Lamar spent a great deal of money on his military efforts, which included an unapproved and unsuccessful expedition into New Mexico and a campaign to remove all Native Americans out of Texas. While Lamar needed to defend Texas against Mexican threats of invasion, his other military expenditures were ill advised. Lamar kept the Texas navy on active duty an equipped it with more ships. His relentless attack on Native American populations in Texas created a debt of about $2.5 million. Lamar also introduced a new paper currency during his presidency called the red back, but this currency only lost value adding to the nation’s debt. In addition, Lamar failed to borrow any money from the United States of Europe leaving Texas with a national debt of about $8 million by the end of his presidency. Student responses regarding spending legitimacy will vary. Responses should be supported with reasoning relevant to the time period.
