Why was texas admitted to the union

When Texas joined the United States after nine years as an independent republic, it claimed even more territory than the , square miles it covers today. That northern tip poked above the Missouri Compromise line, which did not allow slavery north of latitude 36 degrees, 30 minutes. How would such a giant piece of the West be divided? Slavery would be prohibited in thinly populated West Texas, where many anti-slavery Germans had already settled.

But Southerners rejected that proposal as too restrictive of slavery. Van Zandt, like the Southerners, thought splitting Texas into a group of states would give the South more power. The only concession to the North: Slavery would be prohibited in any states formed north of the Missouri Compromise line.

In , Van Zandt ran for governor of Texas, promising to divide it into as many as four states. Dividing the state would give Texas more power in Washington, Van Zandt argued. But a proposal to split Texas into two states at the Brazos River failed in the state legislature, , in Most of its supporters came from east of the Brazos, another example of the widespread grievances between east and west Texas.

Senate rejected the treaty with a vote of , with much of the opposition coming from the slavery abolition wing of the Whig Party. But westward expansion became a major issue in the U. James K. After Polk won the election in November, President Tyler declared that the people had spoken on the issue of annexation, and he resubmitted the matter to Congress.

In February , the U. Congress approved a resolution that would bring Texas into the Union as a state. Texas would cede its public property, such as forts and custom houses, to the United States, but it could keep its public lands and must retain its public debt. The region could be divided into four new states in addition to the original Texas. And the United States would negotiate the Rio Grande boundary claim. British officials asked the Texas government to delay consideration of the U.

President Anson Jones, who succeeded Houston in , called a convention to write a state constitution in Austin on July 4, Texas voters overwhelmingly accepted the U.

On Dec. Congress accepted the state constitution, and Texas became the 28th state in the Union. The first meeting of the Texas Legislature took place on Feb. The entry of Texas into the Union touched off the War with Mexico, a war that some historians now think was planned by President James K. Polk to obtain the vast American Southwest. In February , right after Texas formally entered the Union, the general was ordered to move troops into the disputed area south of the Nueces to the mouth of the Rio Grande.

Mexican officials protested the move, claiming the status of the territory was under negotiation. After Gen. Taylor refused to leave, Mexican President Mariano Paredes declared the opening of a defensive war against the United States on April 24, President Polk devised a plan to raise 50, volunteers from every section of the United States to fight the war.

About 5, Texans saw action in Mexico. Steamboats provided an important supply link for U. Historical figures such as Richard King, founder of the legendary King Ranch, and Mifflin Kenedy, another rancher and businessman, first came to the Lower Rio Grande Valley as steamboat operators during the war. Much farther up the Rio Grande, the war was hardly noticed. The United States would not assume Texas' debt, but neither would it appropriate Texas' vast lands. These lands could be sold to pay off the debt.

Importantly, Texas would be admitted to the Union as a state, not a territory. It would be admitted as a slave state, though some of its northern territories could be carved into free states at some later time.

In early March , after significant amendments and additions by other congressmen such as Thomas Hart Benton, and with the full support of Tyler and President-elect Polk, Texas was informed that the United States was ready for annexation.

Upon Polk's inauguration, he also sent assurances that the United States would defend Texas in the event of a Mexican attack, an advantage that Calhoun had teased Texans with for months. The Texans had been doing some teasing of their own. Though no longer president, Houston remained the man to impress in Texas, and he had threatened, as subtly as possible, that Texas would draw closer economic ties to Britain, if the United States didn't act fast.

At a special session of the Texas Congress, the new Texas President Anson Jones offered two documents for the body to consider: a resolution allowing Texas to be annexed by the United States, and a treaty with Mexico, brokered by Britain, guaranteeing Texas' still-undefined borders with Mexico if Texas refused annexation. Though many Texans hoped that the United States could eventually be talked into assuming Texas' debt, most recognized that the time was right.

The treaty with Mexico was thrown out and the resolution for annexation was adopted, both unanimously. All that remained was the perfunctory ratification by popular vote in October. Once the outcome of this vote and the state constitution were transmitted to the U. Congress, a final resolution was passed admitting Texas to the Union as the 28th state. President Polk signed it on December 29, , and Texas was finally and officially a part of the United States. Cody K. An avid player of board games, he blogs at thediscriminatinggamer.

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