The Annexation of Texas Essay Example

The annexation of Texas did occur. Texas is a part of the US and has been for a long time. The issue of annexing Texas is like the issue of abolishing slavery, where the opposition was strong, but it ended up going the other way. There was very strong opposition to the annexation of Texas. 

The annexation of Texas was a big debate during a time that was full of debates. Disagreements about slavery were heating up, especially after the compromise of 1820, causing slavery to be “excluded” north of the southern boundary of Missouri (Rathbun 462). But other than the battle for and against slavery, the annexation of Texas was a big issue. It seems that everyone was split on the issue, with prominent figures being Daniel Webster, Henry Clay, Martin Van Buren, and many others. The people that were prominently against the expansion impeded the expansion through the Jackson, Van Buren and Tyler administrations (Rathbun 459). 

There was a good amount of Americans that were all for expansion. According to Rathbun, “standard surveys of the nineteenth century typically depict westward expansion as inevitable and unopposed (460).” Westward expansion was something new and exciting during that time, so most citizens seemed to be okay with adding new territory and moving west. The people who were strongly opposed to the addition of Texas to the Union said that it would likely ignite war with Mexico and claimed it would turn the US on a road to “empire building” (Rathbun 459). Through many debates, treaties, oppositional speeches, the party against annexation made their stance clear. They fought HARD against anyone that was for the expansion, particularly former president John Tyler. 

John Tyler was the 10th president of the United States, and he had the goal of finally being the one to annex Texas. He saw it has a huge economic boost to the US (Rathbun 474). More people shifted to a positive opinion about adding Texas to the Union as they became “increasingly receptive to the transcendent claims of manifest destiny. (Rathbun 474).” Adding such a large territory gave them more land to explore. He was able to generate a base of supporters through his campaigning and showing how this new land would benefit the whole country. According to Rathbun, “Southern planters would monopolize the production of cotton while Northerners would acquire a vast new domestic market for manufactured goods (474-475).” Tyler also reportedly said in a letter to Daniel Webster, “Our course is too plainly before us to be mistaken. We must look to the whole country and to the whole people (Rathbun 475).”

Once John Tyler’s presidency ended, the debate for annexation raged on. While John Tyler was able to shift a lot of people’s opinions to positive ones, the opposition to the issue was still strong. John Quincy Adams was a big figure that opposed annexation, along with Adams who had opposed it from the beginning (Rathbun 480). They of course continued their fight against the expansion, and after many fights and treaties being shot down, change was imminent. James Polk beat Martin Van Buren in the presidential race and unlike Van Buren, James Polk was a big supporter of annexing Texas, vowing to finally annex the state (Rathbun 485). 

The people that opposed the movement for adding Texas to the US were generally people uneasy about the idea of manifest destiny. Rathbun (485) says, “the theologized ethic of manifest destiny was an ideological tonic for the whole range of seething anxieties that infused Antebellum America.” Looking at Manifest Destiny from a 2021 perspective, it’s easy to comprehend. The idea that we were made to expand and explore our territory, it’s not exactly a complicated concept. But in that time where the idea was beginning, it was terrifying for some people. Exploring unknown areas where unknown people could possibly be inhabiting the area can really make people fearful. Humans fear change. But the idea is one that of course worked as we have such a large territory in the United States now. It was an idea that was essential to make the United States what it is today.