"To the people of Texas and all Americans in the World: I shall never surrender or retreat ... I Am determined to sustain myself as long as possible and die like a soldier who never forgets what it is due to his honor and that of his country-VICTORY OR DEATH." This was a letter sent by William Barret Travis during the siege of the Alamo on February 24, 1836. It was a cry for help to anybody and everybody willing to listen. It all started in 1830 with Stephen Austin, a leader of American pioneers in the wild, living in Texas, under the rule of the Mexican government, who had solved two major problems that the settlers had with the government. The colonist were now allowed to keep slaves in Texas, even though no other areas under Mexican rule owned slaves and the second was the government made sure that Texans would be protected by the Mexican government from suits to collect debts that they had contracted in the United States before their immigration to Texas. All over the South were signs on bankrupt homes homes saying "Gone to Texas" were they did not have to pay off their debts (Downey 42). Austin and his followers were very hot tempered and ready to start up with any government that they disliked. They soon found a chance to stir up trouble under the changeable Mexican rule. Mexican authorities began to worry that too many Americans were coming into their country. About thirty thousand settlers came to Texas in a ten year span after Austin had established his settlement. The Mexican government under the urging of President Bustamante made harsh laws against arrival of new immigrants into Texas in 1830. Trade was also restricted with America. All borders were closed to newcomers but the Louisiana border could not be patrolled and settlers continued to arrive in Texas. American settlers were put into jail for the ruckus they caused due to these new laws, among them was Stephen Austin. On July 1833 Austin traveled to Mexico City to p...
