| The question of annexation. |
It was clear to all thinking minds that the next step after independence would be annexation to the United States. There is little question that Texas was big enough and strong enough to stand alone against Mexico, certainly with the aid which she was sure to receive from without and with the growth which she was destined to enjoy; but there was no natural boundary between the United States and Texas, and the inhabitants of Texas were chiefly Anglo-Americans. The natural boundary of the United States on the southwest is the desert between the Nueces and the Rio Grande, and the territorial extension of the United States to that limit was simply the fulfilment of the moral order of the world, which tends to make the lines of states correspond with the lines of physical geography and of ethnical differences. Except for the connection of the question of slavery extension with that of territorial extension after 1836, the question of the annexation of Texas would have been generally viewed in this natural and national light. That connection, however, made the North generally assume the attitude of opposition to annexation, while it greatly excited the desires of the South in favor of it.
| Webster on annexation. |
On his way homeward from the Congress which voted in favor of annexation, Mr. Webster made a great speech in New York, in which he declared himself opposed to annexation on the ground that it would extend slavery. Mr. Calhoun had, nearly a year before, as we have seen, declared himself in favor of it for the same reason. After these two declarations, from such leaders, the eyes of the people were open to every feature of the question, and it could not have been any longer a matter of intrigue.
| Texan proposition for annexation. |
In August, 1837, the Texan agent at Washington, General Hunt, proposed to President Van Buren the annexation of Texas to the United States. The President promptly and firmly declined, and the matter rested during the remainder of his Administration.
The sudden and unexpected accession of Vice-President Tyler to the presidency, in 1841, was the event which opened the way for the commencement of negotiations for annexation. The new President was known to be favorable to the project.