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Rh President Tyler keenly felt the rebuke inflicted on him by the Mexican foreign office, and while yet writhing under it, in his message of December 19th, to congress, confined himself to comments on "the extraordinary and highly offensive language which the Mexican government had thought proper to employ." He believed Mexico's conduct merited punishment; but abstained, as he said, through a sincere desire to preserve peace, from recommending any measures of redress, and simply urged "prompt and immediate action on the subject of annexation."

Tyler's term of office was near its close. His successor, Polk, had been nominated as the candidate of the democratic party, on the pledge to carry out the immediate annexation of Texas. The democrats of the north had been forced at the party's convention to accept his candidacy, and to submit to the demands of the slave-holders of the south. Polk was elected, and stood as the champion of Texas annexation, representing the national will on that point.

The former plan of annexing Texas by treaty, involving its ratification by a two-thirds vote of the senate under constitutional provision, was now abandoned, Tyler having discovered, as he and the supporters of annexation claimed, that the object in view could be accomplished by means of joint resolutions