The Correct Answer and Explanation is:
The correct answer is Sam Houston.
Mirabeau B. Lamar and Sam Houston were the two most dominant figures in the politics of the Republic of Texas, and they were also bitter political rivals with profoundly different visions for the nation. Their intense animosity fueled a constant back and forth of public criticism and blame for the Republic’s many challenges, especially its precarious financial situation.
Sam Houston, during his first term as president, pursued a policy of fiscal conservatism. He worked to limit government spending, sought peaceful relations with Native American tribes to avoid costly conflicts, and strongly advocated for the annexation of Texas by the United States, which he saw as the ultimate solution to the Republic’s economic and security problems.
Lamar, who served as Houston’s vice president and then succeeded him as president, vehemently opposed these policies. He championed an aggressive, expansionist vision of an independent Texas empire. As Houston’s primary political opponent, Lamar built his platform by attacking Houston’s record. He publicly blamed the Houston administration for the Republic’s financial struggles, portraying Houston’s cautious spending and diplomacy as weakness that had failed to make Texas strong and prosperous.
Ironically, it was Lamar’s own administration that plunged the Republic into a true financial crisis. His expensive policies, which included costly wars against the Cherokee and Comanche, moving the capital to Austin, and funding the disastrous Santa Fe Expedition, caused the public debt to balloon from about $2 million to over $7 million. Despite his own administration’s catastrophic spending, Lamar’s political narrative consistently placed the blame for Texas’s deteriorating financial condition squarely on the shoulders of his predecessor and rival, Sam Houston.
