The Annexation of Texas: Causes and Effects

1. The Annexation of Texas: Causes and Effects Unit 7, Section One Notes

2. Problems that Led to Annexation Texas became its own country in 1836, but struggled with many problems as a new republic. Debt, disputes with Mexico, unrest in the army and between settlers, conflicts with Native Americans, and a lack of support from other countries were just some of the reasons why many Texans wished to be annexed and join the United States.

3. The Annexation Debate Most Texans wanted annexation, but others felt that peace with Mexico was a possibility if Texas stayed as a Republic. Many U.S. citizens did not want Texas to join because they feared that it would lead to a war with Mexico. Abolitionists, or people who fought for the end of slavery, did not want Texas to join the U.S. because it would add another slave state and could lead to a civil war.

4. Manifest Destiny Though many American’s feared Texas’ annexation to the U.S., many Americans also believed in Manifest Destiny, or the belief that the United States should stretch from the Atlantic to Pacific. They realized that adding Texas would help the U.S. achieve Manifest Destiny.

5. The U.S. Presidential Election of 1844 The Democratic Party nominated James K. Polk as their candidate for the 1844 election. Polk wanted Texas annexation. His opponent and the nominee for the Whig Party was Henry Clay. At first, Clay opposed annexation. But he was afraid of upsetting people in free states. So, he never took a stance on the issue and offended both the North and the South. Polk won!

6. The Annexation Resolution A joint resolution was soon passed by both houses of Congress for Texas’ annexation. In February of 1845, the U.S. Congress passed the joint resolution to annex Texas. If approved, Texas would able to enter as a state, but they would have to write a new constitution, give up some public lands to pay off debts, and give most of their military supplies to the U.S. government.

7. The Convention of 1845 Delegates from all over Texas met in Austin on July 4, 1845, and quickly approved annexation. They began writing a new constitution. On October 13, 1845, Texas voters approved annexation and the new constitution. On December 29, 1845, President Polk signed the Texas Admission Act, making Texas the 28th state to join the United States.

8. The Constitution of 1845 Under the new Texas Constitution, the government had three branches – just like the United States. The governor of Texas was the head of the executive branch and served a two year term. The legislative branch included the house of representatives and the senate. The judicial branch made up the court system, and judges were chosen by the governor.

9. Voting and Slavery in Texas In the new state, voters elected the governor and the members of the house and the senate. (And later, judges to the courts.) But only white men, 21 years old or older, could vote. African Americans, American Indians, and women could not vote. Though this sounds strange, it was like this in most U.S. states. Like in the Republic of Texas, the new state constitution also protected slavery.

10. Women in the New State of Texas Though women weren’t allowed to vote, they did have certain rights under the new constitution. They had property rights. A husband could not sell his family’s land without his wife’s permission. Married women could also own property separately from their husbands. These laws were rare to the United States, but they went all the way back to old Spanish laws that used to govern certain parts of Texas.

11. Financial Protection in the new Constitution The new constitution continued to protect homesteads, or families homes, from creditors. The constitution also banned banks, because most Texans distrusted them. The constitution kept the state legislature from being able to borrow more than $100,000 at once. This was an effort to keep Texas out of debt. Also, if you wanted to create a corporation, you had to have permission from the legislature.

12. Political Parties At first, political parties didn’t really exist in Texas. People just supported a candidate they liked, like Lamar or Houston. But soon after joining the United States, people started to join political parties. Texas had a two party system – just like today – except the popular parties were the Democratic Party and the Whig Party.

13. Democratic Party Most Texas leaders chose to join the Democratic Party. In fact, the Democratic party was so strong in Texas that every governor from 1845 to 1857 was a Democrat. But because they were so popular and didn’t have another party to fight with, they often fought amongst themselves. This caused problems in Texas.

14. Whig and Republican Parties Some Texans joined the Whig Party, which was a party that supported banking and large business. They also opposed annexation of Texas – so obviously they weren’t very popular in Texas. Eventually, the Whig party collapsed in the 1850’s over the issue of slavery. Many Whigs in the North joined the new Republican Party, which believed that slavery needed to be abolished. For that reason, there were very few Republicans in Texas.

15. Know-Nothing Party This party emerged in the 1850’s. They supported slavery and wanted to keep immigrants and Catholics out of government. Some people in Texas supported the Know-Nothing Party, but not very many. Some people spread rumors that Sam Houston had joined the Know-Nothings, but we don’t really know if that is true. When the party dissolved, most members became Democrats.

16. Compromise of 1850 Even though Texas joined the U.S., not all their debt issues disappeared. In 1845, Texas owed over $10 million. They tried to pay back some of the debt by selling land, but not that many people were interested. In order to pay off the debt, Texas made a deal with the U.S. Texas gave up their claim to 67 million acres of land in present-day Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Wyoming, and Oklahoma. In return, the U.S. paid of Texas’ debt completely by 1855.

17. Left Over Land Even after the deal with the U.S., Texas had a lot of unused land. The state gave a lot to settlers, each of whom could claim 320 acres, but the settlers had to live on the land and improve it in some way. The state also set aside more land for schools, colleges, universities, roads, and railroads. By 1898, there was no unclaimed land left in Texas.