The Republic of Texas: 1836-1846

The Republic of Texas was an independent sovereign nation that existed from March 2, 1836, to Feb. 19, 1846. In those 10 years, several large armed conflicts took place against Native Americans and Mexico.

The Republic had its own congress of 14 senators and 29 representatives and a president. There were four presidents in its 10 years, including Sam Houston, who served two terms. A treaty was sought by Mexican President Gen. Antonio López de Santa Anna but the Mexican Congress rejected it. The Republic of Texas stretched from the Rio Grande River in the south to what is now the states of New Mexico, Oklahoma and parts of Wyoming.

Texas formally relinquished its sovereignty to the United States on Feb. 19, 1846, and is the 28th state.

The Mexican-American War lasted from 1846 until 1848. It grew out of unresolved border disputes between the Republic of Texas, California and Mexico after the U.S. annexed Texas.

Hawaii: 1795-1898

One hundred years before Hawaii became a territory annexed by the U.S., it experienced a kingdom, a coup d'état and the establishment of the Republic of Hawai’i.

Starting in the 1790s and with the help of western advisors and weapons, Kamehameha the Great of the big island of Hawaii consolidated several of the islands into a single kingdom, some by force, some by negotiation. Kamehameha died in 1819, but the kingdom continued until a successful coup against the monarchy in early 1893. The rebellion was comprised of non-Hawai’ians and a division of U.S. Marines. It resulted in the Republic of Hawaii established on July 4,

1894. In 1895, there was an uprising to reestablish the native monarchy but it failed.

The Spanish-American War began in April 1898 and the Republic of Hawaii declared neutrality. But following the use of the naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii’s strategic importance to the U.S. was apparent. Both houses of Congress approved annexation on July 4, 1898, and President William McKinley signed the bill on July 7. On April 30, 1900, it was incorporated as the Territory of Hawaii. On Aug. 21, 1959, Hawaii became the 50th state.