On Sept. 15, just four years and a day after Mexican Independence Day was declared, the Guerrero Decree abolishing slavery throughout the Republic of Mexico was issued by President Vicente R. Guerrero. The decree reached Texas on Oct. 16. News of the decree alarmed Texans, who petitioned Guerrero to exempt Texas from the law. While Mexican officials announced in December that the status of slavery in Texas would remain unchanged, the incident convinced many Texans that their interests were not safe under Mexican rule — an opinion that helped fuel the Texas revolution.