The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 50, July 1946 - April, 1947 Page: 61
582 p. : ill. (some col.), maps ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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The Annexation of Texas
the most important issue and declared that the object of the
South was "to add new weight to her end of the lever." They
said, in effect, that annexation would be unconstitutional and
would justify "dissolution of the Union" by the free states.
A typical paragraph said: "We hesitate not to say that
annexation ... would be identical with dissolution. It would
be a violation of our national compact, its objects, designs ...
and we not only assert that the people of the free states ought
not to submit to it, but we say with confidence, they would not
submit to it. . .. To prevent the success of this nefarious project,
to preserve from such violation the Constitution of our coun-
try," and so forth, annexation must be defeated.
The legislatures of Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, and
other southern states adopted resolutions arguing the right of
the United States to annex Texas and declaring annexation
necessary in order to prevent England from gaining control of
the province and using it as a base from which to work against
slavery in the United States. Indiana, Massachusetts, and other
northern legislatures protested emphatically against annexation.
The Whig State Convention of Connecticut adopted a reso-
lution in the fall of 1843 that gave great offence in the South.
It resolved,
that the annexation of the Republic of Texas, a foreign and independent
state, to our union will be a most palpable and flagrant infraction of the
Constitution of the United States, alike inconsistent with the healthful
administration of the government and dangerous to our liberties, and must
inevitably break up and destroy our glorious union.
These and many other declarations were addressed to Con-
gress and found their way into the newspapers. No action was
taken by Congress, but the agitation affected the question of
annexation.
IX. ANNEXATION BEGINS TO MOVE
Soon after coming to the presidency the second time, Presi-
dent Houston cautiously reopened the subject of annexation.
He instructed the Texas charge d'affaires in Washington to find
occasion to inform the government that Texas would consider
the subject. On December 23, 1842, Isaac Van Zandt, who had
recently taken the post at Washington, wrote that President
Tyler and the majority of his cabinet were anxious to annex
Texas but feared that a treaty for annexation might not com-
mand a two-thirds majority for ratification in the Senate.
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 50, July 1946 - April, 1947, periodical, 1947; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101117/m1/77/?rotate=270: accessed March 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.