Date sent:        Tue, 16 Apr 1996 14:20:58 -0600


       The Annexation of Texas

 The rise of manifest destiny in the United States had a powerful impact on
all Americans and eventually led to war with Mexico.  The term Ōmanifest
destinyĶ, as used in the 1840Õs, described the inevitability of the continued
westward expansion of the United States (Berkin 356).  The annexation of Texas
which followed the American victory over Mexico was controversial but was
justified because the people occupying the land needed a civil government.
 After the Mexican revolution against Spain in 1821 it was a given that
present day Texas, New Mexican, Arizona, and California belonged to Mexico. 
However it was readily apparent that Mexico was having difficulty controlling
this vast region of land with a very diverse population.  The capital of Mexico,
Mexico City, was nowhere near the region of land it was supposed to be governing.
 The government in Mexico was constantly undergoing changes and wasnÕt even
capable of governing Mexico itself.  The fact that the government had no laws
preventing Americans from settling in the region of land that would later become
part of the United States caused an influx of pioneers.  These pioneers chose to
ignore Mexican customs and religion only to cause extreme tension between the
Texians, the Non-Hispanic settlers in Texas, and the Tejanos, the Mexican
settlers in Texas.  Also in present day Texas and New Mexico several Indian
civilizations such as the Comanches were not going to let anyone govern them that
easily.
 The Texas Revolution that broke out on September 29, 1835 showed that the
inhabitants of Texas, mainly American migrants, didnÕt think the Mexican
government and constitution they were supposed to abide by was adequate.  When
they did achieve independence the constitution that was written up was based
largely on the constitution of the United States.  One man responsible for this
constitution was Lorenzo de Zavala, a liberal politician, who felt that the
Mexican government was unsuitable for the ideals the people of Texas had and that
revolution and eventual statehood would be best for their way of life.  This
action was very important when talks of annexation to the United States were
brought up as a campaign issue in the presidential election of 1844.  The winner
of the election, James K. Polk, was hardly known and one of the reasons he won
was because of his position on expansion and manifest destiny.  He felt that the
regions of Oregon and Texas rightfully belonged to the United States.  In
conclusion, Americans needed to expand and the southwest was very promising for
would be farmers.
 There are several convincing arguments as to why the United States was not
justified in annexing Texas, one of them being it only was able to do so by
force.  Also there were those in the region that preferred to remain independent,
including the Indian groups mentioned above.  The war broke out not because of a
dispute over the border of Texas but because Mexico saw that Polk, the president
of the United States in 1845, was trying to steal the entire Southwest from
Mexico.
 Another reason the annexation of Texas wasnÕt justified was that many people
in the North and West were strongly opposed to it.  They felt this way because of
the issue of slavery.  It was almost certain that Texas would be annexed as a
slave state because of its location in the south and its agricultural way of
life.  Sectionalism between the North and the South was rising and the
abolitionist movement was also gaining popularity.  The addition of another slave
state would give the South more votes in congress causing an imbalance the North
wouldnÕt allow.  Most people werenÕt opposed to slavery at this point in time but
they were opposed to the expansion of it.  However the southernerÕs believed that
manifest destiny meant that the South was to expand to where cotton would grow
and slavery would be most profitable (Berkin 363).  The annexation of Texas is
one of the events leading up to the Civil War, showing how strongly some people
felt about it.  Congress started the war with Mexico by establishing the border
of Texas on the Rio Grande going against their word in the joint resolution. 
This resolution stated that Texas would accept any boundaries that might be
negotiated between the two countries.  This is indicative of how the United
States acted towards Mexico by making claims on territory that they had
absolutely no legal right to.