Texas History!

March 2 is not only Sam Houston's birthday (see below). It is also Texas Independence Day. By 1834, American settlers in Mexican Texas outnumbered Mexicans. The Texians (Anglo-American Texans) felt that Mexico was reneging on its generous 1825 Colonization Law, and Mexico was alarmed at the influx of slavery into Texas. On March 2, 1836, 59 Texians who were delegates to the convention approved the Texas Declaration of Independence and declared the Republic of Texas. George Childress (1804-1841) was the principal author of the document. Texas' southern border remained controversial--the Rio Grande, or the Nueces? That issue was critical at the beginning of the Mexican-American War. The republic existed from March 2, 1836 until February 19, 1846, when it became the 28th state following American annexation.  https://www.tsl.texas.gov/treasures/republic/declaration.html?fbclid=IwY2xjawQSmiZleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFyekN0TFBwQnlKNU9DRTZSc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHvKRJSKMklzRtahzjRoAjEe1Gyb1uNgXIGX8OdhXhNu2HcvrmKLIgzHRR-NP_aem__FS3cTgGLRAvCS-a2faLJw

 

During the Texas Revolution, Sam Houston led the Texan Army to decisive victory againt Mexico at the Battle of San Jacinto. Subsequently, he was elected the first and later the third president of the Republic of Texas. He also was one of the first two senators from the state of Texas in Congress. As governor of Texas (1859-1861) and also of Tennessee (1827-1829), Houston was the only person to be elected as governor of two different states.  He was born March 2, 1793. 

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Three Papal Birthdays!

Pope Leo XIII was born March 2, 1810. He reigned in 1878-1903, the third longest pontificate after Pius IX and John Paul II. He is remembered as a pope concerned for social justice. In his 1891 encyclical "Rerum novarum," he argued for the rights of workers to a fair wage, to trade unions, and safe work places. His upholding of free enterprise and property rights steered a course between laissez-faire capitalism and socialism. He also promoted the use of the rosary and the revival of Thomism. When our current pope took the name Leo, he made an explicit connection to the teachings and example of his predecessor. 

Born March 2, 1876 as Eugenio Pacelli, Pope Pius XII reigned in 1939-1958. He oversaw canon law reform and liturgy reform. He clarified the nature of the church's teaching office, and also encouraged biblical scholarship. He defined ex cathedra the dogma of the Assumption of Mary. Pius remains controversial because he did not condemn Nazi atrocities contrasted to his opposition to Soviet Communism. This article from the Holocaust center Yad Vashem discusses the issues: https://www.yadvashem.org/articles/academic/pius-and-the-holocaust.html?fbclid=IwY2xjawQSglNleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFwa2UyQnoyYnBKZURCdmlUc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHl0Tj2Si5zhTQUdpKpMHqeEPfsNDQRHLuSoJ1byMii6bQvkeF-Wq8TLDPBn2_aem_a9F1Be-ansprsKFL7SlClw

Pope Adrian VI, born in Utrecht as Adriaan Florensz Boeyens on March 2, 1459. He ascended to the papacy in January 1522. He inherited dire challenges: the difficult situation of the papal finances; the early years of the Protestant Reformation; and the challenge of the Turks under Suleiman the Magnificent in the east. Adrian had only twenty months as pope before he died; poison was suspected but more likely he succumbed to stress-related illness. He was the only Dutch pope. He was the last non-Italian pope until the Polish archbishop Karol Wojtyła was elected as John Paul II in 1978.

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Poinsett and Poinsettias

Born March 2, 1779, Joel Roberts Poinsett was a physician, botanist, diplomat, and politician. He served in the South Carolina state legislature as well as representing the state in Congress. He was very opposed to nullification and led South Carolina's Unionist efforts in the 1830s. A respected expert in Latin American affairs, Poinsett was also the first ambassador to Mexico. He was also interested in Russia and was offered a position by Tsar Alexander I, which Poinsett declined as American and England approached war in 1812. Tragically, Poinsett oversaw the Trail of Tears during the late 1830s. He is perhaps best known for introducing what was then called the Mexican flame flower or "Flor de Nochebuena" (Christmas Eve flower) to the U.S. The plant soon became known as the poinsettia. I've read that the indigenous name of the plant is Cuetlaxochitl (kweh-tla-SO-cheetl). Should the plant be called that, rather than by the surname of an Anglo slaveowner?