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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, July 26, 2013, marks the 150th anniversary of the |
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death of Sam Houston, a towering figure in Texas history; and |
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WHEREAS, Born in Virginia on March 2, 1793, Houston emigrated |
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to eastern Tennessee with his family after the death of his father, |
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and as an adolescent, he left home to live for a time among the |
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Cherokees; he joined the United States Army at the age of 20 and |
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fought the British under Andrew Jackson's command in the Battle of |
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Horseshoe Bend, receiving three near-fatal wounds; and |
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WHEREAS, Houston subsequently studied law and opened a |
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practice in Lebanon, Tennessee; with General Jackson's |
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endorsement, he was named adjutant general of the state militia, |
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and he was later elected attorney general for the District of |
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Nashville in 1818; he went on to become major general of the state |
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militia and then served two terms in the United States House of |
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Representatives before becoming governor of Tennessee; and |
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WHEREAS, In the wake of a brief, disastrous marriage, Houston |
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resigned from office and went to live among the Cherokees in what is |
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now Oklahoma; he took an active role in Native American affairs, |
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working as a peacemaker among tribes and serving as a tribal |
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emissary; after moving to Mexican Texas in 1832, he practiced law |
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and became involved in the Anglo-Texan movement for independence; |
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he served as a delegate from Nacogdoches to the Consultation of |
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1835, which appointed him major general of the Texas army; and |
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WHEREAS, In February 1836, Houston helped negotiate a treaty |
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with the Cherokees as a commissioner for the provisional |
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government; the following month, he served as a delegate from |
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Refugio to the convention at Washington-on-the-Brazos, where the |
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assembly adopted the Texas Declaration of Independence and |
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appointed Houston commander in chief of the Texas army; Houston set |
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high standards for his troops, and he ultimately led them to victory |
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over the Mexican army at the Battle of San Jacinto on April 21, |
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1836; and |
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WHEREAS, Acclaimed as "Old Sam Jacinto," Houston became the |
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first regularly elected president of the Republic of Texas; the |
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town of Houston, which was named in his honor in 1836, served as |
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capital of the Republic for most of his first administration; |
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because the constitution barred him from succeeding himself, he |
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represented San Augustine in the Texas House from 1839 to 1841 |
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before returning to serve a second term as president; and |
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WHEREAS, When Texas joined the Union, Houston became one of |
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its two United States senators and served for 13 years in that |
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capacity; he was considered presidential material, but at home, his |
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staunch commitment to the Union became increasingly controversial; |
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although he was a slave owner himself, he drew the wrath of |
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proslavery elements by supporting the 1820 Missouri Compromise, the |
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1848 Oregon Bill, and the Compromise of 1850, all designed to limit |
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slavery north of latitude 36 degrees 30 minutes; in 1855, the Texas |
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Legislature officially condemned his opposition to the |
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Kansas-Nebraska Act, which repealed the Missouri Compromise, and |
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his future in the U.S. Senate was doomed; he met defeat in an 1857 |
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gubernatorial campaign but was returned to the Governor's Mansion |
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two years later; and |
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WHEREAS, Houston vehemently opposed the swelling secession |
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movement during his term as governor, warning that civil war would |
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lead to the destruction of the South; desperate to avoid bloodshed |
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within Texas, however, he ultimately acquiesced to the secessionist |
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tide, but he refused to take the oath of loyalty to the Confederate |
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States of America and was removed from office; two years later, at |
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the age of 70, he succumbed to pneumonia at his home in Huntsville; |
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and |
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WHEREAS, A proud Texan and a prominent, fiercely loyal |
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American, Sam Houston played a monumental role in founding the Lone |
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Star State and setting the course of its future, and his colorful |
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life and extraordinary record of public service have continued to |
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fascinate and inspire Texans to the present day; now, therefore, be |
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it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 83rd Texas |
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Legislature, 2nd Called Session, hereby commemorate the |
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sesquicentennial of the death of Sam Houston. |
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Branch |
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| Straus |
M. Gonzalez of El Paso |
Oliveira |
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| Allen |
N. Gonzalez of El Paso |
Orr |
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| Anderson |
Gutierrez |
Patrick |
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| Aycock |
Harper-Brown |
Perry |
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| Bell |
Hernandez Luna |
Phillips |
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| Bonnen of Brazoria |
Hilderbran |
Pitts |
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| Bonnen of Galveston |
Howard |
Price |
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| Capriglione |
Keffer |
Rodriguez of Bexar |
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| Carter |
King of Hemphill |
Rodriguez of Travis |
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| Clardy |
King of Parker |
Rose |
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| Coleman |
King of Taylor |
Sanford |
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| Collier |
King of Zavala |
Schaefer |
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| Cortez |
Klick |
Sheffield of Bell |
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| Craddick |
Kolkhorst |
Sheffield of Coryell |
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| Crownover |
Kuempel |
Simpson |
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| Davis of Dallas |
Lavender |
Springer |
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| J. Davis of Harris |
Leach |
Stephenson |
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| S. Davis of Harris |
Lewis |
Stickland |
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| Dutton |
Lucio III |
Thompson of Brazoria |
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| Eiland |
Marquez |
Thompson of Harris |
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| Fallon |
Martinez Fischer |
Turner of Collin |
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| Farias |
McClendon |
Turner of Harris |
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| Farney |
Menendez |
Turner of Tarrant |
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| Fletcher |
Miller of Comal |
Villarreal |
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| Flynn |
Miller of Fort Bend |
Vo |
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______________________________ |
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Speaker of the House |
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I certify that H.R. No. 150 was adopted by the House on July 30, |
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2013, by a non-record vote. |
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______________________________ |
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Chief Clerk of the House |
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