[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 173 (Tuesday, October 23, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1440]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            SAM HOUSTON: PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF TEXAS

                                 ______
                                 

                              HON. TED POE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, October 23, 2018

  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, my hometown of Houston, Texas, bears 
the name of Sam Houston, perhaps one of the most important figures in 
Texas history. Without his steady, stoic leadership, Texas would not be 
the great state that it is today. Indeed, it might have never even 
existed.
  Let me tell you more. In the summer of 1836, Texas had successfully 
won its independence from Mexico. Under the leadership of General Sam 
Houston, the Texan forces overran Santa Anna's army at the Battle of 
San Jacinto. Houston himself was wounded during the battle, having 
caught a musket ball in the leg. But he did not let the pain from his 
wound cloud his judgement.
  When by chance the Texans discovered the disgraced Mexican dictator 
Santa Anna disguised as a private, he was brought to Houston. Many in 
the Texas Army wanted Santa Anna executed, but Houston, knowing that he 
could negotiate favorable terms of surrender directly with el 
Presidente, refused to give the order. Rather, he brokered the treaty 
with the leader which gave Texas its independence from Mexico. Texas 
remained a sovereign Republic for nine years.
  With independence secured, the Texans turned to its government. David 
G. Burnet, who had been serving as the president of Texas since the 
March 2 declaration (what we celebrate today as Texas Independence 
Day), called for a general election.
  The new nation already faced debt problems and issues with army 
pensions. But with each new concern that surfaced, the choice to lead 
Texas became more obvious: the hero of San Jacinto.
  This was not Houston's first rodeo in government. He served in U.S. 
Congress representing Tennessee and then as governor of Tennessee. 
Public service brought him to Texas in 1832, where he was sent by 
President Andrew Jackson to negotiate treaties with Native Americans. 
On top of his previous experience, his courageous actions at San 
Jacinto made him the clear choice in the minds of most Texans to lead 
the country.
  On September 5, Houston won in a landslide election, earning 5,119 
votes out of a possible 6,640. So strong was the din from the Texas 
Congress for Houston to take office as soon as possible that President 
Burnet moved his inauguration date forward two months. When they first 
convened after the election, the Texas legislature's first vote was to 
swear Sam Houston into office that very same day. After taking the oath 
and delivering a brief, impromptu speech, Houston calmly unhooked his 
sword and handed it to the Speaker of the House, thus casting off an 
``emblem of his past office'' and following George Washington's example 
of the primacy of civilian rule. Not a man inside was unmoved by this 
small but significant act.
  Mr. Speaker, Sam Houston was a great Texan and a great American. He 
is an icon whose memory deserves our utmost respect and admiration. 
Today, we are all proud Houstonians.
  And that is just the way it is.

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