on of
Texas, the war with Mexico, and the last great compromise. Texas, a
province of Mexico after Mexico became free from Spain, received a
steady immigration from the American Southwestern States. These
immigrants became restive under Mexican control, declared their
independence in 1835, and practically secured it after sharp fighting.
Slavery, abolished under Mexico, was re-established by the republic of
Texas. From the character of its population, it seemed to gravitate
toward the United States. The keen eyes of the Southern leaders were
early fixed upon it. Annex Texas, and a great field of expansion for
slavery was open. Its votes in the Senate and House would be added to
the Southern column, and from its immense domain future States might be
carved. As early as 1829 Lundy's and Garrison's _Genius_ had protested
against this scheme. The time was now ripe for carrying it out. Calhoun
was again the leader. He claimed to be "the author of annexation," and
with good reason. He exchanged the Senate for Tyler's cabinet as
Secretary of War in 1844, the change being engineered by Henry A. Wise,
one of the rising men in Virginia,--for the express purpose of bringing
in Texas. A treaty of annexation was negotiated with Texas, and sent to
the Senate. There were difficulties; the Texans had cooled in their zeal
for annexation; and the American Senate was not over-favorable. To give
the necessary impetus, Calhoun,--so says Van Holst, in his excellent and
not unfriendly biography,--fell below his habitual sincerity, and
misrepresented a dispatch of the English Foreign Secretary, Lord
Aberdeen, as showing a disposition on England's part to get hold of
Texas for herself. It was a Presidential year; the Democratic convention
nominated James K. Polk of Tennessee, and passed a resolution favoring
annexation. But Calhoun had now shown his motive so plainly that the
country took alarm, and the Senate rejected the treaty. The Whigs
nominated Clay. He was believed to be opposed to the annexation scheme,
but his hunger for the great prize betrayed him into an equivocal
expression, which lost him the confidence of the strong anti-slavery
men. Again they nominated Birney,--taking now the name of the Liberty
party--and gave him so many votes that the result was to lose New York
and Michigan for Clay, and Polk was elected. The administration now
claimed--though in truth the combined Whig and Liberty vote put it in a
minority--that it had rece