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CONVENTION OF 1832. The Convention of 1832, held at San Felipe de Austin, followed the Anahuac Disturbances,qv the battle of Velasco,qv and the Turtle Bayou Resolutions,qv in which many Texans pledged their support to then-liberal Antonio López de Santa Anna.qv Fifty-five delegates, none of whom were Tejano,qv represented sixteen districts and met from October 1 through October 6, 1832. The largely Tejano-populated San Fernando de Béxar (San Antonio) and Victoria did not send a delegation. Delegates from La Bahía (Goliad), who arrived after the meeting had adjourned, approved what had been done. Stephen F. Austinqv was elected president of the convention and Francis W. Johnsonqv secretary. The convention adopted a series of resolutions requesting the extension of tariff exemption to Texas for three years; modification of the Law of April 6, 1830,qv to permit more general immigration from the United States; the appointment of a commissioner to issue land titles in East Texas; donation of government lands for the maintenance of primary schools to be conducted in Spanish and English; and a request of the ayuntamientoqv of Nacogdoches to prevent white encroachment on lands guaranteed to Indians in East Texas. The convention also established a plan for organizing a militia and committees of vigilance, safety, and correspondence, which could disseminate news quickly in case of an emergency. In its most controversial decision the convention adopted a motion to request separate statehood from Coahuila. After some debate, it carried. William H. Whartonqv was selected to present the resolutions to the Mexican Congress and state legislature of Coahuila and Texas.qv Rafael Mancholaqv of the Goliad delegation was to accompany him. For several reasons the resolutions were never presented. Refusal of San Antonio to cooperate with the convention made it appear that only the colonists who had come from the United States were dissatisfied. The political chief of the province, Ramón Músquiz,qv ruled that the meeting was unauthorized and therefore illegal; Austin apparently thought that the petition for statehood was premature; and Santa Anna had not yet taken over the national government from Anastasio Bustamante.qv BIBLIOGRAPHY: Eugene C. Barker, The Life of Stephen F. Austin (Nashville: Cokesbury Press, 1925; rpt., Austin: Texas State Historical Association, 1949; New York: AMS Press, 1970). Hans Peter Nielsen Gammel, comp., Laws of Texas, 1822-1897 (10 vols., Austin: Gammel, 1898).
Ralph W. Steen
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