During the next few years, American settlers filed into Texas more than Mexico expected which made the cushion region become a threat. By 1830, the American settlers outnumbered the Mexican settlers which included the slaves the white settlers brought with them. Because there
ANNEXATION OF TEXAS
was a rule that abolished slavery the white settlers showed disrespect to it so the Mexico tried to abolish slavery to stop more immigration from the United States. Between this and the Mexican military presence, this began for the independence of Texas.
Once Texas successfully won their independence from Mexico, they became “Republic of Texas”. Later part of 1836 Texas voted overwhelming for annexation. The Texas minister of Washington D.C. proposes the annexation but the administration of President Van Buren told him that it was not likely to be. The President of Texas was President Mirabeau B. Lamar, (1838-1841), he opposed annexation and did not want to open any window for annexation. One of the reasons the United States did not want it is because it went against the scruples of the Constitution and they were afraid of aggravating their political relationship with Mexico and afraid of war against Mexico. (.) But what influence it the most was that Texas was a slave state with its eastern portion heavily committed to cotton cultivation. The annexation would upset the delicate balance of the thirteen slave states and the thirteen non-slave states currently making up the country. (.) The most perception of the United States people was that the Texas population was largely consistent of undesirables.
A big burden on Texas was the debt that they inherited because they had no industry. With a new president, Samuel Houston, he implemented settlement policies so that it would entice immigration from the United States and Europe. He was hoping that this would bring economic growth to a very small minority. The cotton from Texas attracted higher prices from Europe than
ANNEXATION OF TEXAS
from the south in the United States and the slavery-based economies were moving west toward Texas. Texas had established diplomatic relations with both Britain and France. This caught the eye of the United States government and they wanted in no uncertain terms to have Texas be part of the British Empire. The British were against annexation and wanted to use force to prevent it. In addition, by preventing the annexation it would prevent the westward expansion of the United States along with reaping the advantages of Texas trade. (.)
The United States did not want Texas a follower of Great Britain so the government proposed annexation. President Houston, upon careful restraint consented to the negotiations of a treaty of annexation. The United States Senate rejected this. Upon the presidential election year, the annexation of Texas became a big issue. James Polk was in favor of annexation while President Tyler felt that certain resolutions needed to be taken care of and that Texas could become a state under certain conditions. President James Polk became president. Before Polk was inaugurated, Congress voted for the annexation and Texas became a state in December of 1845.
The white settlers in Texas wanted the annexation the United States was where they were born. Both peoples of the United States and The Texas Republic urged the government of Texas to accept the offer by the United States. One benefit was that even though it took ten years to be annexed, it was a blessing for Texas because the United States government agreed that Texas
ANNEXATION OF TEXAS
would retain all of its public lands and that the United States would pay five million dollars to ease Texas’s debts. Upon the annexation, the United States went to war with Mexico. The victorious America came in control of the southwest and of California under the Treaty of Guadalupe in 1846. Unfortunately, the slave population grew tremendously which continued throughout the twentieth century.
Besides the cotton trade, Texas became very prominent in the cattle industry and then later in the oil field.
Most Americans felt that expansion would come in time but without any international war. They also felt that when the time was right that provinces would fall right into place into the American hands. As time went by, the American people got impatient and headed west on their own. They faced many hardships along the way; they struggled through hard terrain, hard weather and sickness. Nevertheless, they conquered.
ANNEXATION OF TEXAS
References
Davidson, J.W., DeLay, B., Heyrman, C.L., Lytle, M.H., Stoff, M.B., (2011): Experience
History-Interpreting America’s Past; Vol. 1 To 1877
.
Zinn, H., (2005): A People’s History of the United States-1492-Present; HarpersCollins
Publishers
