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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, March 2, 2026, marks the 233rd anniversary of the |
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birth of Texas icon Sam Houston; and |
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WHEREAS, Born in Virginia in 1793, Sam Houston was the son of |
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Samuel and Elizabeth Houston; his father died when he was 13, and |
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his mother resettled the family on a farm in Tennessee; in 1809, he |
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left home to live among the Cherokees; he enlisted in the U.S. Army |
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during the War of 1812 and quickly earned promotion to third |
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lieutenant; serving under General Andrew Jackson, he demonstrated |
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great valor and leadership in the Battle of Horseshoe Bend, despite |
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suffering three near-fatal wounds; and |
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WHEREAS, General Jackson became a mentor, spurring his |
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protégé's swift rise in the military and politics; elected to the |
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U.S. House of Representatives in 1823, Mr. Houston served two terms |
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before winning the governor's race in Tennessee; he resigned two |
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years later and went to live among the Cherokees in Oklahoma, where |
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he often acted as a tribal emissary and worked to keep peace among |
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tribes; perceiving Texas as a land of promise, he relocated in 1832 |
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and soon became involved in the Anglo-Texan independence movement; |
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he was a delegate from Refugio to the convention at |
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Washington-on-the-Brazos, where the Texas Declaration of |
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Independence was signed on March 2, 1836; appointed major general |
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of the new republic's army, he led his troops to victory over |
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Mexican General Santa Anna in the Battle of San Jacinto; and |
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WHEREAS, Hailed as a hero, Mr. Houston became the first |
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regularly elected president of the Republic of Texas and guided it |
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through many perils during two terms, separated by a stint |
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representing San Augustine in the Texas House; he facilitated the |
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Lone Star State's entry into the Union and then became a U.S. |
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senator, serving from 1846 to 1859; a staunch Unionist and powerful |
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orator, he strenuously opposed rising sectionalism; opposition |
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from proslavery factions caused his political fortunes to wane, but |
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after an unsuccessful run for governor in 1857, he triumphed in the |
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next gubernatorial election; as the clamor for secession rose, he |
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warned that civil war would result in the destruction of the South; |
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he refused to take the oath of loyalty to the newly formed |
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Confederate States of America, and the Texas Secession Convention |
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removed him from office; retiring from public life, he moved his |
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family to Huntsville in 1862; he died of pneumonia on July 26 of the |
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following year, at the age of 70; and |
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WHEREAS, Bold and resolute, Sam Houston was a towering figure |
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in the history of our state and nation, and his enormously |
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consequential accomplishments remain a source of inspiration |
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today; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 89th Texas |
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Legislature hereby commemorate the 233rd anniversary of the birth |
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of Sam Houston. |