Sam Houston Had Two Hours to Write the Republic’s First Inaugural Address
On October 22, 1836, Sam Houston took office as the Republic of Texas's first elected president at Columbia, with two hours to prepare his inaugural address.
On October 22, 1836, Sam Houston took office as the first elected president of the Republic of Texas, in Columbia, a Brazoria County town that served as the Republic’s capital that fall. The new government planned the inauguration for December. When interim President David G. Burnet resigned unexpectedly, Houston had two hours to prepare his speech, according to the Texas Historical Commission. He gave it on the steps of the Capitol.
Riding his popularity after San Jacinto as “Old Sam Jacinto,” the Handbook of Texas records, Houston won the presidency in the election of September 1836, defeating Stephen F. Austin. Austin then accepted Houston’s offer to serve as secretary of state. He died in that office on December 27, 1836, at 43.
The First Congress of the Republic had convened at Columbia on October 3, with 30 representatives and 14 senators. The House met in a two-story frame house and the Senate in a smaller one. Vice President Mirabeau B. Lamar was inaugurated the same day as Houston.
Columbia did not stay the capital for long. On November 30, 1836, Congress met in joint session and voted to move the seat of government to Houston, the new town named for the president, which served as the capital for most of his first term. That term ran to December 10, 1838. The Constitution of the Republic of Texas barred a president from succeeding himself, so Houston left office and served in the Republic’s House of Representatives before winning a second presidential term.
The original Capitol no longer stands. A state historical marker was later placed at the site of the house where the Senate met. The Texas Historical Commission now lists a First Capitol of Texas State Historic Site at 226 East Brazos Avenue in West Columbia, as the town is known today. It is not yet open. The commission says the site will be developed with a replica of the original Capitol and a park with a path connecting monuments to the area’s history.
One hundred ninety years ago this week, a man with two hours’ notice stood on the Capitol steps in Columbia and took charge of a nation that had existed for less than eight months.
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