Page:Confederate Military History - 1899 - Volume 1.djvu/263

Rh The messenger arrived just in time. He found agents of Great Britain and France at work to induce Texas to make a treaty with Mexico containing a solemn pledge that Texas would never become a part of any other nation. The fears of the intermeddling of European nations were thus fully verified. So successful had been the work of these European negotiators that a treaty had been already signed by the secretary of the state of Texas and ratified by the Mexican government. It had not yet been formally ratified by the government of Texas. The Texas convention met July 4th. The treaty with Mexico was unanimously rejected, and annexation to the United States was unanimously accepted. A constitution was speedily adopted and ratified by the people of Texas by a vote of 4, 174 to 312. Texas was admitted to the Union by joint resolution of Congress, which was adopted in the House December 16, 1845, by a vote of 141 to 56, and passed the Senate by a vote of 31 to 14, December 22d, and was approved by President Polk December 29th. The act extending jurisdiction over the State was approved the same day. Texas was now a State of the Union. Her contest with Mexico devolved upon the United States.

The Mexican war followed inevitably. Much has been said and written to prove that this war was precipitated by the administration. Mr. Benton attributes it to Mr. Calhoun. This was a mere continuation of the old Jackson-Calhoun quarrel, which had been dragged by Mr. Benton and others into every phase of the Texas controversy. The opponents of annexation assailed the administration and all who had taken part in annexation, using arguments familiar to those who have studied the course of the opponents of all territorial expansion. Slavery agitation and efforts to force geographical alignment had been added to the former implements of obstruction, but had failed to prevent annexation. The attack was now directed against the war. It was