Sam Houston: List 2: An Unfair Treaty – Final Days

by Joanne Mattern
This biography tells the story of Sam Houston, who played an important role in the fight for Texas independence. Houston was the only person to be president of a republic, a U.S. senator, and the governor of two states.

Here are links to our lists for this book:
List 1: A Texas Hero – Serving His Country
List 2: An Unfair Treaty – Final Days
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. treaty
    a written agreement between two states or sovereigns
    To do this, the government had to get the Cherokee to sign a treaty, or agreement.
  2. protest
    express opposition through action or words
    He went to Washington, DC, to protest the agreement.
  3. capital
    a seat of government
    While in Washington, DC, Houston was told he should not be wearing his Cherokee clothing in the capital.
  4. colonel
    a commissioned officer in the Army or Air Force or Marines
    In 1820, Houston became a colonel in the Tennessee state military.
  5. politician
    a person active in governing or seeking power
    Houston was now a politician.
  6. stubborn
    refusing to change one's mind or ways; difficult to convince
    His nickname was "Old Hickory" because he was stubborn like hard hickory wood.
  7. criticize
    find fault with; point out real or perceived flaws
    Many people criticized Houston for running away.
  8. mission
    building used by a religious group doing humanitarian work
    The Alamo was a Spanish mission built in 1718.
  9. consecutively
    happening one right after another without gaps or interruption
    Texas law said he could not serve two terms consecutively, or in a row.
  10. controversial
    marked by or capable of causing disagreement
    During the 1850s, slavery was controversial in the United States.
  11. plantation
    an estate where cash crops are grown on a large scale
    They wanted slaves to work on their large cotton and tobacco plantations.
  12. secede
    withdraw from an organization or polity
    Many Southern states said they would secede (si-SEED) from, or leave, the United States if slavery were outlawed.
  13. Confederacy
    a group of Southern states that broke away from the U.S. in 1860–61
    This country would be called the Confederate States of America, or the Confederacy.
  14. retire
    stop performing one's work or withdraw from one's position
    After Houston retired, he and his family moved to Cedar Point on Galveston Bay.
  15. pneumonia
    a serious illness of the lungs that makes it difficult to breathe
    Finally, on July 26, 1863, Houston died of pneumonia (noo-MOHN-yuh).
Created on Thu Mar 19 15:27:54 EDT 2026 (updated Thu Apr 02 18:47:28 EDT 2026)

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