Fe Expedition sent by President Mirabeau B. Lamar, when he tried to persuade the residents of New Mexico to secede from Mexico and join with Texas. He was captured, put on trial, sentenced to death, and imprisoned for years. He escaped with the help of sympathetic Mexican Army officials, sailing back to Texas. José Antonio Navarro became a representative in the Republic of Texas Congress from Bexar County, Texas. Attempting to keep a balance of power, he worked closely with Senator Juan Seguin to promote legislation favorable to the Tejano citizenry, who were quickly becoming the political minority. Education was one such priority, working to bring academic institutions into the San Antonio area. He supported the annexation of Texas by the United States. In 1845, Navarro was instrumental in drafting the first state Constitution of Texas, ensuring future political rights for all people. He served two terms in the Texas Senate before retiring from politics in 1849. Slave ownership Like a number of other Tejanos, Navarro owned enslaved African-Americans. Between 1856 and 1864, he owned between six and nine enslaved people. As a legislator in the Mexican state of Coahuila y Tejas, Navarro introduced a bill known as the "Law of Contracts" which allowed enslaved people to be brought to Texas as indentured servants under contract, working to pay their debt in labor to their owners. Census records indicate that as early as 1850, Navarro owned an enslaved twelve-year-old boy named Henry. Later life In his retirement, Navarro wrote several historical and political essays about Texas and San Antonio's role in the Mexican Independence movement for the San Antonio Ledger. Ranching occupied much of his time in later years, and he spent most of each spring, summer, and fall on the San Geronimo Ranch, rich grasslands near Seguin, Texas, about 35 miles east of San Antonio. Navarro later sold his ranch and lived full-time in San Antonio, where he died in 1871. Legacy In 1846, the Texas Legislature named Navarro County south of Dallas to honor his service. In 1848, Navarro County's seat of government was founded, and José Navarro selected the name, Corsicana, for the town. A state historical marker identifies his Geronimo Creek Ranch in South Texas. Navarro Street in downtown San Antonio is also named for him. Casa Navarro State Historic Site in San Antonio is the original residence complex of José Antonio Navarro. He first bought