens, Mexico encouraged those of another nation to immigrate in exchange for large grants of land, approximately 5,000 acres in size. Settlers were required to convert to Catholicism and loyally support the Mexican government. Anglo Americans coming westward under the worldview of Manifest Destiny had little desire to abide by these conditions and quickly tired of the Mexican government's attempts at enforcement. Manifest Destiny was not only policy but also ideology. It embodied the notion that Christianity was superior to the polytheism of American Indians and multiple saint worship, or “idolatry” of Mexican Catholics. Anglo Americans also believed in the superiority of the political [Page 160]and economic forms of democracy and capitalism, even though the Mexican Constitution had been modeled directly on that of the United States. Manifest Destiny expressed the belief that nonwhite peoples were incapable of self-government through democracy, a notion intertwined with that of slavery and free labor, implying that nonwhite peoples were incapable of success in a capitalist system driven by notions of private property and individualism. Additionally, Mexico outlawed the practice of slavery in 1829, which caused a financial loss to U.S. settlers, who once again saw a government in Mexico City as intrusive and foreign to their way of life in Texas.

The Alamo complex has gradually become known as a battle site rather than a former mission. Its defenders consisted of 13 native-born Texians, 41 Europeans, two Jews, and two blacks; the remainder were Americans from 23 other states.

Call to Arms

The U.S. government made several attempts to purchase the area of Texas, but Mexico refused, given its centrality in the middle of the greater Mexican nation at the time. Finally, in 1835, Stephen Austin, son of Texas’ first settler Moses Austin, gave a call to arms. Approximately 7,000 Mexican soldiers arrived at the Alamo mission in spring 1836, under the leadership of Santa Anna. Santa Anna offered the roughly 189 people holed up inside the Alamo the opportunity to surrender, which they refused, hoping to buy time until Sam Houston and other leaders received support from the U.S. government. Thus, Mexico predictably won the Battle of the Alamo, and the rallying cry, “Remember the Alamo,” served as a reminder to Anglo settlers and the U.S. government of those who died there.

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