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Independence Day

March 2nd, 1861. Austin, Texas.

It was a relatively warm day in Austin with the temperatures currently at 85 degrees. While this weather would have been scoffed at by any state within America, it was Texan weather and as such the locals just shrugged by and were glad that they could get an early stop on crops this season. Today however was not going to be a day of hard work within the fields or of bustling labor within the city streets. For across the nation celebrations were kicking off for what was to be the most joyous time of year outside of Christmas and Easter, Independence Day. For the 25th time in the past quarter-century, the people of Texas were able to rejoice that their nation was able to survive its separation from Mexico and that they were able to prosper at such a young age compared to the state that America was in at 1801. Out of all these celebrations the one that was perhaps the biggest was taking place at the capitol of Texas, Austin.

For the past two decades Austin had been undergoing an immense amount of growth in order to meet the needs of the Republic. From the sleep countryside collection of farms that it was in 1836, it was now its own full-fledged city with the capitol standing forefrunt in the center, a bustling market district to meet the needs of politicians and tourists within the city, and a diverse array of housing on the outskirts of the city that had a collection of plantation style mansions and classic spanish architecture. While it was no Paris nor London, and certainly couldn't hold a candle to Washington, Austin was a growing city that had much promise for the future. Right now the near entirety of the cities population was up and about in the streets, for they were celebrating the nation's independence that had given way to their town's existence in the first place. While Austin was not an area where the Revolution had taken place like San Antonio or San Jacinto, it was the center of the Republic and as such had to have celebrations in reflection of that. Parades had been ongoing in the morning with veterans of the Revolution along with some performers and livestock making their way down main street to honor the struggles that the nation had to undertake in Independence. Marching down the center of the city there were Texan flags along with flags of the other Commonwealths lying around while the cities people and tourists from both within and outside Texas cheered them on. After the parade ended was the official start of the Austin rodeo next to the capitol where the cities stores and restaurants would serve as venues, Cowboys and Vaqueros entered into multiple events such as cattle wrestling and bull riding, livestock shows were common place, and of course a large gunshow was happening in the center of it all. Thanks to the recent connection of Austin to the growing railroad system and the rising population of Texas with its booming immigration, this year's Independence Day celebrations were the largest yet with over 75,000 people. A truly grand turnout for the 25th anniversary of the Lone Star Republic.

Towards the end of the day crowds were gathering around the steps of the capitol where they would be present for President Juan Seguin's Independence Day speech. Along with the State of the Republic Addresses, the Independence Day speech was a tradition founded by President Houston that served as an annual report on the Republic and outlying of future advances for the country, the main difference from the State of the Republic being that it served a more nationalistic purpose to establish identity. In front of the capitol building, thousands had gathered to listen to the President's address. The President himself looked on inside of the building while Vice President Pease was standing by his side.

"Well Mr. President it looks like we got a full crowd out here today. Getting any stage fright?" asked Pease teasingly.

"No, not really." said Seguin shaking his head. "I've never had a problem with public speaking before and I did well at last year's celebrations. I'm just worried that this could potentially be the last happy occasion for Texas in a while."

"Why would you say that?" asks Pease.

"I don't have any definite proof but it seems to me that North America is slowly heading towards complete implosion this year. To the east we have the idiocy of our Gringo brethren, no offense Elisha, who are about to engage in a civil war over the matter of slavery. To the south we have the Rio Grande, the most unstable nation of all time that should have never existed in any shape or form whatsoever. And then we have Mexico under that man Juarez. While it's true that the Rangers have reported no major border engagements in months, I can't help but feel that that man is up to something. Every day he goes on and on about how we stole Mexico's land and that the Mexican people need to reclaim it back in order to restore their honor. Any day I feel that Jaurez is going to launch an attack on us. But I can't tell when or where."

"Don't worry too much of the matter Juan, you are way too stressed on the matter. As a former Yankee myself I also cannot help but groan at the stupidity of those Dixie who want the United States to collapse just because of slavery. However there's not much we can do about that at the moment as the Confederacy in its current state is more than a match for Texas militarily. Only a fraction of Texans nowadays are Americans so it would be selfish to want to try and intervene for old ties. Let's just observe for now let the cards fall where they may on that one. As for Mexico I'd like to see them try. We still have our alliance with Napoleon in regards to the west and there is no way that an Mexican troop could ever hope to match the quality of a Texan, no offense."

"I suppose you are right. It's just that there always seems to be these certain years in history where the entirety of the world goes crazy. Like remember in 1846 when the Oregon War, the European Revolutions, and the Border Wars all happened at virtually the same time."

"Yes, yes, I too remember how crazy and awful that year was. Look on the brightside though, at least Europe will be at peace. Though then again I have been hearing word from Carl that Germany is going to go to war with Austria any day now soon." said Pease who only darkened the mood a little bit with his foreshadowing. At the same time the crowds outside had begun chanting again for Seguin to come out. "Come on Juan, let's forget about politics for now. Instead go out there and enjoy the sun by talking about politics to the Texan people. After that we can just relax and enjoy the rodeo where I can get to see you fall your ass of a bull this year again." says Pease who was referencing an unfortunate attempt by Seguin last year entering the rodeo to be seen as more of a people's man. He only lasted 1.2 seconds on the bull.

"I thought we made an agreement to NEVER mention such incident again, ever. Oh well, enough dallying around, time to get to work." With that Seguin bid his partner goodbye and was promptly escorted by the Texas Rangers to the capitol steps where they had propped up a podium for the President to speak. Seguin made his way outside the doors where the crowds began cheeing upon seein their nation's leader. Their were currently thousands of people outside and it was so full that all of the seats that had been arranged beforehand were taken and some men had chosen to climb up on trees to see their president, though they had been checked by the Rangers to be clear of firearms so that way there wouldn't be another situation like the Douglas' assassination only a little over a year prior. Seguin slowly walked down the many steps of the capitol as the cheering went on. The man so far being a popular president who could find much cooperation with both sides of the aisle. Eventually Seguin made his way to the podium and after a couple minutes of continued fanfare, the crowds had silenced in order to watch their President begin to speak.

"My fellow Texans, it is a great honor and privilege to be here speaking to you today. On a grand day that few others can eclipse. For today our Republic reaches a milestone by celebrating twenty five years of independence. This is a great sign my fellow Texans, for it is a sign that our nation is that of a prosperous and stable society that was able to meet the challenges and struggles early on, and rise to greatness to stand as an equal to the other nations of the world. While most others have been barely able to come along and survive their times, our nation and people have only prospered for the past generation. Our economy is in constant growth and soon we may become the second largest in North America. Our military while not the largest, is second to none in terms of quality, for there is nowhere else in the world you will find the finest fighters than Texans. Both the state of Texas and the Commonwealths are in rapid development with more and more immigrants arriving by the day and turning even the most backwater parts of our nation into stable and thriving townships. Peace with Indians reigns among the frontier as more and more of their kind decide to throw away their isolationism and integrate fully into Texan society. Trade is at an all time high with new contacts being made in Asia. Immigration is growing now more than ever with many of your present being immigrants who have recently made a name for yourselves in the Republic. In short our nation is at the height of its growth and its all thanks to you, the people, for making this happen. For while myself and the members of congress present may be the ones who create laws for the nation, it is the citizens and immigrants who turn the Texan dream into reality and make our nation a truly great place to live.

I remember several years ago what it was like to grow up in Mexican Texas, or Tejas as some of my Tejano cousins still like to call it. Our country back then was little more than a small and sleepless backwater part of the nation. Little thought and effort had been undergone into its settlement besides that of San Antonio. For while the land was vast and fertile, it was not seen as important to the ruling junta of Mexico City, for we did not have the precious metals that Central Mexico liked to boast. However I knew that these notions were false and Texas was destined for greatness. For it was a land full of ripe oppurtunity where anyone could find success through hard work and dedication. Many of our founding fathers, especially Stephen Austin, proved this to be true by turning Texas into a early hotspot of immigration with the Empressario system. It was only a matter of time until Mexico would acknowledge us as an important part of the nation, and acknowledge us they did.

I remember in 1835 of when the tyrant Santa Anna came to power. While many of those present may not fully remember the atrocities of the dictator or were not present for his tyranny, I can only count that blessing to President Crockett as without his legendary marksmen skills and Santa Anna going unchecked, he truly would've thrown the Southwest into the dark ages for his political repression and cruel acts as a dictator. One only need to look at how he crushed the Zacatecas Rebellion with absolutely no mercy for any of the rebels that had arisen against Mexico. How that madman had put up the red flag against our noble defenders of the Alamo, signifying that absolutely no quarter would have been given to myself or my fellow soldiers in the unfortunate event of a defeat. In a democracy it is the people who are supposed to rule, for they are the one's upon which the power comes from, not from tyrants who would make themselves into kings of nations. That's why in order to protect the same principles that had led to Mexican Independence, I needed to fight for Texas to be free from the failed state that Mexico had become. For our southern neighbors had their chance to prove themselves after throwing away the chains of Spain's colonialism. By failing to meet the needs of their people and suppressing the rights of the American immigrants who had come to Texas seeking a new life, Mexico City had become little more of a copy of their former masters. It was clear that Texas needed to make its own path in order to be have true freedom.

Of course organizing such an undertaking would be easier said than done. While many historians and foreign observers like to liken our struggle to a mere copy of the American Revolution, which in many cases it can be, our path to freedom was in the outset much more difficult than could ever have been hoped. We were only a small state of 50,000 against a nation of 8 million. Santa Anna and his predecessors had crushed numerous rebellions in the past, some of which were helped in part by Austin and even the Texas Rangers. There was no guarantee going in that we could have succeeded. In many ways it was more of a pipe dream than anything. Yet backing down was not an option. For doing so would allow the unchecked growth of autocracy to spread throughout the land and oppress our fellow citizens from the rule of an elite several hundred miles away. Santa Anna claimed that we were no more than American puppets who seeked to install chaos and disorder into Mexico. As a Tejano I knew that this was not the case. The Revolution was a struggle that was necessary for the lives of ALL Texans to finally improve. White, Mexican, Indian, Negro, it made no difference as we had all suffered in the same ways. I knew that while the path to failure was more likely, the choice of lying down in servitude could not be taken. For dying in the name of freedom and liberty is by far the more honorable route to take than living without any hope of freedom. So in defiance of what was looking to be the great regional power of the time, we united. We fought together as one nation, not united by race, religion, creed, or ideology, for every Texan was different in these regards. Rather, we fought for our homes, for our families, for our right to chose our own path, to make a new life that would be better for our descendants. Thus we marched off to the drumbeat of war, not knowing whether or not the possibility of victory or even that of an independence was likely. All we had was faith and trust in God, that our cause was righteous and that by taking this path that we might find true victory in the future.

And succeed we did. Whereas the Mexicans down south thought that they were merely putting down a rabid dog that had gone against their master, they had instead awakened a mighty bull that would give them hell for daring to mess with Texas. In the Revolution, every single battle that we had undertaken with Mexico was a success. Early on this started with the noble defenders of Gonzales who had defied the status quo and proudly stood their ground with their battle flag daring the Mexican menace to come and take their rights away by force. Weeks later the people rose up in unison and forced the Mexican garrison out of San Antonio. I remember being there when Martin Perfecto De Cos surrendered his pitiful force to us at the end of the siege. How this vain man stood in shock as he had and his precious army had lost to a mere group of peasants and settlers. For Cos did not understand the Texan fighting spirit. How in the face of defeat we will continue to fight like hell until the enemy is forced to come crawling to their knees and begging for peace. It was at this point that the people truly began to awaken and realize that their was some hope for victory. That we could defy tyranny and seek the goal of true freedom that lied before us. Then came the Alamo, the ultimate test of the Revolution.

For thirteen days and nights we stood in defiance of Santa Anna and his dogs. For thirteen days and nights the men of the Alamo acted as a proud beacon of defiance to bring light to the people of Texas against the darkness of Mexican tyranny. For while we were outnumbered three to one, we all knew that to surrender now would have been the end of the Revolution and the deaths of all of us. So then we waited, until on the thirteenth day Santa Anna began his attack. For three waves the might of the Texan people showed as we repealed their forces each and every time. I remember the carnage and chaos that took place on those walls. How bullets would fly left and right and the difference between life and death lying in your skill with a knife many times over. It was in many ways a sort of viscous and bloody hell on Earth that can only truly be known by those who experienced it. Yet backing down in cowardice was not an option for me. For while we had started losing our own men, own men the delegates of the first government in the east were signing the deceleration of independence that would start the birth of the Republic. Losing was no longer an option as we were not simply fighting for greater rights or autonomy, we were fighting for a nation, for Texas. Then came the fourth wave, the true test of our resolve as the massive hordes kept on piling on the walls until the courtyards became filled with men, blood, and gunpowder. For a time it looked like all was lost, that we would not be able to see our families when the sun rose. Then Crockett managed to do the unthinkable and kill the dreaded tyrant that had plagued Texas for so long. As the devil took his last breath, the tides turned and my comrades and I rushed forth with an unstoppable and unrelenting fury that would be unleashed upon the fools who dared to follow the madman into crushing our freedoms. Hours later the sun had risen and the battle had won. The day was ours and Texas experienced its first victory as a country, the first of many to come.

The rest of the Revolution as you know is mere history. From there we grouped up with General Houston and managed to drive the last remnants of the Mexican Army out of Texas at the glorious battle of San Jacinto. Where we managed to far surpass even the Alamo in terms of glory. While all this was happening, Austin had managed to achieve the unthinkable and had created our great alliance with the people of France that stands till this day. For Louis Phillipe knew that Texas, like the United States, was a rising nation destined for greatness that would make our own mark on the world like few had ever seen. Already our revolution had inspired the Yucatan and the Rio Grande to rise for independence, for the people of Mexico to erupt into a fury and chose their desired leaders against the ruling junta. These events proved that Texas was not an event, some strange anomaly in the annals of history, rather we were a movement, one that had arisen to spread the sanctity of democracy to the west and show the entire world that nowhere within the Americas would freedom and liberty be overtaken. It was time to show the world that Texas would be the nation to lead the charge, that we were the chosen people upon which the call of freedom would seek its champion. For from Houston to myself has the Republic acted as a true defender of liberty in the west. Just as we shall continue to do so for the rest of the century, and hopefully the next.

After the Revolution of course came the early struggles. The conflicts of creating a nation from the ground up, integrating California into the rest of Texas, having to go out to the great powers and trying to receive recognition, and of course simply surviving for the first years as we struggled to get our economy up and running. Yet throughout it all the Texan people never despaired, never gave up hope in fulfilling this task. We could've chosen the easy way out and gone for annexation into the United States, and in another life that may have very well been a possibility. Yet despite the great risks and challanges that life on the southwest presented, we chose to persevere and stick through it. For that in many ways is the true Texan spirit, to look at an immense challenge straight in the eye and take it upon ourselves to find a solution. Sure enough this resilience was able to pay off as the economy began to stabilize, immigrants came in droves to fill up the lands and create a new life for themselves within the Republic, industries began to take heart in the east, sure enough the Texan image was being imprinted into the countryside so much that today you cannot even look at our country and think of a time before the Revolution. Then of course came the California Gold Rush, an event that in many ways was perhaps Texas' greatest blessing. For the discovery of gold in our pacific commonwealth is what truly began to put Texas down the path of economic independence and greater nationalization. In the past decade alone Texas has been the number one destination for immigration across the world. For the various nations from Europe, Asia, and the Americas, look upon us and see a grand place full of opportunity that was not possible in their previous homeland. A place to start anew and begin to live their lives truly for the first time, to live the Texan dream. That is what makes our nation so great compared to the rest. That anyone, no matter what race, religion, or creed, can come to our country and make a name for themselves and rise above the rest. A lifestyle that in many ways refelcts the policies of the Republic. For we take whatever opportunities and chances that appear on the worldstage, and take it by force until we achieve the desired outcome.

Today our nation is undergoing a time of extreme peril from outside forces. For while we have undergone a time of great growth and prosperity for the Texan people, our neighbors chose to descend into further violence and anarchy not seen in great amounts since the Age of Revolutions. The United States, a place much of you have previously called home, chooses to divide itself over the question of slavery that we have resolved so easily and have taken steps to ensure an peaceful path going forward. The failed state that calls itself the Rio Grande has increasingly become a lawless hellhole in the desert. Its citizens flock to our borders en masse just to live a life where they do not have to fear their children being shot at by rogue outlaws and not receiving any justice. Mexico, our former oppressors, look upon us in greed as the demagogue Juarez inflames the Mexican people with false dreams of greed to put us under the chains of Mexican rule. South America is a place of great disorder as the nations which were previously united for indpendence against Spain, chose instead to quarrel amongst themselves for petty reasons of land and pride. Asia is starting to collapse as the once great empires of the world now start to get into contact with Western ideals and are not able to meet the needs of modernization. Then we have Europe, a continent where each Empire and Kingdom seeks to tear each other apart to meet the cries of nationalism and fulfill the desires of their overlords. For while we have moved on along the path of democracy, these people still cling to the old archaic ways of feudalism which constrict them so. Some like France and Germany have used this to their advantage to become growing empires that meet the needs of its people and lead their nations into the 19th century, while others such as Britain and Russia cling to the glory days of conquest and the rule of the aristocrats against the people. In these dark times Texas must stand above all else to show the world how a nation must meet the needs of its people first and foemost. How democracy shall truly work and that the values of Republicanism shall always triumph over the despotic law of monarchies.

My fellow Texans. Today not only marks our independence day, it also marks a day of destiny. Where Texas shall truly stand independent and walk along the path of nations that shall take us into the greater ranks of the great powers of the world. We have a long way to go if we are to ever make our proud nation into that which would be an equal, if not surpassing the empires of Europe. Some may scoff at this and call us fools. But while others would chose to back down, I choose to take this challenge head on and see it to its completion. For we are the people of Texas, we are the chosen few who shall rise to the occasion and stand above all others. We may face several trials along the way, there may be times when it would seem best just to give up and move on, yet that is not the Texan way, for success is the only acceptable result that shall see us rise to the top and claim our our destiny and the victory that is rightfully ours. After today we shall put those ideals to the test, and we shall prove all our enemies wrong by overcoming such adversities and showing them the true strength of the Texan people. Twenty-five years ago our founding fathers signed the document which shall birthed our country into the greater numbers of nations in the world, and ever since then we have lived up to the call of independence by achieving results that have never been thought of before. We are Texans, and we are the nation which shall stand to the end of time, leaving our mark among history that so few have ever managed to achieve before. May God continue to look favorably upon us so that we may celebrate our independence 25, 50, 100 years from now and forevermore. Civilizations may rise and fall but so long as the Texan ideal stands, then our legacy will forever be absolute. Thank you, and God bless the Republic of Texas!"


A/N: So sorry for the incredible delay. The week has been rather hectic and I am completely ashamed that I managed to miss the glorious 241st anniversary of Texas Independence. Hopefully this chapter will be able to make up for it as we see what kind of a President Seguin is and just how Texas will move forward in these dark times. For what those within Austin don't know is that this is merely the calm before the storm, as the Mexican War looms ever so closer. Tell me what you guys thought of this chapter and if you'd like to see more. The 1860's are going to be a rather exciting time so we'll see plenty of similar narratives moving forward, one such hopefully coming on Monday in order to celebrate the Battle of the Alamo where our TL truly began to diverge. After I update Gihren's Glory then the next chapter will be Chapter 70, covering Mexico, the Rio Grande, Yucatan, and showing just how the Mexican War came to be. Thank you for reading and please stick around for more. Long live the Republic!