A Brief History
On March 6, 1836, the most celebrated defeat in American history ended in a massacre!
Digging Deeper
Digging deeper, we remember the Alamo as an epic battle fought by American heroes like John Wayne (as Davy Crocket) depicted in the 1960 movie The Alamo. (Another major motion picture by the same name was made in 2004.)
Texans especially revere the men martyred at the San Antonio landmark, Davy Crocket, Jim Bowie, William Travis and others. The cracked part of the history is why the battle was fought.
Texas at that time was part of Mexico, and Mexican authorities welcomed American settlers to become Mexican citizens, but objected to the Americans bringing and keeping slaves, as Mexico had outlawed slavery in 1829. This aspect of the war for the independence of Texas is seldom acknowledged by popular media and is glossed over in the idol worship of the Alamo’s doomed defenders.
In any case, the approximately 189 defenders of the Alamo fought to the death against about 1800 Mexican troops led by Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna. After around 600 Mexicans had been killed over the 2 weeks of the battle, the mission was overrun and all the defenders were killed. Historians, amateur and professional, disagree over what happened at the end. Every defender died fighting was the original romanticized account of the battle, and later accounts claimed several survivors were taken prisoner by the Mexicans and promptly executed. Many sources can be researched to draw your own conclusions.
Texans got their revenge and their independence, creating the Republic of Texas, which of course was soon absorbed by the United States. Interesting Texas trivia includes the “6 Flags Over Texas” saying due to Texas having been under the flags of Spain, France, Mexico, The Republic of Texas, The Confederate States of America, and the United States.
A cracked aspect of the Alamo is the movie set from the 1960 film getting even more tourists than the real thing! The real Alamo is much larger and did not lend itself toward making a movie there. Other movies and television shows (even cartoons) have referred to the Alamo, as well as numerous books, fiction and non-fiction.
Santa Anna, known as “The Napoleon of the West” was a collector of Napoleonic memorabilia. With all the typical Latin American coup and counter coup politics, Santa Anna had to leave Mexico and for a while lived in New York City. Another cracked fact is that we have him to thank for chewing gum! When he imported the first ever chicle (the rubbery stuff gum is made of) to New York to be used instead of rubber for tires, Thomas Adams used the chicle that turned out to be unsuitable for tires for a new product, Chiclets!
Thus, we can “remember the Alamo” every time we chew our Chiclets!
Question for students (and subscribers): What do you remember about the Alamo? Please let us know in the comments section below this article.
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please watch…
Hancock, John Lee. The Alamo. Buena Vista Home Entertainment, 2004.
Wayne, John. The Alamo. MGM (Video & DVD), 2000.
<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="1311 http://www.crackedhistory.com/?p=1311">98 Comments
Wow so we can thank him for gum, that really cool.
At least Santa Anna did one good thing,even though chiclets are not a very good gum. The alamo was a tragedy for all Americans. It was an unwinnable battle for us.
That is really interesting that chicle which is used to make gum was originally going to be used to make tires! As for the Alamo, I agree that it was overwhelming odds for 189 men to defend against 1800 men and that is likely why it is celebrated the way it is.
Very interesting! A lot of those facts I didn’t know, & I’ve heard of the movie but I have never seen it.
Matthew, I hate to quibble with the small details because I love your posts, but Sam Houston was not martyred at the Alamo. I’m sure it was just a typo. I loved the info on Santa Anna.
Texas was declaring its independence from Mexico before the Mexican government had actually even declared it independent.
Actually, Santa Ana was working with chicle as a rubber substitute to get rich and have another go at ruling Mexico!
I sometimes forget that Texas used to be under Mexico rule. It’s amazing how far it has come. It is amazing how far even the United States has come from British rule.
He is a smart man inventing gum.
That’s really cool he invented gum. I would like to watch the movie sometime!
Very interesting article, many facts that I didn’t know previously.
Why wasn’t this taught in my American History class in high school? I didn’t know any of this, interesting.
This article was very cool and had many interesting facts that i did not know. i wish my classes in high school would have taught us about this major event in history instead of myself having to learn about it myself. I also seen the movie about it but the movie does not do it justice and that is why this article was interesting.
Great article, there was so much i didn’t know , i have seen the movie and that was about all.
Interesting article. I realized that I really knew very little about the Alamo.
Thanks for the chews, Santa Anna!
I had no idea about Santa Anna. It is interesting to hear how he was the Napoleon of the West, but yet he had to leave Mexico. I wonder why he had to leave (maybe it could be contributed to events like Napoleon who was thrown into exile). It’s kind of funny how this type of man would later lead to the creation of chiclets.
I think it’s crazy how the movie leaves out so much cool information. There are so many facts in this article that really surprised me, like that he invented gum! I also tend to forget that Texas used to have control over Mexico. It’s incredible how far the US has come!
I had no idea that the battle at the Alamo was about slavery. That is something that often gets passed over in textbooks and in class discussions. It is interesting to see how sometimes the recollection of history is shaped to favor your country over another.
I agree with Stephen’s comment that it is odd to see how can be molded so events are remembered in the way certain people want. Granted I did not have much prior knowledge on The Alamo, but I too saw the movie and did not know slavery was at it’s root. Looking back at all the history courses I have taken, which I assume covered the subject of the Alamo and none of them spoke about how slavery was intertwined with this event.
I agree Billy. I never knew slavery played such a large part. I had always know if was during that time period but again i did not realize the impact it had.
I also had no idea before reading this article that the root issue of the battle of the Alamo was Slavery. I also find it very interesting that more tourists visit the 1960’s movie set than visit the actual historical site of the Alamo! What does that say about us as Americans and how we view our history? Is John Wayne more important to us than the actual men who fought at the Alamo?
I agree with DM, it is a bit disheartening that Americans would visit the movie site of a historic battle, but not the actual battle field itself. And I also think that the full story of the reasoning behind the war should be disclosed when taught to people because that is apart of our history which needs to be acknowledged even though it was a dark spot on American history.
I have had the opportunity to visit the the Alamo battlefield in San Antonio many years ago. When I first learned the battle was caused over slavery, it took me by surprise, as I had thought there were other root causes. I have never heard of more tourists visiting the set of the 1960’s movie, compared to the actual Alamo battlefield! I agree with you on how upsetting it is that the men who actually fought in the Alamo seem to not be given the credit they deserve.
I find it very interesting that we can thank the Alamo for the invention of chewing gum. I never realized it before. I knew some stuff about the Alamo, such as Santa Anna, because there was a song about a soldier during the Alamo titled “The Ballad of the Good Luck Charm” by Larry Hagman.
I didn’t know that the Alamo was over slavery. I think that sometimes what we are taught in elementary school leaves out details that could make us look like the “bad guys” in situations. I also found it interest that Texas was part of Spain, Mexico, The Republic of Texas, The Confederate States of America and finally the United States!
I was also unaware the Alamo was because of slavery. I do not know much about the Alamo, but would like to delve further into it after reading this article. I find it interesting that chewing gum was created during this time, too!
Very interesting description of the Alamo. I was not aware of many of the details described in the article. For the future, I hope history classes throughout grade school teach this topic in better detail.
I did not know any of this! Interesting.
I’ve never been taught anything other than that Santa Anna was a bad guy. The reality is, he was fighting against slavery, which doesn’t make him a bad guy. And he led to the invention of gum, so all around a pretty good guy.
N.W.
Another example that history is almost always romanticized, though in reality much of it was harsh and gruesome. GW
I don’t think that I ever knew that Texas was an independent republic, I especially did not know about any of this. I had heard of the Alamo but did not know much about it.
The invention of Chiclets is interesting! Who would have known that these stories are connected?
Who knew the Alamo was about slavery. I thought it was something to do with historical theatre if anything.
I thought Davy Crocket was just some weird hunter that wore a stupid hat. Guess there is a little more to him than I thought.
I have heard both the history of the Alamo and the invention of chewing gum but have never put them together. It is very interesting what one person is capable of.
I would not have guessed that the Alamo and the invention of chewing gum were related. I would have never put those two events together
The Alamo is an amazing and tragic event into American history with one of the weirdest correlation being related to chewing gum
I enjoyed reading this as I have had very little information on the Alammo prior. Interesting to learn Mexico outlawed slavery decades before the U.S.
i liked this article becuase i did not know much on the alammo before this article
I had no idea that one of the main reasons for Texas
independence from Mexico was because of slavery.
I never knew the main issue of this battle was slavery.
That is the value of history, we learn a lot from what happened in the past. These sequences are so beneficial to us and we should learn deeply about Alamo and how to slavery were treated.
I never knew that the Alamo and chewing gum were related or that Chiclets were the first gum!
I knew about the separation of Texas from Mexico but I didn’t know about the chewing gum, weird but cool.
Pretty interesting fact about the chewing gum. That was a really un fair battle for the defenders but what battle is fair, most none of them.
Texas has a lot of fighting years and one big problem is that they do not like being told what to do. I am just surprised Santa Anna was such a Napoleon nerd.
Good article but there are a lot of strange twists in it
The chewing gum fact was pretty cool. Santa Anna is probably the last person I would’ve expected to be responsible for such an invention.
I did not know that part of the disagreement between Texas and Mexico was about slavery.
Good on Mexico for outlawing slavery before us. That being said, I still view those who fought against the impossible odds as heroes.
probably the most weird article i have read so far. but i did not know slavery was apart of the complications
Slavery is awful and im glad at least some people could realize it
I never knew that the Alamo was started off of that idea.. wow
Very interesting article.
I visited the Alamo last November since I was in San Antonio for an Air Force graduation. I wish I would have read this article beforehand to get a true glimpse of the actual history. I went into the trip without knowing much, especially not knowing the fact that slavery played a major role.
It is crazy to think how big slavery has been over the years. The most interesting part for men this article and something I didn’t know was the “6 Flags Over Texas”. I think it is interested that one of the states has been under the influence of so many countries.
The article was right in saying that Hollywood kind of shows one side of the story for entertainment value. They don’t show you the whole story. I didnt know that the war with Mexico was over slavery by America. I think that while you can learn about history from films and books, its always important to also learn from primary and secondary sources.
I did not realize that Texas had such influence from all of Spain, France, Mexico, The Republic of Texas, The Confederate States of America, and the United States. This makes sense why Texans are always considering themselves as polar opposite from the other states in America.
I had no idea Texas was once part of Mexico. I also did not know Mexico had outlawed slavery many years before the United States. I wonder if this reluctance to outlaw slavery in the United States was due to the need to build America as well as make money for its inhabitants. I wonder how different America would be if slavery was outlawed while it was developing. Would we be the major world power we are today?
I always knew that Texas was closely affiliated with Mexico because they are right next to one another. I did not know that other countries such as Spain, Mexico and the Republic of Texas also tried to gain the land. All in all I think that Texas chose the right place to be with the United States of America.
The “6 flags over Texas” is a popular phrase, but I never knew the meaning of the saying. I was surprised to see the reason behind the saying. The fact that Texas had flags of Spain, France, Mexico, The Republic of Texas, The Confederate States, and the United States is fascinating.
I have seen both of the movies that cover the story of the Alamo! That was brave of the 189 defenders of the Alamo to put their lives on the line against the strengths of 1800 Mexican soldiers. It is not surprising that after two weeks, the Mexicans had destroyed the defending troops of the Alamo because of how greatly they had them outnumbered from the start.
I wonder what American would be like today without Texas? It sure would look funny! I would be curious to see a flag from when Texas was an independent nation. I definitely never learned about Texas’ history when I was growing up, I wonder if they do in Texas!
I never knew the real reason why the Alamo was fought was because of Americans bringing in slaves. It makes me a little disappointed. All in all we did end up absorbing the Lone Star state.
I did not realize that Texas was not always part of the United States, and they had to fight for their freedom from Mexico. I am not surprised that slavery was involved though, as it seems to be a large part of our history.
When I was in 4th grade I did a project on Davy Crockett and The Alamo, so this was a nice little reminder of his and the war’s importance. Glad we gained the lone star state.
Texas was originally part of Mexico, and while Mexico was happy to welcome Americans into the Texas territory to become Mexican citizens, they did not allow slavery. Slavery had already been outlawed in Mexico and therefore was not allowed. The American citizens who had moved to settle there did not want to give up their slaves and decided to fight for the independence of those who chose to move there.
I never knew Texas at one time had 6 flags, a lot of things had to go down for them to be completely free and a part of the USA.
I didn’t realize that Mexico had outlawed slavery 36 years before the United States. It is crazy to think just how unfree the home of the free was.
I have never heard of the story of the Alamo. It was brave of those 189 people to defend the Alamo until their death. I wonder if they all died fighting or if the Mexicans actually took them as prisoners and executed them.
I was surprised to see that Mexico outlawed slavery 36 years before the United Stated did. I would have never thought.
I learned about the battle in grade school but was always fuzzy about the reasons for it. The fight over Mexican slaves and Mexican citizens makes the story more coherent.
189 soldiers bravely fought to their death fighting in what they believed against almost 1800 Mexican soldiers. That takes a certain type of man to do that. That is crazy. I also never knew that Santa Anna is one of the main reasons we have the gum, Chiclets today.
I did not know Mexico abolished slavery before America. But I am glad Texas decided to join the states later on. We would not be the nation we are today without them.
It is interesting that the defenders started with 189 and the Mexicans started with 6,000 and by two weeks in 600 Mexicans died and all the defenders died. The defenders started off with way less men and they still held strong while the Mexicans had many more fights and they had a good amount died quickly.
I never knew Texas was called “6 Flags over Texas” due to being under the flag of Spain, France, Mexico, the Republic of Texas, the Confederate States of American and of course now the United States.
It goes to show you, a well fortified position and enough ammunition can get the job done.
I never knew that Texas was apart of Mexico. Its amazing that 189 soldiers were willing to go to battle against 1800 soldiers. I do not think I have ever heard about this battle before.
Yet another iconic American tale which had a much darker side. It’s difficult to admit that slavery was one of the motivating factors behind this battle, but it’s something we have to acknowledge.
Also, it’s sort of ironic how Mexico greeted Texans with open arms and offered them Mexican citizenship.
I remember learning in another history class here about the romanticization of the Alamo. This is the first time though that I read anything on Santa Anna. Who would have thought that the general of the “enemy” at the time would end up moving here and contributing to chewing gum of all things!
I had no idea that Texas formed the Republic of Texas before joining the United States.
I never knew that Texas was ruled by over 6 different nations that’s crazy to think of.
So was the loss a positive thing? Because of the fact that we were fighting for slavery… I’m not to sure. that it was positive but we definitely lost some iconic hero’s during the battle.
189 vs 1800 wow thats a big difference, i figured texas has alot of space and area to occupy so ruled by 5+ different nations makes sense.
I had never had of the six flag saying about Texas. I knew that Texas was once part of mexico but never knew that over time it had six different flags for all the places that ruled it.
I never knew Texas had been under the control of so many different countries! I knew Mexico, but not the rest!
I knew the Americans lost in the Alamo, but I never knew it was such a slaughter of the defenders.
I can’t believe that every defender had died fighting and later claimed several survivors were taken prisoner by the Mexicans and promptly executed.
It’s just unbelievable that every defender at the Alamo had died whether it was in battle or by execution.
I chew gum non stop so thank you Santa Anna !
I remember in high school talking about the battle at Alamo. We didn’t get into much detail about it so I don’t remember too much.
I never knew Texas use to be apart of Mexico.
I like that Mexico had already banned slavery and didn’t let the Americans bring their slaves along if they wanted to become citizens of Mexico. It was interesting to learn about the history of Texas and why there is the saying “6 Flags over Texas”.
It always seemed to me that Texas really does want to be its own actual country instead of part of the US.
I find the most interesting thing is that Texas has had a hectic past dealing with all kinds of different governments. There is so much history there.
I recognize the phrase, “Remember the Alamo,” but I thought it was weird we barely talked about it in history classes. I think Texas has an interesting background of gaining independence.
its kinda ironic that Mexico offered Texas to get citizianship to mexico. It was just another battle influenced by slaves.