Compare the Lifestyle of the Natives in Texas - Essay Example

The Apache resided in the Great Plains. While the Caddo mainly occupied areas that had plenty of rainfall, the Apache mainly lived in dry areas. The Caddo lived in wooden houses that they built from trees found in nearby forests. The Apache, on the other hand, had no permanent homes and were nomadic. Finally, whereas the Caddo were reliant on farming for their food, the Apache relied heavily on hunting, especially buffalo and deer for their food (Bowen, 32).

Impresario, Spanish for entrepreneurs, were contractors who were empowered, by the Texan government, to recruit particular family numbers to their territory (Weaver, 18). Citizens from Mexico were mostly preferred as impresarios, although most of them were American citizens. These impresarios got land grants to settle the colonists that they had recruited. However, they had no ownership of the land. The impresario had the responsibility to survey land, as well as issue title deeds for the lands. Grants to the impresarios extended to the northwest into the Great Plains from the Texan Gulf Coast Plain and across Balcones escarpment. The impresario accepted to recruit at least 100 families in six years, as well as acting as immigration agents. They were not compensated or paid for their work upfront. However, after settling at least one hundred families on the grants given to them and fulfilling their contracts in the process, they got their land. For every batch of 100 families settled, they were given 22,140 acres of pastureland by the state and 885 acres of farmland (Weaver, 20). If they were able to settle at least 800 families, they could get compensation, which made them very wealthy.

One successful leader of the Mexican-American War was Commodore Matthew C. Perry who was in command of the US Mississippi and the Home Squadron second-in-command. He led expeditions against Laguna, Tabasco, and Frontera that were successful and operated against remnant Mexican, port cities, whereas attacking Tabasco and capturing Tuxpan. General Stephen Kearny was another successful leader who was in command of the Western Army, leading an occupation force against California and New Mexico (Raabe, 101). He achieved a bloodless conquest, in August 1846, of New Mexico. Finally, General Andres Pico led an attack on Stephen Kearny’s forces in san Pasqual and dealt Kearny a hard blow. While he was eventually forced back, he was briefly put in charge of Mexican Alta California when the US provisional government was established. One of the least successful leaders in the war was General Mariano Arista who lost numerous battles against General Zachary Taylor and left one of his armies in shambles, ending active field command. Governor Manuel Armijo also made a call to arms that brought untrained soldiers to Santa Fe, whom he sent home after general Kearny prevailed, on him, to give up, retreating to Chihuahua, and leaving General Kearny to take Santa Fe sans a battle (Raabe, 103). Finally, General Pedro de Ampudia failed to defend Saltillo after losing the support of the inhabitants and was removed by Santa Anna; this resulted in him becoming an administrator for, the rest of the war.

E.J. Davis was elected narrowly as governor against the Unionist Democrat Andrew Hamilton. His term was highly controversial as he was accused of institutionalizing political opponents, denying regular Republicans enfranchisement, and suppressing the print media (Maxwel, et al, 22). He was also the target of widespread condemnation by former slave-owners when the Texas State Police, including black officers, came, into the forces, to fight racial crimes. He also created the Reserve militia and the Texas State Guard that were Texas National Guard forerunners. His government was committed to African American Civil Rights. While very unpopular with former confederates, he was a hero of the Union Army and was respected by Latino residents in the Rio Grande.

The constitution of 1869 is also known as the case-law constitution and was mainly meant to provide basic structures of the government with all other decisions on the meaning being left to the interpretation of the judiciary (Contiades, 45). This constitution was vague, which allowed the government to respond effectively to emergent crises except for party influence. The constitution of 1876, on the other hand, was Napoleonic in nature and gave a rigid government structure with little room for maneuver. This constitution sought to close loopholes by detailing the government’s exact powers, which, in theory, was meant to preserve the people’s liberal ideals and prevent the government from meddling. The 1869 constitution also established one Supreme Court with lower courts that were charged with the interpretation of the constitution and state disputes. The 1876 constitution, on the other hand, set up two court systems the Supreme Court to handle civil disputes, as well as the juvenile criminal code, and the criminal appeals court (Contiades, 46).