On this episode of Our American Stories, after winning its independence from Mexico in 1836, Texas faced a new challenge: surviving as its own country. The young republic struggled with debt, threats from Mexico, conflicts on the frontier, and political divisions over whether its future lay as an independent nation or as part of the United States. Meanwhile, the question of annexing Texas became tangled in the national debate over slavery and America's growing belief in Manifest Destiny.

Texas State Historian Monte Monroe tells the story of the Republic of Texas, from the presidencies of Sam Houston and Mirabeau B. Lamar to the political battle that finally brought Texas into the Union in 1845.

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