Website
Texas State Library and Archives Commission

Texas State Library and Archives Commission: Fortune Favors the Brave: The Story of the Texas Navy

For Students 9th - 10th
Explore the Texas Navy, which "provides a unique insight into the early Republic, its politics and personalities and its fight for survival." This online exhibit is organized into various detailed sections including "The First Navy,"...
eBook
OpenStax

Open Stax: u.s. History: Independence for Texas

For Students 9th - 10th
From a chapter on America's expansion westward in a history textbook. This section looks at Texas's struggle for independence from Mexico, and the relations between Mexico and Texas prior to and after independence. Includes review...
Article
Henry J. Sage

Sage American History: Texas From American Settlement to Annexation 1820 1845

For Students 9th - 10th
Article in which the author takes us through the history of Texas from the time Americans arrived and settled in the area to annexation, and finally, war with Mexico over the territory. With photographs and links to related resources.
Primary
Texas State Library and Archives Commission

Texas State Library and Archives Commission: The Texas Navy: War With Mexico

For Students 9th - 10th
Read about Santa Anna's retaliation after the siege of Bexar, and the battles on sea and on land that followed. This site's strength is its collection of primary texts from this period in Texas' history: "Broadside calling for all men to...
Article
Texas State Historical Association

Texas State Historical Association: Mexican War of Independence

For Students 9th - 10th
Find out about the Mexican War of Independence, which was a series of revolts that grew out of the increasing political turmoil both in Spain and Mexico at the beginning of the nineteenth century.
Article
A&E Television

History.com: History Shorts: When an Undocumented Immigrant Became a War Hero

For Students 9th - 10th
Marcelino Serna came to the U.S. as a undocumented immigrant from Mexico, and within just a few years, became one of the country's bravest heroes. (Video 1:03) He joined the army at the beginning of WWI where he captured 24 German...
Article
Texas State Historical Association

Texas State Historical Association: World War I

For Students 9th - 10th
Learn about Texas' role in how the United States was shaped during the time of war, specifically World War I.
Article
Khan Academy

Khan Academy: Us History: 1844 1877: Annexing Texas

For Students 9th - 10th
Quickly following Texan independence, the United States admitted Texas into the republic as a slave state.
Handout
Other

Texas Historical Commission: Texas Time Travel: World War I

For Students 9th - 10th
This guide takes the reader back in time to experience and understand the impact of World War I on Texas and Texans in the early twentieth century.
Article
Texas State Historical Association

Texas State Historical Association: Battle of Medina

For Students 9th - 10th
A concise synopsis of the Battle of Medina, a part of the Mexican War of Independence against Spanish authority in Mexico.
Article
Texas State Historical Association

Texas State Historical Association: Gutierrez De Lara, Jose Bernardo Maximiliano

For Students 9th - 10th
Find out about Jose Gutierrez de Lara, Mexican revolutionary and diplomat. Read about how Gutierrez de Lara was obsessed with the idea of freeing Mexico from Spain.
Primary
Texas A&M University

Sons of De Witt Colony Texas: The Constitution of the Mexican United States

For Students 9th - 10th
A reprinting of the Constitution of the Mexican United States written in 1824 following the overthrow of the Mexican Empire of Agustin de Iturbide in the Mexican War of Independence.
Handout
Texas A&M University

Sons of De Witt Colony Texas: Gutierrez De Lara: In Nuevo Santander

For Students 9th - 10th
Jose Gutierrez de Lara, the first governor of Mexican Texas, was determined to free Mexico from Spain. Read about the early Texas settlement of Nuevo Santander, and how it was settled by Spanish American colonists.
Website
Other

Dmwv: The u.s. Mexican War: 1846 1848

For Students 9th - 10th
Dedicated to the memory of U.S. veterans who fought in the U.S.-Mexican War, this website provides documents, images, maps, and FAQs.
Article
Henry J. Sage

Sage American History: Expansion and War: The United States 1840 1860

For Students 9th - 10th
Article on the era of westward expansion and the resulting Mexican American War. The author demonstrates how Manifest Destiny and frontier settlement led to the annexation of Texas and ultimately war with Mexico over the territory.
Lesson Plan
The Newberry Library

Newberry: Political and Military History: Map 14: u.s. Mexican War, 1845

For Teachers K - 1st
Lessons for students in K-12 depicting North America prior to the United States and Mexico War, 1845. Students explore the mid-century political and cultural context in which the U.S. experienced growth and expansion.
Primary
Texas State Library and Archives Commission

Texas State Library and Archives Commission: Native American Relations in Texas: Sam Houston to Edmund P Gaines Aug 1836

For Students 9th - 10th
Read this letter by Sam Houston through which he "asks for American help in preventing uprising in Nacogdoches, 1836." This site includes images of the original letter, as well as line-by-line transcription of the handwritten text.
Activity
Curated OER

National Park Service: Fort Scott National Historic Site: The Mexican War

For Students 9th - 10th
This is a very brief overview of the Mexican War, organized into the following sections: "Zachary Taylor's Army," "The Army of the West," and "Invasion of Mexico City." Includes links to related articles and websites.
Website
Curated OER

National Park Service: Palo Alto Battlefield National Historical Park

For Students Pre-K - 1st
A significant battle in the U.S.-Mexico War, National Park Services has preserved the history of Palo Alto Battlefield in Brownsville, Texas.
Primary
Texas State Library and Archives Commission

Texas State Library and Archives Commission: The Texas Navy: Statement of Robert Moore, July 24, 1836

For Students 9th - 10th
Explore the Texas Revolution and the war with Mexico through primary texts. Here you can read the 1836 "Statement of Robert Moore"--a report from Moore, who was stationed near Fort Bend and who shared his experience when the enemy arrived.
Graphic
Curated OER

Educational Technology Clearinghouse: Maps Etc: War With Mexico, 1846 1848

For Students 9th - 10th
A map of Texas, New Mexico, and northern Mexico showing the principal campaigns and battle sites of the Mexican-American War of 1846-1848.
Primary
US National Archives

Our Documents: Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

For Students 9th - 10th
An interactive exploration of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which was signed in 1848 and ended the Mexican-American War. Puts the treaty in context, makes reference to U.S. territorial gains, and includes links to larger images, a...
Graphic
Curated OER

Educational Technology Clearinghouse: Maps Etc: Mexico and Texas, 1845 1848

For Students 9th - 10th
A map of Mexico and Texas from the annexation of the Republic of Texas by the United States (1845) to the end of the Mexican-American War (1848). The map is color-coded to show the territory of Texas in 1845, the territory of dispute...
Graphic
Curated OER

Educational Technology Clearinghouse: Maps Etc: War With Mexico, 1846 1848

For Students 9th - 10th
A map of Mexico and southern United States showing the campaigns and battle sites of the Mexican-American War (1846-1848). The map shows the territory acquired from Mexico after the war, and the routes of Taylor, Wool, Kearny, Doniphan,...