We now go back to the far East, for the state of Maine, our "Pine Tree" state, has now been developed, and its admission (1820) completes the coast line of states as far south as Georgia. The next state admitted is Missouri (1821), the "Iron," followed by Arkansas, the "Bear" (1836), to be followed in turn by Michigan (1836), the "Lake" or "Wolverine" state, the thirteenth state to be admitted; and the stars in our flag are now doubled.
The first census of the United States was taken in 1790, and the Constitution provided that it must be taken every ten years thereafter. In that year, the order of states in rank of population was as follows: Virginia first, Pennsylvania second, North Carolina third, Massachusetts fourth, and New York fifth.
The census of 1820 makes a decided change, we find, in the order of population, and New York comes first, Virginia second, Pennsylvania third, North Carolina fourth, Ohio fifth, Kentucky sixth, and Massachusetts seventh.
The states of Florida and Texas came into the Union in the same year--the one March 3 and the other December 29, 1845; and thereby hangs a tale. It had been claimed by our government that Texas was included in the Louisiana Purchase of 1803; but the Mexicans claimed it also, and, in 1819, in order to close the deal for the purchase of Florida, our government was obliged to relinquish its claim to Texas. At this time the possession of Florida was more desirable and necessary to the peace of our country than the {333} possession of Texas; it was under Spanish rule, overrun with outlaws and a most undesirable neighbor, besides being very necessary to the rounding out of our coast territory.
The Mexican War
The annexation and admission of Texas into the Union in 1845 came about through the pioneering and settlement of our people in her territory; where at first welcomed and encouraged by the Mexicans, they were later deluged in blood. The spirit of Americanism grew rampant under the barbaric and military despotism of the Mexican government, and in 1835 there was an uprising of the settlers led by a pioneer, an ex-governor of Tennessee, Gen. Samuel Houston, the man for whom the city of Houston, Texas, was named. At this time there were about ten thousand Americans in Texas, and on March 2, 1836, through their representatives in convention assembled, these Americans in true Revolutionary spirit declared Texas an independent republic. The Mexican government tried to put down this rebellion, but met with a crushing defeat, and Texas, the "Lone Star" state, remained an independent republic up to the time of her annexation and admission as a state of the Union.
The cause of the war with Mexico, then, was her resentment because Texas began to move for annexation to the United States. The fact that Texas had been for many years an independent republic and been so recognized by the United States, Great Britain, France, and some smaller countries, gave Texas the right on her part to ask for annexation, and the United States the right to annex her. But in order to bring Texas into the Union and save her people from the Mexicans, the United States was obliged to declare war against Mexico. This she did May 13, 1845, although Texas was not admitted as a state until December 29th of that year. The war lasted nearly three years, peace being declared February 2, 1848. As an outcome of the war the peaceful possession of Texas was secured, and also possession of the territory of California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, and a part of Colorado and New Mexico, for which territory, however, our government in final settlement paid Mexico, $15,000,000.
New States--1845-1861
During the Mexican War, Iowa (1846), the "Hawkeye" state, came into the Union, followed by the state of Wisconsin (1848), {334}the "Badger." Next comes the story of the "Forty-niners," and California (1850), the "Golden State," enters the Union; and then comes Minnesota (1858), the "North Star" State, and the Great Lakes are walled in, this state completing the circuit. Oregon, (1859), the "Beaver" follows, then the "Garden of the West," Kansas (1861), and the Civil War is upon us. Of course, we do not mean to say that Kansas was the cause of the Civil War, although it had much to do with it.
The Civil War--1861-1865