Ben and I began a new chapter entitled 'The Lone Star Non-State' (Chapter 18). It picked up in the early 19th century after Mexico gained its independence from Spain and became a 'Republic.' We defined 'Republic' as a form of government in which a state is ruled by representatives of its citizens. We read how Spain's goal was to convert Indigenous peoples to Christianity. The lesson covered how the Mexican government tried to attract settlers to Texas by offering land grants and that the new settlers were to follow Mexican law, when American Texans drafted a constitution for Texas as an indepedent state of Mexico it started the Texas War for Independence. We discussed The Alamo and learned the reason why Texas's request to be annexed by the US was denied. Ben ended our session by reading that Congress approved the US annexation - which was one of the precursors to the Mexican American War, about which we will read in tomorrow's session.