Teaching with the Founding Documents

How to Use This Guide

The library publishes the founding documents of Texas in full text. This guide pairs nine of them with the grade 7 Texas History standards they support. The documents run in the order they were written, beginning with the Mexican federal constitution of 1824 and ending with the state constitution of 1845.

Each section gives the TEKS student expectations the document supports, with the wording shortened to one line, and questions a student can answer by reading the document itself. Every question can be answered from the text on the library page. Several ask students to set one document beside another, which works well as a paired reading.

The standards in Section 20 are skills standards. They apply to any primary source, so they are listed only where a document gives students a clear chance to practice them.

Which Standards These Are

The codes below come from 19 Texas Administrative Code §113.19, Social Studies, Grade 7, Adopted 2022. The current version was amended to be effective August 1, 2024, and school districts began teaching it in the 2024-2025 school year. A code such as (3)(C) means knowledge and skills statement 3, student expectation C, in subsection (c) of that section.

The State Board of Education adopted new social studies TEKS for kindergarten through grade 8 in June 2026. The Texas Education Agency's August 2026 update to superintendents says grade 7 moves to the new standards in the 2032-2033 school year. Until then, §113.19 governs the grade 7 course, and the codes in this guide apply. The new standards will use different content and numbering, so this guide will need revision before that year.

Constitution of the Mexican United States

Adopted October 4, 1824. Mexico's federal constitution, written three years after independence from Spain.

TEKS supported

• (1)(B): Explain the significance of key dates in Texas history, including 1821, independence from Spain.
• (2)(D): Identify the individuals and events of Mexican independence and its effect on Texas, including the Mexican federal Constitution of 1824 and the merger of Texas and Coahuila as a state.
• (20)(A): Tell primary and secondary sources apart, and use valid primary sources to learn about Texas.
• (20)(B): Analyze information by sequencing, comparing, finding cause and effect, and drawing conclusions.

Questions

1. Article 4 names the form of government the Mexican nation adopted. What words does it use to describe that government?
2. Article 5 lists the states of the federation. How is Texas listed, and what does that tell you about its status in 1824?
3. Article 50, clause Seventh, describes how states could be united or new states formed. Whose approval did that require?
4. Article 3 addresses religion. What does it say about the religion of the nation, and how does the 1836 Constitution of the Republic of Texas handle the same subject in the third item of its Declaration of Rights?

Constitution of the State of Coahuila and Texas

Adopted March 11, 1827, at Saltillo. The state constitution that governed Texas as part of the joint state of Coahuila and Texas.

TEKS supported

• (2)(D): Identify the individuals and events of Mexican independence and its effect on Texas, including the merger of Texas and Coahuila as a state and slavery.
• (20)(B): Analyze information by sequencing, comparing, finding cause and effect, and drawing conclusions.

Questions

1. Article 7 divides the state into departments. Which department covered Texas, and how many districts did Texas make up?
2. Article 4 explains how power is divided between the state and the Mexican federation. In which matters did the state keep its "liberty, independence, and sovereignty"?
3. What does Article 13 say about slavery, and when was it to take effect?
4. The Texas Declaration of Independence complains that Texas was governed "at a far distant seat of government." Using Article 7 and the place where this constitution was adopted, explain what the authors of the Declaration may have meant.

Plan and Powers of the Provisional Government of Texas

Adopted by the Consultation at San Felipe de Austin in November 1835, after fighting had begun and less than four months before independence was declared.

TEKS supported

• (1)(A): Identify the major eras of Texas history and describe their defining characteristics, including the Revolution and Republic era.
• (20)(B): Analyze information by sequencing, comparing, finding cause and effect, and drawing conclusions.
• (20)(D): Identify bias and points of view from the historical context surrounding an event that influenced the participants.
• (20)(E): State a claim supported by evidence and reasoning on a social studies topic.

Questions

1. Article X gives the oath every officer of the Provisional Government had to take. Which constitution did officers swear to support?
2. Compare that oath with the closing resolution of the Texas Declaration of Independence, adopted in March 1836. Using evidence from both documents, make a claim about how the goals of the delegates changed between November 1835 and March 1836.

Goliad Declaration of Independence

Signed at Goliad on December 20, 1835, more than two months before the convention at Washington declared independence.

TEKS supported

• (20)(B): Analyze information by sequencing, comparing, finding cause and effect, and drawing conclusions.
• (20)(D): Identify bias and points of view from the historical context surrounding an event that influenced the participants.

Questions

1. The signers ask, "Why contend for the shadow, when the substance courts our acceptance?" Using the paragraph around that sentence, explain what the shadow and the substance stand for.
2. The signers list what they want a convention to do. What do they ask it to proclaim, and what do they ask it to include in a new constitution?
3. The signers argue that declaring independence would help Texas abroad. What reasons do they give?
4. How do the signers describe Mexican Texans after the siege of Bexar? What events do they point to, and how might their own position at Goliad have shaped that view?

Texas Declaration of Independence

Adopted March 2, 1836, by the convention at Washington, on the Brazos River, while the Alamo was under siege.

TEKS supported

• (1)(B): Explain the significance of key dates in Texas history, including 1836, Texas independence.
• (3)(B): Explain the roles of significant individuals in the Texas Revolution, including George Childress, Lorenzo de Zavala, Sam Houston, and Antonio López de Santa Anna.
• (3)(C): Explain the issues surrounding significant events of the Texas Revolution, including the Constitutional Convention of 1836.
• (20)(D): Identify bias and points of view from the historical context surrounding an event that influenced the participants.

Questions

1. According to the Declaration, what did the Mexican government promise the colonists when it invited them to settle in Texas?
2. Find the grievances about trial by jury and about public education. What does each one say the government failed to do?
3. Look at the list of signers. Which people named in TEKS (3)(B) signed the Declaration?
4. The Declaration says, "We then took up arms in defense of the national constitution." What happened after that, according to the authors, that led them to declare independence instead?

Letters of William Barret Travis from the Alamo

The letters Travis wrote during the siege of the Alamo, February 23 through March 3, 1836. The Alamo fell on the morning of March 6.

TEKS supported

• (3)(B): Explain the roles of significant individuals in the Texas Revolution, including William B. Travis and James Fannin.
• (3)(C): Explain the issues surrounding the siege of the Alamo, including Travis's letter "To the People of Texas and All Americans in the World."
• (20)(A): Tell primary and secondary sources apart, and use valid primary sources to learn about Texas.
• (20)(D): Identify bias and points of view from the historical context surrounding an event that influenced the participants.

Questions

1. In the letter of February 24, "To the People of Texas and All Americans in the World," what does Travis say the enemy demanded, and how did he answer?
2. Travis wrote to James Fannin at Goliad on February 23. In his March 3 letter to the President of the Convention, what does he say about the help he asked Fannin to send?
3. In the March 3 letter to Jesse Grimes, what does Travis ask the convention to do, and why does he say it matters to his men?
4. Compare the letter to the people of Texas with the report to Sam Houston dated February 25. How do the purpose and audience of each letter shape what Travis chose to include?

Constitution of the Republic of Texas

Adopted March 17, 1836, by the same convention, two weeks after the Declaration. It governed Texas until annexation.

TEKS supported

• (3)(C): Explain the issues surrounding significant events of the Texas Revolution, including the Constitutional Convention of 1836.
• (4)(A): Identify individuals, events, and issues of the Republic of Texas, such as slavery and the roles of racial and ethnic groups.
• (13)(A): Identify how a Texas constitution reflects principles such as limited government, separation of powers, popular sovereignty, and individual rights.
• (13)(B): Compare the principles and concepts of a Texas constitution to the U.S. Constitution, including the Texas and U.S. Bill of Rights.

Questions

1. Article I, Section 1 describes how the powers of government are divided. What does it say, and which principle in TEKS (13)(A) does it show?
2. Read the second item of the Declaration of Rights. Where does it say political power comes from, and what right does it say the people keep?
3. The Texas Declaration of Independence complained about the lack of jury trials and public schools. Which parts of this constitution respond to each complaint?
4. Read Sections 6 and 10 of the General Provisions. Which people did the constitution exclude from citizenship? What does Section 9 say about slavery?

Treaties of Velasco

Signed May 14, 1836, by President David G. Burnet and Antonio López de Santa Anna, captured at San Jacinto three weeks earlier. There were two agreements: the public treaty and the secret treaty.

TEKS supported

• (3)(B): Explain the roles of significant individuals in the Texas Revolution, including Antonio López de Santa Anna.
• (3)(C): Explain the issues surrounding significant events of the Texas Revolution, including the Battle of San Jacinto.

Questions

1. According to Article 3 of the public treaty, where were Mexican troops to go?
2. Article 3 of the secret treaty describes what Santa Anna would do once he returned to Mexico. What did he promise?
3. What does Article 4 of the secret treaty say about the boundary of Texas?
4. Article 6 of the secret treaty says the document would stay "folded and sealed." Why might the two sides have kept these terms out of the public agreement? Support your answer with details from both treaties.

Constitution of the State of Texas

Adopted by the Convention of 1845 as the Republic of Texas became a state, and put to the voters along with the question of annexation.

TEKS supported

• (1)(B): Explain the significance of key dates in Texas history, including 1845, annexation.
• (4)(B): Analyze the causes of and events leading to Texas annexation.
• (4)(C): Identify individuals, events, and issues during early Texas statehood, including slavery.
• (13)(A): Identify how a Texas constitution reflects principles such as limited government, separation of powers, popular sovereignty, and individual rights.
• (13)(B): Compare the principles and concepts of a Texas constitution to the U.S. Constitution, including the Texas and U.S. Bill of Rights.

Questions

1. The preamble names the act under which the people of the Republic made this constitution. What act is it, and when was it approved?
2. Compare Section 1 of the Bill of Rights with the second item of the 1836 Declaration of Rights. What did the 1845 version add?
3. The Education article sets a duty for the Legislature. What does Section 1 give as the reason for public schools, and what share of state tax revenue does Section 2 set aside for them?
4. Compare the article titled "Slaves" with Section 9 of the General Provisions in the 1836 constitution. What limits did each place on the lawmakers?

Sources

• Texas Education Agency, 19 TAC Chapter 113, Subchapter B, Middle School (§113.19, Social Studies, Grade 7)
• Texas Education Agency, 19 TAC Chapter 113, Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Social Studies
• Texas Education Agency, Superintendent Updates: New Literary Works and Social Studies TEKS K–12 (August 2026)