<P> Texas seceded from Mexico in 1836, spurred on primarily by American settlers in the former Mexican territory against the government of Santa Anna . </P> <P> After the final engagement at San Jacinto in 1836, there were two different visions of the future of Texas: one as a state of the United States and the other as an independent republic . Sam Houston promoted the first, as he felt that the newly independent country, lacking hard currency and still facing threats from Mexico, could not survive on its own . The other was promoted by second Texas president Mirabeau B. Lamar, who felt that it was Texas's destiny to be a nation that extended from the Louisiana border to the Pacific Ocean . For this reason, Lamar is considered the father of Texas nationalism . </P> <P> The Republic under Lamar incurred large - scale debt, and suffered from a poor economy and inadequate defenses, which led to the annexation of Texas into the United States in 1845 . Since then, the state's time as an independent nation has been the basis of a lasting sense of national identity . </P> <P> The history of Texas in the Civil War has distinctions from the rest of the South, in part because of its history of being independent previously . Much of Texas's dissatisfaction was not only tied to opposition to Lincoln and his view of states' rights (which they also viewed as a transgression of the annexation agreement), but also because they did not feel that Washington had lived up to promises of inclusion into the country as part of annexation . In 1861, Sam Houston still strongly supported remaining in the United States primarily for economic and military reasons . However, those promoting secession used not only elements from U.S. history such as the American Revolution and the Constitution, but also the Texas Revolution and elements from the history of the Republic of Texas . </P>

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