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In
earlier use, the term Anglo-American described people originally
from England, Scotland, or Wales. Most settled in the United States prior
to their and their descendants' migration to Texas in the early
1800s.
The
term Anglo-American differs from the term Anglo used in Texas and
the U.S.-Mexico border region to describe a “white” person from the U.S.
who is not of Hispanic or Mexican descent—and can be of many
heritages.
A
few Anglo-Americans began arriving in Texas before 1820. Prior to Mexico’s
independence from Spain, there were only three settlements in the province
of Texas in 1820: Nacogdoches, San Antonio de Béxar, and La Bahía
del Espíritu Santo (later named Goliad). All three were small
towns with surrounding ranches.
In 1821 Mexico gained its independence from Spain, and so Texas became
part of a new republic. The successful but long revolution left Mexico
with economic problems. To help solve these problems, the Mexican government
decided to invite people from the United States to settle in Texas.
Mexico hoped that the settlers would help the economy grow.
One
of the reasons that Anglo-Americans came to Texas was the high price of
land in the United States. Anglo-Americans wanted to come to Texas because
of the inexpensive lands being offered for sale by the Mexican government.
In Texas a head of a family could claim 4,605 acres at a cost of about
4 cents an acre to be paid within six years' time. Undeveloped land in
the United States was going for $1.25 an acre for a minimum of 80 acres.
Throughout
the 1820s most people thought the United States would buy eastern Texas
from Mexico. Many thought this area of Texas had been part of the Louisiana
Purchase and that the United States had given it away to Spain in exchange
for Florida in the 1819 Adams-Onís Treaty, which established the
Sabine River boundary separating Mexican Texas from the United States.
 Thus,
early Anglo-American arrivals in Texas expected annexation to the
United States, which would allow for large amounts of land to be given
to the new settlers.
Mexico
and the United States had no type of agreement giving creditors
permission to collect money owed or to return fugitives from justice
seeking refuge in Mexico. Mexican Texas was a safe place for those needing
somewhere to start their lives over again.
In
1820 a Missouri businessman named Moses Austin traveled to the Texas settlement
of San Antonio. His mission was to talk to Spanish officials about a
land grant to start a colony in Texas.
Austin
met with the Spanish governor of San Antonio, Antonio María Martínez.
Governor Martínez gave his approval to Austin’s plan, to be later
reviewed by his superiors, to bring 300 families to Texas. Austin returned
to Missouri to wait for the officials’ answer. In May 1821 Austin’s
plan was approved by Mexican officials, but by this time Moses Austin
was very ill at his home in Missouri. On June 10, 1821, he died at
his daughter’s home, leaving his settlement plans for Texas with his
son, Stephen F. Austin.
After Moses Austin died, his son, Stephen F. Austin, traveled to San
Antonio in the summer of 1821 to talk to Governor Martínez.
The governor agreed to let him take over his father’s land grant and
gave permission to explore the lower Colorado River area for a site
for the colony. After much searching he found the perfect place. Austin
chose an area bordering the Brazos and Colorado Rivers. The soil in
this area was rich and perfect for farming, and water from the rivers
could be used to irrigate crops.
Stephen F. Austin was very particular about the people that he chose
to settle in his colony. He wanted to make sure that they were hard
workers and that they would be loyal to the new Mexican government.
In 1821 settlers from the United States began to arrive in Austin’s
colony. Austin helped the new colonists choose land. Most of these
early colonists were small farmers who owned very little more than a
few cows or horses. They were eager to own their own land and build
family farms.
In
the spring of 1822, Austin went to San Antonio to report to Governor
Martínez. Much to Austin’s disappointment, he was told that
Mexico was independent from Spain. Mexican officials in San Antonio
did not approve Austin’s land grant.  Austin
knew that the only hope of saving his colony’s grant was to go to Mexico
City and talk to the Mexican government.
In
April 1823 Austin received a contract from the Mexican government approving
his land grant.
The new law passed by the Mexican government was called the Imperial
Colonization Law,
and it increased the amount of land for settlers. It also provided
Austin with 100,000 acres of land for himself, since he was the empresario,
or person who started the colony. The colonists living in Austin’s colony
were known as the Old Three Hundred. Most of these colonists were
from the southern United States.
In
1824 Mexico passed another law for its colonies. The new law combined
Texas with a nearby state called Coahuila (koh uh weé luh)into
one state, Coahuila y Tejas. The new state was allowed to create some
of its own laws. One new law passed by the state government opened Texas
to all immigrants.
Another law granted land to other empresarios. Each empresario received
23,000 acres, which is about 36 square miles of land, for every 100 families
brought into Texas.
Next
to Austin, the most successful empresario was Green DeWitt.  His
colony was located west of Austin’s original land grant. In 1825 DeWitt
received permission to bring 400 families to Texas. These colonists founded
the town of Gonzales.
Another
important empresario was Martin De León. De
León brought almost 200 families from Mexico to Texas and settled
near the Guadalupe River. These colonists founded the town of Victoria,
named for the first president of Mexico.
Most
of the slaves in Texas were brought from the United States. The Mexican
government had outlawed slavery in Mexico but allowed Anglo- Americans
to bring their slaves with them to Texas and buy and sell them there.
 Slaves
were sometimes listed as indentured servants to avoid legal conflict
with the government. Texas colonists said they needed slaves to help
farm their land and do other work. The issue of slavery would cause
problems for Texas in the years ahead.
The
creation of the Coahuila y Tejas state was liked by the Anglo- American
colonists in Texas because of its inclusion in the 1824 Mexican Constitution.
However, when Santa Anna abolished the existing Mexican constitution
in his rise to absolute power, he sowed seeds of revolution against
the legitimate Mexican government not only with Anglo-American settlers
but Tejanos as well. Many Anglo- Americans fought in the Texas
Revolution (1835-1836) against Santa Anna’s government to establish
Texas as an independent nation separate from Mexico.
Anglos
were the numerical majority in Texas by 1836. During the Texas Revolution
and the Mexican War which followed, 1846-1848, many Mexican families
left or were driven south to Mexico. There were small Tejano
communities in Texas, but not until the Mexican Revolution (1910-1922)
did Mexicans return to Texas in large numbers.
 Since
1836 Anglo-Americans have been the majority group, and the culture that
they brought with them became the most important in Texas. This culture
brought the English language, the major economic patterns, social customs,
forms of settlement and land use, and most of the laws and political organization.
The
word “Texas” brings to mind images brought or directly influenced by Anglo-Americans
such as the cattle industry, cotton, corn, and oil production. Cattle,
oil derricks, and cotton bolls are all symbols of Texas and continue to
be positive economic forces in the state. Anglo-Americans became the
icons of what the world thought of as Texans whether correct or
not. The truth lies somewhere in between.
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