Scholars analyzed the primary source of Texas's Declaration of Independence to match the listed grievances with the following paraphrased statements. They then simplified the grievances into their own words and illustrated the meanings!
1. One of our citizens was imprisoned in a dungeon for a long time because he was trying to gain acceptance of our state constitution.
2. We have not been allowed the right of trial by jury, which protects the life, liberty, and property of the citizens.
3. The Mexican government has failed to establish any public education.
4. The soldiers stationed among us have committed acts of oppression and tyranny, making the military more powerful than the government.
5. The government has abolished our state legislature and our representatives had to flee. Thus we have no representation.
6. A number of our citizens were seized and taken to the interior of Mexico for trial, “in defiance of the laws and the constitution”.
7. “Foreign desperadoes” were commissioned to attack our ships, confiscating our property.
8. We are not allow ed to worship the Almighty “ according to the dictates of our own conscience ” because there is a national religion.
9. We are not allowed to own guns, which are essential to our defense.
10. Mexico has invaded our country by land and by sea with the intent of destroying our property and driving us from our homes, and now has an army advancing to wage a “war of extermination.”
11. Mexico has incited (encouraged) the Indians to attack our defenseless frontiers.
12. The Mexican government has been involved in many military revolutions, showing that it is weak, corrupt and tyrannical.
