Law of April 6, 1830

Law of April 6, 1830 Chapter 9.1

Mier y Teran Report (1828) ▪ In 1828, the Mexican

government sent General Manuel Mier y Teran to investigate conditions in Texas.

▪ He spent almost 1 year

touring Texas & wrote a report of his findings.

Mier y Teran Report (1828)

Mier y Teran reported the following findings: ▪ Anglo American colonists

outnumbered Mexican settlers by 10 to 1.

▪ The influence of the U.S. was

growing in Texas.

▪ Texas settlers ignored Mexico’s

laws against slavery & trading with the U.S.

Mier y Teran Report (1828) ▪ Mier y Teran

concluded that Mexico must gain control of Texas before it throws “the whole nation into revolution.”

Law of April 6, 1830 ▪ As a result of the Mier y

Teran report, the Mexican government passed the Law of April 6, 1830 in an effort to control Texas colonists.

▪ First, this law outlawed

immigration from the U.S. to Texas.

Law of April 6, 1830

▪ Secondly, this law canceled

all empresario land grants that had not been fulfilled. Anglo colonization of Texas was now illegal.

▪ However, the government

encouraged Mexican & European settlers to move to Texas. They would even provide land & money for these settlers.

Law of April 6, 1830 Thirdly, this law stated that slaves could no longer be brought into Mexico. This would hurt Anglo Texans’ ability to develop the cotton industry.

Law of April 6, 1830 ▪ Fourthly, this law placed

customs duties on all goods brought into Texas from the U.S.

▪ This would hurt the Anglo

Texan economy by forcing them to pay more for U.S. supplies.

Tensions Over The Law ▪ Under the Mexican

Constitution of 1824, the law’s provisions should have been decided by the state, not the national government.

Tensions Over The Law ▪ Many Mexicans felt that the

national government had gone too far. Instead of solving the problem, the Law of April 6, 1830 caused the tensions between Texas & Mexico to grow stronger.