The
Convention of 1836 was the meeting of elected
delegates in
Washington-on-the-Brazos, Texas in March 1836. The
Texas Revolution had begun five months previously, and the interim government, known as the
Consultation, had wavered over whether to declare independence from Mexico or pledge to uphold the repudiated Mexican
Constitution of 1824. Unlike those of previous Texas councils, delegates to the Convention of 1836 were younger, more recent arrivals to Texas, and more adamant on the question of independence. As delegates prepared to convene, Mexican President
Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna led a large army into Texas to quell the revolt; the vanguard of this army arrived at
San Antonio de Bexar on February 23.