Michael Quinn Sullivan
Published: 03-02-09
Texas Independence Day that is. We should pause to consider not only the blessings of our great state but the dedication of those who declared our freedom on March 2 1836.
On March 1 1836 the Alamo was under siege. Texas constitutional delegates were gathered at Washington-on-Brazos. Working through the night they hurriedly drafted the Declaration of Independence. It was adopted the next morning.
The unanimous declaration began by noting the cause of independence: that the Mexican government had ceased to protect the lives liberty and property of the people."
They noted the grievances caused by a corrupt and tyrannical government" that had given rise to the hazardous but unavoidable" revolution noting they had reached the point at which forbearance ceases to be a virtue."
The revolution didnt get off to a good start; youd have been justified betting against it. Just four days after signing the Declaration on March 6 the Alamo fell. The Texans then suffered losses at Refugio and Goliad and other battles in the weeks that followed.
But less than two months later on April 21 the Texans engaged the Mexican army in a short fierce battle at San Jacinto in what is today Harris County outside Houston. More than a thousand Mexican soldiers were injured killed or captured while the Texans lost just nine men.
General Santa Ana was captured the following day and the war all but ended. Texas independence had been secured.
Overcoming insurmountable odds is part and parcel of what it means to be a Texan. Our forefathers charted a course for Texas by what they knew to be right and just not easy popular or expedient. They didnt wait for others to free them but took action when the times demanded it.
As ones who have inherited Texas bold history it is incumbent upon us to build upon it. The boldness and grander of our mighty states past cannot be denied. That we have been supremely blessed is self-evident.
If we are to withstand the tests of this new century our commitment to life liberty and property must be as unwavering on March 2 2009 as was that of Houston Rusk Childress Ruis Zavala and Navarro on March 2 1836.
God bless you Texas and keep you brave and strong."
