I shall never surrender nor retreat: then I call on you, in the name of liberty, of patriotism, and of every thing dear to the American character, to come to our aid, with all possible despatch.
I never noticed that before. He didn't say "Texan" character, he said "American." That's significant, although I couldn't begin to tell why.
Here's some food for thought, though. It took a certain kind of man (and woman) to brave the harsh frontier & the Indians to come to Texas in the early 1800s. It was full of outlaws, rattlesnakes, and Indians who didn't take kindly to people encroaching on their land. I guess the Texans inherited their frontier spirit from their late-1700s, Revolutionary/Patriot ancestors, and it eventually morphed into the uniquely Texan bravado spirit that it is today.
See, Pardek? It all originated from you Yankees, so now you can stop rolling your eyes (although I'll acknowledge it must be nauseating to people who don't understand it). :-)
A lot of the early comers to Texas had lived or grown up on the edge of things in the Carolinas, Kentucky, and Tennessee...a lot the characteristics that went into those people made up a lot of the Texican character too...willingness to fight for home and hearth, and a lack of fear about living on the edge to get a better life.
Austin's father had been one of the early American comers to Spanish Illinois, (soon to be Missouri), a man with foresight and the desire to make something of the American wilderness. He and several others attempted to found a bank to aid in the growing business in St. Louis...wonder what would have happened to American history if his bank hadn't foundered and he went to plan two, set up a colony of Americans in Texas?
The only thing of value Yankees gave to Texas is Alfonso Soriano.