What was stephen f austin known for

Nacogdoches County, TX. Galveston County, TX. Harris County, TX. Goliad County, TX. Natchitoches Parish, LA. Matagorda County, TX. Pulaski County, AR. Jefferson County, KY. Fayette County, KY. Wythe County, VA. Davidson County, TN. New Haven County, CT. Allegheny County, PA. Gonzales County, TX. Travis County, TX.

Bastrop County, TX. Chambers County, TX. Duval County, TX. Suffolk County, MA. Washington County, TX. Charleston County, SC. Randolph County, IL. Baltimore County, MD. Hamilton County, OH. Hempstead County, AR.

Jefferson County, OH. Liberty County, TX. Salem County, NJ. Lafayette County, AR. Logan County, KY. Victoria County, TX. Mobile County, AL. Adams County, MS. Mercer County, NJ. Rapides Parish, LA. Burleson County, TX.

Cameron County, TX. Colbert County, AL. Colorado County, TX. Dauphin County, PA. Guadalupe County, TX. Cape Girardeau County, MO. Essex County, NJ. Mason County, KY. Ohio County, WV. Refugio County, TX. San Patricio County, TX. Webb County, TX. Zavala County, TX. Albany County, NY. Baldwin County, GA. Bibb County, GA. Blount County, TN.

Chatham County, GA. Christian County, KY. Claiborne County, MS. Dallas County, AL. Daviess County, KY. Fayette County, TX. Fort Bend County, TX. Gulf County, FL. Hinds County, MS. Jackson County, TX. Jessamine County, KY. Kanawha County, WV. Knox County, OH. Lawrence County, MS. At this time Moses Austin was on his way to San Antonio to apply for a grant of land and permission to settle families in Texas. Though not enthusiastic about the Texas venture, Austin decided to cooperate with his father.

He arranged to obtain a loan from his friend Hawkins to float the enterprise and was at Natchitoches expecting to accompany his father to San Antonio when he learned of Moses Austin's death. He proceeded to San Antonio, where he arrived in August Austin returned to New Orleans, published these terms, and invited colonists, saying that settlements would be located on the Brazos and Colorado rivers.

The long depression, followed by the panic of and changes in the land system of the United States, made settlers eager to take advantage of the offer, and the first colonists began to arrive in Texas by land and sea in December It offered heads of families a league and a labor of land 4, acres and other inducements and provided for the employment of agents, called empresarios, to promote immigration.

For his services, an empresario was to receive some 67, acres of land for each families he introduced. The law was annulled when Iturbide abdicated, but in April Austin induced congress to grant him a contract to introduce families in accordance with its terms. In August a new congress passed an immigration law that vested the administration of public land in the states, with certain restrictions, and authorized them to make laws for settlement.

In March the legislature of Coahuila and Texas passed a law conforming in general to the previous act approved by Iturbide. It continued the empresario system contemplated by that law and offered to each married man a league of land 4, acres , for which he was obligated to pay the state thirty dollars within six years. In the meantime, Austin had substantially fulfilled his contract to settle the first families. Under this state law, he obtained three contracts in , , and to settle a total of additional families in the area of his first colony, besides a contract in partnership with his secretary, Samuel M.

Williams , for the settlement of families in western Texas. Unfortunately, this partnership contract led to a disagreeable controversy with Sterling C. Austin had complete civil and military authority over his colonists until , subject to rather nominal supervision by the officials at San Antonio and Monterrey.

He wisely allowed them to elect militia officers and local alcaldes, corresponding to justices of the peace in the United States; and, to assure uniformity of court procedure, he drew up forms and a simple civil and criminal code.

As lieutenant colonel of militia, he planned and sometimes led campaigns against American Indians. When population increased and appeals from decisions of individual alcaldes promised to become a burden, Austin instituted an appellate court composed of all the alcaldes—ultimately seven in number. The Constitution of Coahuila and Texas went into effect in November , and Austin seized the opportunity to relieve himself of responsibility for the details of local government by hastening the organization of the ayuntamiento , over which by virtue of experience he continued to exercise strong influence in relations with the superior government of the state.

Aside from the primary business of inducing immigrants to come to his colonies, Austin's most absorbing labor was devoted to the establishment and maintenance of the land system. This involved surveying and allocating land to applicants, with care to avoid overlapping and to keep conflicts at a minimum.

The Mexican practice of issuing titles on loose sheets without a permanent record invited confusion, and Austin asked and obtained permission to record titles in a bound volume having the validity of the original.

Both copies and originals had to be attested by the land commissioner, who represented the government, but Austin and his secretary had to prepare them. The labor of directing surveyors, checking their field notes, allocating grants, preparing titles and records, entertaining prospective colonists, corresponding with state and federal officials, punishing hostile American Indians, and finding food and presents for friendly visitors to keep them from marauding was heavy and expensive.

To meet current costs, Austin's only resource was to assess fees against the colonists. Ignoring the facts that the empresario could not claim the grant until he had settled at least families and that he could hardly sell land when every married man could obtain 4, acres free, the settlers appealed to the political chief at San Antonio for an opinion, and he ruled that Austin could not collect.

A rather veiled provision of the state law of allowed empresarios to reimburse themselves for costs and services, and under this law Austin required colonists to pay, or promise to pay, first sixty dollars and later fifty dollars a league. Nearly all such collections as he was able to make were consumed in necessary public expenses, which fell upon him because nobody else would pay them.

This statement applies, in fact, to all his colonizing experience. Though his personal circumstances became somewhat easier with the growth of the colonies, he wrote shortly before his death that his wealth was prospective, consisting of the uncertain value of land acquired as compensation for his services as empresario. Besides bringing the colonists to Texas, Austin strove to produce and maintain conditions conducive to their prosperous development. This aim coincided, in general, with that of the government.

For example, by an act of September , the federal government relieved the colonists of the payment of tariff duties for seven years; and the state legislature was nearly always reasonably cooperative. Mexican sentiment sometimes clashed, however, with practical needs of the colonists, and Austin had to evolve or accept a compromise.

The status of slavery was always a difficult problem, and Austin's attitude from time to time seems inconsistent. With almost no free labor to be hired and expecting most of the colonists to come from the slave states, Austin prevailed on the junta instituyente to legalize slavery in the imperial colonization law, under which the first colony was established. Contrary to his strenuous efforts, the Constitution of Coahuila and Texas prohibited further introduction of slaves by immigration, but the legislature passed a law at his suggestion that evaded the intent of the constitution by legalizing labor contracts with nominally emancipated slaves.

He appeared to concur, however, when congress prohibited immigration in , and tried to convince the colonists that the long-time interest of Texas would be served by the prohibition. He vividly pictured the potential evils of slavery and was apparently sincere, but he failed to reconcile the colonists to the law and after declared consistently that Texas must be a slave state.

Whatever his private convictions may have been, it is evident that they yielded to what may have seemed to be the current need of Texas. It is inferable, moreover, that his acceptance of federal and state regulations against the extension of slavery contemplated continuation of the evasive state labor law.

Another subject in which the interests of the colonists were deeply involved was their protection from efforts of creditors to collect debts incurred by debtors before they moved to Texas.

In view of conditions in the United States during the s, it was inevitable that many should have left debts and unpaid judgments behind them. Working through the local ayuntamiento, the political chief at San Antonio, and representatives in the congress, or legislature, Austin secured a state law that closed the courts for twelve years to plaintiffs seeking collection of such debts and permanently exempted land, tools, and implements of industry from execution if a suit was finally won.

The law provided further that unsuccessful defendants could not be required to pay produce or money in a way to "affect their attention to their families, to their husbandry, or art they profess. Austin went to the Mexican capital, Mexico City, to negotiate a settlement. He was successful, and the settlement continued. Also during this time, Austin spent long hours creating a detailed map of Texas, showing settlements, roads, and settlement boundaries.

His map served as a template for later cartographers and served to accelerate desire in Americans to see this new land of opportunity. More settlers from American came to Texas. An Mexican law forbidding further American immigration into Texas stirred resentment in those living in Austin's settlement even though Austin had negotiated an exception for his people. Santa Anna agreed to repeal the anti-immigration law but did not agree to grant Texas independence.

Further, Santa Anna had Austin imprisoned, on suspicion of inciting a revolt. Santa Anna released Austin in July