The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 24, July 1920 - April, 1921 Page: 253
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Donelson's Mission in Behalf of Annexation
nephew and former private secretary of Jackson, in his place. On
the next day he sent a special messenger to Donelson with the
following letter:
The state of things is such as to require that the place of Charg6
d'Affaires of the United States to Texas be filled without delay
and to select him, who, under all circumstances, may be thought
best calculated to bring to successful decision the great question
of annexation now pending before the two countries. After full
deliberation you have been selected as that individual, and I do
hope, my dear Sir, that you will not decline the appointment,
however great may be the personal sacrifice of accepting.
That great question must be settled in the next three or four
months, and whether it will be decided favorably or not may de-
pend upon him who may fill the mission now tendered to you.
Indeed I cannot tell you how much depends upon its decision
for weal or woe for our country and perhaps to the whole conti-
nent. It is sufficient to say, viewed in all its consequences, it is
of the very first magnitude, and it gives to the mission, at this
time an importance that raises it to the level with the highest in
the gift of the Government.
Assuming, therefore, that you will not decline the appointment,
unless some insuperable difficulty should interpose, and in order
to avoid delay, a commission is herewith transmitted to you, with-
out the formality of waiting your acceptance and the necessary
papers.3
Donelson accepted this appointment upon the urgent solicitation
of the government and his political friends, but at a great sac-
rifice of his private interests. Niles' National Register (Balti-
more), October 26, 1844, congratulated the administration upon
having been able to secure the services of one so "eminently qual-
ified in all respects for the station, whose knowledge of the re-
lations then subsisting between the two countries, and his inti-
mate acquaintance with the statesmen of both this and that coun-
try places him in the enjoyment of advantages which cannot fail
to secure the most desirable results."
ate in April, 1844, Donelson was asked to undertake new negotiations,
and accordingly was appointed in September, 1844, as representative
to Texas. He later served as minister to both Germany and Prussia.
After Pierce was nominated in 1859, he quit the Democratic party and
joined the American party. He was nominated for vice-president in
1850, but was defeated in the election which followed. He then retired
to private life and spent the rest of his time on his vast estate. Apple-
ton, Cyclopaedia of American Biography, II, 99.
SCalhoun to Donelson, September 17, 1844. House Exeo. Doe., 28th
Cong., 2 Sess., I, 36; Senate Doc., 28th Cong., 2 Sess., I, 36.253
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 24, July 1920 - April, 1921, periodical, 1921; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101078/m1/259/: accessed March 29, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.