Letters, Relating to the History of Annexation Page: 20 of 30
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crs had been tile iiiicientt cause of' lhe imTinenflS c:hange of'
senitment in tlhe United States which had taken place in les?
than two years in its favor, it migllt be well to keep tlis
jealousy alive a little longer. The old proverb, "There is
many a slip," etc., might apply. The annexation measure
only obtained in the Senate by one vote,-a little reaction
in public opinion might change many votes perhaps, and the
question had to be referred to another Congress for " final
action," and might therefere be lost. It behoved the friendsr
of the measure to be prudent. The Secretary of State of
the United States, M'r. Buchanan, bears testimony to the
efficiency of this movement for the purpose now referred to,
in his despatch to Mr. Donelson of the 15th June, 1845,
where he says, " I regret that I have not time before the
departure of the messenger to express to you, as I coulcd
"desire, the feelings of indignation which the conduct of
"Capt. Elliot has excited throughout this country. These
"are not confined to any party, but pervade the whole corn"munity.
One of its good effects has been to render us, to
"a very great extent, a UNITED PEOPLE on the question of
" annexation." I was desirous to produce entire harmony
and unanimity in the United States on this subject, and it
appears from this " emotion " of Mr. Buchanan that I succeeded
tolerably well.
But even admitting that the measure had become so strong
in the United States as to be in no further need of support
there: Still the acknowledgtment of our independence bv
Mexico, which was obtained by these good offices, aflbrded
the former a very powerful argument with the latter, as was
long since seen. Mr. Slidell urged it as a main reason in
his correspondence; and the people of Mexico, feeling the
force of the act, afterwards sought to escape from its effects
by overturning the government, and Gen. Paredes adroitly
seizing the pretext, made it the means of placing himself in
power; and subsequently on the return of Gen. Santa Anna
from Cuba, in a manifesto to the people exculpatory of his
own conduct and inculpating that of his successors, he
charged as one of the enormities of Herrera, that " HE HAD
HASTENED TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE INDEPENDENCE OF TEXAs ! '
And the President of the United States in his annual message
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Jones, Anson. Letters, Relating to the History of Annexation, book, January 1, 1848; Galveston. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth2390/m1/20/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.