March 2 is Texas Independence Day
It’s the day a group of brave Texans met in miserable weather and conditions at Washington-on-the-Brazos in 1836 and formally cut ties to Mexico to establish the Republic of Texas.
Here’s a little inside information on what went on at that time and place.
The Texicans met to decide whether they were actually fighting for independence from Mexico or in support of the Mexican 
Constitution of 1824 which guaranteed Mexican citizens more freedoms than currently available in 1836 under the dictator Santa Anna. Remember, the Texans of those days were Mexican citizens and all were Catholic (some in name only), a requirement of Mexico to receive land. Most of the Texicans involved in the convention of 1836 meeting were recent arrivals in Texas. They were young men fresh from the United States who brought with them American ideas of freedom and government.
Others who had lived in Mexico for a while now were merely wanting a return to the basic principals offered by the Constitution of 1824. In fact, the 1824 flag is one of the most famous flags in Texas history. It is the flag that flew over the Alamo when it was so bravely defended in 1836.
The Texas declaration of Independence document was primarily written by George Childress, assisted by Collin McKinney, Edward 
Conrad, Bailey Hardeman and others. The president of the Convention of 1836 was Richard Ellis. The document was written in 24 hours and was so full of typographical errors, it had to be redone. Historians also speculate that George Childress had pre-written much of the Texas Declaration of Independence before he ever got to Washington-on-the-Brazos.
You will recall that back in those days, all documents were hand written and it was time consuming to re-do a document. There were 41 official delegates to the convention of 1836 and by all reports, the weather was abysmal, the small building the delegates met in was not well heated and there was only a flap of canvas on the window. It was muddy, wet, and cold.
As in any endeavor, there were a lot of suggestions and George Childress and the others who were there to do the work, did their writing and construction of the famous document while the other delegates retired to a saloon across the muddy street.
Just like a bunch of Texans, huh?
The document was approved on March 2, 1836 and was full of flowery language which stated the Mexican government under Santa Anna had failed to protect the lives, liberty, and property of the people. Ideas from John Locke and Thomas Jefferson are evident in the document as well as language recognized by members of the Masonic Lodge, many of whom were signers of the Declaration of Independence.
The March 2 document established the Texas Republic and was passed with no opposition. It was difficult to keep the delegates on task to finish the writing and approval of the document because word had reached the delegates that The Alamo was currently under siege and many delegates wanted to leave and ride to the relief of the Texas Shrine. However, mature individuals realized that the Republic must be established first and thus the Republic of Texas was established and declared in the most unlikely of places.
Here are the signers of the Texas Declaration of Independence. These brave men were signing their death warrants as the dictator Santa Anna had declared those in opposition to his government should be put to death. You might recognize many of the names. You might also note there were several hispanic surnames among those signing the document.
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Notice how many Texas counties are named after these signers.