Proceedings of the senate and documents relative to Texas from which the injunction of secrecy has been removed 28th congress, 1st session

United States Senate

Published by Government Printing Office, Washington DC, 1844

About this Item

119 pages. Octavo (8 3/4" x 5 3/4'0 bound in black pebbled cloth with gilt lettering to cover. (Streeter: Texas: 1542) First edition. In 1843, U.S. President John Tyler, then unaligned with any political party, decided independently to pursue the annexation of Texas in a bid to gain a base of popular support for another four years in office. His official motivation was to outmaneuver suspected diplomatic efforts by the British government for emancipation of slaves in Texas, which would undermine slavery in the United States. Through secret negotiations with the Houston administration, Tyler secured a treaty of annexation in April 1844. When the documents were submitted to the U.S. Senate for ratification, the details of the terms of annexation became public and the question of acquiring Texas took center stage in the presidential election of 1844. Pro-Texas-annexation southern Democratic delegates denied their anti-annexation leader Martin Van Buren the nomination at their party's convention in May 1844. In alliance with pro-expansion northern Democratic colleagues, they secured the nomination of James K. Polk, who ran on a pro-Texas Manifest Destiny platform. In June 1844, the Senate, with its Whig majority, soundly rejected the Tyler Texas treaty. The pro-annexation Democrat Polk narrowly defeated anti-annexation Whig Henry Clay in the 1844 presidential election. In December 1844, lame-duck President Tyler called on Congress to pass his treaty by simple majorities in each house. The Democratic-dominated House of Representatives complied with his request by passing an amended bill expanding on the pro-slavery provisions of the Tyler treaty. The Senate narrowly passed a compromise version of the House bill (by the vote of the minority Democrats and several southern Whigs), designed to provide President-elect Polk the options of immediate annexation of Texas or new talks to revise the annexation terms of the House-amended bill. Condition: Spine ends chipped, corners gently bumped else a very good copy. Seller Inventory # MSH03

Bibliographic Details

Title: Proceedings of the senate and documents ...

Publisher: Government Printing Office, Washington DC

Publication Date: 1844

Binding: Hardcover

Condition: Very Good

Edition: 1st Edition