1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:05,800 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio, 2 00:00:06,000 --> 00:00:10,160 Speaker 1: Hello and Welcome to This Day in History Class, a 3 00:00:10,240 --> 00:00:14,400 Speaker 1: show that uncovers a little bit more about history every day. 4 00:00:15,280 --> 00:00:18,600 Speaker 1: I'm Gay Bluesier, and in this episode, we're talking about 5 00:00:18,640 --> 00:00:22,840 Speaker 1: Mexico's decisive victory at the Alamo and how the Texans 6 00:00:22,920 --> 00:00:26,800 Speaker 1: doomed defense of it became an enduring symbol of resistance 7 00:00:27,000 --> 00:00:36,840 Speaker 1: and revolution. The day was March sixth, eighteen thirty six. 8 00:00:37,800 --> 00:00:41,080 Speaker 1: The Mexican army defeated a group of Texas rebels at 9 00:00:41,080 --> 00:00:45,040 Speaker 1: the Battle of the Alamo. The early morning assault marked 10 00:00:45,040 --> 00:00:48,519 Speaker 1: the end of a thirteen day siege led by Mexican 11 00:00:48,600 --> 00:00:53,320 Speaker 1: general Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna. His forces had been 12 00:00:53,360 --> 00:00:56,400 Speaker 1: kept at bay by the nearly two hundred Texas soldiers 13 00:00:56,440 --> 00:01:00,000 Speaker 1: who occupied the Alamo, but on March sixth, they finally 14 00:01:00,200 --> 00:01:03,520 Speaker 1: managed to break through the fort's defenses and overwhelm the 15 00:01:03,600 --> 00:01:08,720 Speaker 1: exhausted men inside. The actual fighting lasted a mere ninety minutes, 16 00:01:09,000 --> 00:01:11,480 Speaker 1: and by the time the smoke cleared, all of the 17 00:01:11,520 --> 00:01:17,880 Speaker 1: Alamo's defenders, including famous frontiersmen Davy Crockett, were dead. Texans 18 00:01:17,920 --> 00:01:21,920 Speaker 1: began fighting for independence from Mexico in eighteen thirty five. 19 00:01:22,720 --> 00:01:26,039 Speaker 1: At the time, the Mexican state was largely inhabited by 20 00:01:26,080 --> 00:01:29,480 Speaker 1: white settlers who had immigrated from the eastern US to 21 00:01:29,520 --> 00:01:34,200 Speaker 1: stake acclaim in Texas's wide open spaces. The Mexican government 22 00:01:34,400 --> 00:01:38,360 Speaker 1: encouraged this immigration at first because the region was vulnerable 23 00:01:38,400 --> 00:01:41,800 Speaker 1: to attacks by Native Americans and there weren't enough Mexican 24 00:01:41,840 --> 00:01:45,880 Speaker 1: citizens living in Texas to successfully fend them off. That's 25 00:01:45,920 --> 00:01:49,160 Speaker 1: because Mexico was fresh off its own hard fought war 26 00:01:49,240 --> 00:01:52,560 Speaker 1: for independence from Spain, and it didn't have the resources 27 00:01:52,600 --> 00:01:56,600 Speaker 1: on hand to govern and defend its northernmost state without 28 00:01:56,600 --> 00:02:01,360 Speaker 1: some outside assistance. The Mexican Constitution of eighteen twenty four 29 00:02:01,640 --> 00:02:04,960 Speaker 1: had been written with this arrangement in mind, stipulating that 30 00:02:05,000 --> 00:02:08,040 Speaker 1: the residents of Texas wouldn't have to pay taxes or 31 00:02:08,120 --> 00:02:11,279 Speaker 1: tariffs and that they largely be left to govern themselves. 32 00:02:11,919 --> 00:02:15,840 Speaker 1: Those incentives drew tens of thousands of settlers to Texas, 33 00:02:15,880 --> 00:02:18,840 Speaker 1: and not just white immigrants from the US, but those 34 00:02:18,880 --> 00:02:22,800 Speaker 1: from other European countries as well as many Latino Texans 35 00:02:23,040 --> 00:02:27,320 Speaker 1: also known as Teanos. For the most part, the Texas 36 00:02:27,360 --> 00:02:31,399 Speaker 1: transplants got along well with the Mexican government, and interactions 37 00:02:31,440 --> 00:02:34,959 Speaker 1: were kept to a minimum. The largest disputes were over 38 00:02:35,040 --> 00:02:39,760 Speaker 1: the texans dependence on slave labor. Slavery was against Mexican 39 00:02:39,840 --> 00:02:43,000 Speaker 1: law in Texas, but the settlers claimed it was necessary 40 00:02:43,000 --> 00:02:45,720 Speaker 1: to their economic survival and that they wouldn't be able 41 00:02:45,760 --> 00:02:49,040 Speaker 1: to remain so far west without the use of enslaved 42 00:02:49,120 --> 00:02:53,280 Speaker 1: black workers. The growing tensions finally came to a head 43 00:02:53,320 --> 00:02:57,120 Speaker 1: in eighteen thirty four, when the newly re elected Mexican President, 44 00:02:57,240 --> 00:03:01,520 Speaker 1: Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, reject did the Constitution and 45 00:03:01,600 --> 00:03:07,320 Speaker 1: dissolved Congress, effectively a dictator. Santa Anna began demanding higher 46 00:03:07,400 --> 00:03:11,440 Speaker 1: taxes and seizing the people's guns to prevent uprisings. He 47 00:03:11,560 --> 00:03:15,360 Speaker 1: also started cracking down on the Texans, insisting that since 48 00:03:15,360 --> 00:03:18,240 Speaker 1: the Constitution was null and void, they would now be 49 00:03:18,280 --> 00:03:22,520 Speaker 1: required to pay taxes except Mexican oversight, and free their 50 00:03:22,639 --> 00:03:26,880 Speaker 1: enslaved workforce. When the Texans refused in eighteen thirty five, 51 00:03:27,240 --> 00:03:32,160 Speaker 1: war broke out and the Texas Revolution began. Texas wasn't 52 00:03:32,200 --> 00:03:35,880 Speaker 1: the only Mexican state to rebel against Santa Anna's regime, 53 00:03:36,240 --> 00:03:39,600 Speaker 1: but its revolt was the most effective and long lasting. 54 00:03:40,240 --> 00:03:43,600 Speaker 1: By December of eighteen thirty five, the small Texas army 55 00:03:43,640 --> 00:03:47,240 Speaker 1: had captured the vital crossroads town of San Antonio in 56 00:03:47,320 --> 00:03:51,480 Speaker 1: central Texas and seized the military garrison known as the Alamo. 57 00:03:52,160 --> 00:03:55,880 Speaker 1: Originally built as a Spanish mission, the compound was converted 58 00:03:55,880 --> 00:03:59,040 Speaker 1: into a makeshift fort by Spain and had been occupied 59 00:03:59,080 --> 00:04:02,800 Speaker 1: by Mexican soldiers until the Texans drove them out. A 60 00:04:02,800 --> 00:04:06,200 Speaker 1: small contingent of the rebel Texas forces remained at the 61 00:04:06,240 --> 00:04:09,400 Speaker 1: Alamo for the next several months, but in mid February 62 00:04:09,640 --> 00:04:13,240 Speaker 1: they learned that General Santa Anna himself was marching toward 63 00:04:13,280 --> 00:04:16,160 Speaker 1: the Alamo with an army of more than a thousand men. 64 00:04:17,080 --> 00:04:20,200 Speaker 1: The Texans knew they stood little chance of holding the fort. 65 00:04:20,640 --> 00:04:24,400 Speaker 1: They were severely outnumbered, and most of their soldiers were volunteers, 66 00:04:24,680 --> 00:04:27,960 Speaker 1: local doctors and farmers, as well as a few sympathetic 67 00:04:27,960 --> 00:04:33,080 Speaker 1: outsiders such as Tennessee frontiersmen and Congressmen Davy Crockett. But 68 00:04:33,160 --> 00:04:37,159 Speaker 1: despite their long odds, Alamo co commanders James Bowie and 69 00:04:37,279 --> 00:04:41,440 Speaker 1: William Travis refused to abandon their position. They would stand 70 00:04:41,480 --> 00:04:44,159 Speaker 1: with the Alamo, and when the time came, they would 71 00:04:44,160 --> 00:04:48,240 Speaker 1: fall with it as well. Santa Anna's forces arrived on 72 00:04:48,279 --> 00:04:52,120 Speaker 1: February twenty third, and began setting up artillery all around 73 00:04:52,160 --> 00:04:55,680 Speaker 1: the old Spanish mission. For the next two weeks, the 74 00:04:55,720 --> 00:05:00,120 Speaker 1: opposing armies exchanged gunfire intermittently, resulting in just a a 75 00:05:00,120 --> 00:05:04,680 Speaker 1: handful of casualties on either side. Finally, on the thirteenth 76 00:05:04,800 --> 00:05:08,200 Speaker 1: day of the siege, Santa Anna decided he'd had enough 77 00:05:08,520 --> 00:05:11,719 Speaker 1: and ordered an all out assault on the fort. His 78 00:05:11,839 --> 00:05:15,480 Speaker 1: troops breached the north wall just before dawn on March sixth, 79 00:05:15,640 --> 00:05:19,320 Speaker 1: flooding into the compound and catching the sleeping Texans off guard. 80 00:05:20,000 --> 00:05:23,000 Speaker 1: The ensuing battle lasted an hour and a half, with 81 00:05:23,080 --> 00:05:26,000 Speaker 1: some soldiers resorting to hand to hand combat because of 82 00:05:26,040 --> 00:05:29,960 Speaker 1: the close range. The majority of the Alamo's defenders went 83 00:05:30,000 --> 00:05:33,760 Speaker 1: down fighting, but several reportedly tried to flee, only to 84 00:05:33,800 --> 00:05:37,359 Speaker 1: be gunned down before they could get away. Others, including 85 00:05:37,440 --> 00:05:40,440 Speaker 1: Davy Crockett, were said to have surrendered, hoping to be 86 00:05:40,520 --> 00:05:44,520 Speaker 1: taken prisoner along with the wounded. However, once the fighting 87 00:05:44,640 --> 00:05:48,520 Speaker 1: was over, Santa Anna ordered that all surviving Texans be 88 00:05:48,640 --> 00:05:53,280 Speaker 1: executed and their bodies burned. The exact number of Texan 89 00:05:53,320 --> 00:05:57,520 Speaker 1: defenders inside the Alamo is still debated by historians, but 90 00:05:57,560 --> 00:06:00,520 Speaker 1: the official list of those present numbered one one hundred 91 00:06:00,560 --> 00:06:04,760 Speaker 1: and eighty nine, all of whom were killed. The Mexican 92 00:06:04,880 --> 00:06:08,040 Speaker 1: army had suffered losses as well as many as six 93 00:06:08,120 --> 00:06:12,640 Speaker 1: hundred casualties by some estimates. The surviving soldiers marched east 94 00:06:12,720 --> 00:06:15,839 Speaker 1: to a fort at Goliad, where they easily overpowered the 95 00:06:15,880 --> 00:06:21,320 Speaker 1: retreating Texan forces of Colonel James Fannin. Meanwhile, the commander 96 00:06:21,360 --> 00:06:25,080 Speaker 1: of the Texas Army, Sam Houston, was busy recruiting and 97 00:06:25,160 --> 00:06:29,800 Speaker 1: training additional forces in Harris County. News of Mexico's recent 98 00:06:29,880 --> 00:06:34,400 Speaker 1: victories strengthened the Texans resolve to avenge their fallen comrades, 99 00:06:34,839 --> 00:06:38,160 Speaker 1: especially the reports of Santa Anna's cruelty at the Alamo 100 00:06:38,560 --> 00:06:42,120 Speaker 1: his refusal to take prisoners or to provide Christian burials. 101 00:06:42,760 --> 00:06:46,400 Speaker 1: The phrase remember the Alamo became a rallying cry for 102 00:06:46,480 --> 00:06:49,080 Speaker 1: Houston and his men, and it proved to be quite 103 00:06:49,080 --> 00:06:53,200 Speaker 1: an effective one. On April twenty first, eighteen thirty six, 104 00:06:53,480 --> 00:06:56,599 Speaker 1: Houston led eight hundred troops in a surprise attack on 105 00:06:56,720 --> 00:07:00,440 Speaker 1: Santa Anna's forces at the Battle of San Jacento. The 106 00:07:00,480 --> 00:07:03,719 Speaker 1: Texans earned a quick and decisive victory, with a cry 107 00:07:03,760 --> 00:07:06,560 Speaker 1: of Remember the Alamo reported to be heard on the 108 00:07:06,560 --> 00:07:10,920 Speaker 1: battlefield The following day, Santa Anna was forced to sign 109 00:07:10,960 --> 00:07:15,960 Speaker 1: a treaty granting Texas independence from Mexico. The revolution was over, 110 00:07:16,240 --> 00:07:20,640 Speaker 1: and Texas would remain an independent republic until eighteen forty five, 111 00:07:20,880 --> 00:07:25,840 Speaker 1: when the legislature voted for its annexation to the United States. Today, 112 00:07:26,160 --> 00:07:28,440 Speaker 1: the Defense of the Alamo is one of the most 113 00:07:28,480 --> 00:07:32,040 Speaker 1: well known events in Texas history. It's also one of 114 00:07:32,040 --> 00:07:36,640 Speaker 1: the most mythologized, thanks to countless inaccurate portrayals in movies 115 00:07:36,720 --> 00:07:40,760 Speaker 1: and television, such as nineteen sixties The Alamo starring John 116 00:07:40,800 --> 00:07:45,600 Speaker 1: Wayne as Davy Crockett. Those productions tend to whitewash the event, 117 00:07:46,040 --> 00:07:49,280 Speaker 1: down playing or flat out ignoring the many Mexicans and 118 00:07:49,360 --> 00:07:52,720 Speaker 1: Teanos who sided with the white settlers during the revolution. 119 00:07:53,520 --> 00:07:56,720 Speaker 1: They also gloss over the fact that the continuation of 120 00:07:56,760 --> 00:07:59,640 Speaker 1: slavery was one of the major reasons the war was 121 00:07:59,680 --> 00:08:02,880 Speaker 1: fought in the first place. Instead of grappling with this 122 00:08:03,000 --> 00:08:07,000 Speaker 1: complicated context, most portrayals of the event, and many written 123 00:08:07,000 --> 00:08:09,720 Speaker 1: accounts of it, prefer to focus on the bravery of 124 00:08:09,760 --> 00:08:13,920 Speaker 1: the Texas defenders and their staunch opposition to Santa Anna's tyranny. 125 00:08:14,440 --> 00:08:17,200 Speaker 1: And to be sure, there is bravery and the decision 126 00:08:17,240 --> 00:08:19,760 Speaker 1: to stand and fight in the face of certain defeat, 127 00:08:20,200 --> 00:08:23,800 Speaker 1: and there is honor in fighting for freedom from dictatorial rule. 128 00:08:24,240 --> 00:08:28,120 Speaker 1: But viewing the event solely through a subjective, patriotic lens 129 00:08:28,520 --> 00:08:31,920 Speaker 1: does a disservice to the people actually involved in it. 130 00:08:31,920 --> 00:08:35,600 Speaker 1: It reduces them to shallow caricatures rather than full fledged 131 00:08:35,640 --> 00:08:40,360 Speaker 1: humans with our own complex and sometimes ugly motivations. So 132 00:08:40,440 --> 00:08:44,319 Speaker 1: if we are to remember the Alamo, let's remember its history, 133 00:08:44,720 --> 00:08:51,640 Speaker 1: warts and all, and not its myths. I'm Gabelusier and 134 00:08:51,720 --> 00:08:55,120 Speaker 1: hopefully you now know a little more about history today 135 00:08:55,440 --> 00:08:58,800 Speaker 1: than you did yesterday. You can learn even more about 136 00:08:58,880 --> 00:09:02,480 Speaker 1: history by following us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at 137 00:09:02,520 --> 00:09:07,359 Speaker 1: TDI HC Show, and if you have any comments or suggestions, 138 00:09:07,520 --> 00:09:09,840 Speaker 1: you can always send them my way by writing to 139 00:09:09,920 --> 00:09:14,520 Speaker 1: this day at iHeartMedia dot com. Thanks to Chandler Mays 140 00:09:14,559 --> 00:09:16,959 Speaker 1: for producing the show, and thanks to you for listening. 141 00:09:17,280 --> 00:09:20,280 Speaker 1: I'll see you back here again tomorrow for another day 142 00:09:20,559 --> 00:09:21,640 Speaker 1: in History class.