Who is mirabeau b lamar

Grayson and Collinsworth both committed suicide before election day and Lamar defeated "Honest Bob" Wilson by a vote of 6, to He was inaugurated December 10, in front of the capitol in Houston where now stands the Rice Hotel. On account of his failing health, Congress on December 13, , passed a joint resolution granting him a leave of absence, which he spent at the home of Dr. Asa Hoxey at Independence.

Vice President David G. Burnet acted as president until his return to Austin March 5, President Lamar's widowed mother and his daughter came to Texas from Stewart County, Georgia, in Lamar had her will prepared on July 24, , but was too ill to sign it.

In her will, Mrs. Lamar left all of her property to the lawful issue of her daughter Mary Ann by her husband Joseph Moreland. It was specified, however, that the property was not to be distributed until after Mrs. Moreland's death. At the time of her demise, Mrs. Lamar possessed three slaves -- John, aged about 27, Amanda, aged about 18, and Alice, aged about 10 years.

Her sons, Mirabeau B. Lamar and Jefferson J. Lamar of Stewart County Georgia, were named as executors of her estate. At Austin his home stood where St. Mary's School is now located. Due to lack of educational facilities in Texas, Rebecca Ann Lamar was sent to the home of relatives in Macon, Georgia, where she was placed in school.

There on July 29, , she passed away. His organization was ordered disbanded at Camargo October 1, Governor James Pinckney Henderson on October 21st authorized him to raise a company of state troops to be stationed at Laredo. At this time he considered Galveston County as his home. Proof of this is found in a deed recorded in Book C, page of the Deed Records of Travis County from which the following was extracted: "Know all men by these presents that I, Mirabeau B.

Lamar of said Galveston County, but at present temporarily residing in the town of Laredo. Henderson of Houston by a vote of 34 to When his term in the Legislature had expired General Lamar left Texas for a visit to Georgia and did not return until Poet, politician, and historian, Mirabeau B.

Lamar is claimed by Texas, although he was a Georgia native and lived there for three decades. Lamar served in the Georgia state senate and made two unsuccessful bids for Congress.

In , he followed his friend James Fannin to the Mexican province of Texas, where he fought in the war for independence from Mexico. In , Lamar became the second President of the Republic of Texas, inheriting a nation beset by problems that included a bankrupt treasury. Undaunted, Lamar promoted his vision of Texas as a prosperous, sprawling empire.

Less admirably, his vision included the practice of slavery and excluded the presence of Native Americans. Lamar forced the Cherokees out of Texas and waged a costly war against the Comanche. Many of Lamar's grandest projects failed and he vastly overspent public funds, but he is celebrated for having persuaded Congress to set aside public lands to fund Texas schools and universities—earning him the title "Father of Texas Education.

The other candidates, Peter W. Grayson and James Collinsworth both committed suicide before election day, thus assuring Lamar's election by an almost unanimous vote.

At his inauguration on December 10, , Lamar declared the purposes of his administration to be promoting the wealth, talent, and enterprises of the country and laying the foundations of higher institutions for moral and mental culture. His term began with Texas in a precarious situation, however: only the United States had recognized her independence, she had no commercial treaties, Mexico was threatening re-conquest, the Indians were menacing, the treasury was empty, and currency was depreciated.

It was characteristic of Lamar to divert the thoughts of his constituents from the harassments of the moment toward laying the foundations of a great empire. Opposed to annexation , he thought Texas should remain a republic and ultimately expand to the Pacific Ocean. For Houston's conciliatory Indian policy, Lamar substituted one of sternness and force. Lamar sought peace with Mexico first through the good offices of the United States and Great Britain, then by efforts at direct negotiation.

He proposed a national bank, but instead of establishing the bank Congress authorized additional issues of paper money in the form of redbacks, which were greatly depreciated by the end of his administration.

At Lamar's suggestion, the new capital city of Austin was built on the Indian frontier beside the Colorado River and occupied in October Another step in his plans for a greater Texas was the Texan Santa Fe expedition , undertaken without congressional approval in the last months of his administration. If it had succeeded, as Lamar had reason to believe it would, this botched venture might have solved many of the problems of Texas; its failure was proof to his enemies that he was "visionary.

Although it was decades before the school system was established, Lamar's advocacy of the program earned for him the nickname "Father of Texas Education. As the national election of approached, Lamar's popularity was at its lowest ebb, and Texas was at the verge of bankruptcy. The blame cannot be assessed against the president exclusively, however, for most of his policies were implemented by acts of Congress, and economic and political conditions in the United States and abroad blocked measures that might have temporarily stabilized the Texas currency.

Forces that neither Lamar nor his enemies fully understood or controlled brought failure to his grandest projects. Smarting under criticism, he retired to his home near Richmond at the end of and busied himself with his plantation and with the collection of historical materials. The New Georgia Encyclopedia does not hold the copyright for this media resource and can neither grant nor deny permission to republish or reproduce the image online or in print.

All requests for permission to publish or reproduce the resource must be submitted to the rights holder. Originally published Feb 25, Last edited Aug 29, Article Feedback Why are you reaching out to us? Share this Article. Lamar Georgia native Mirabeau B. Facebook Twitter Email.

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