States
Annexation of Texas

Following the 16th century conquests of Hernando Cortez, Spanish forces extended their influence northward into what is the present-day United States. This expansion established a Spanish (and later Mexican) claim to much of the southwestern part of the United States and California.

Increasing numbers of American settlers filled the region north of the Rio Grande, particularly in the 1820s and 1830s. This resulted in a successful drive for Texas Independence and a later push for annexation.

The question of admitting Texas to the Union loomed large in the Election of 1844. Forces favoring admission included pro-slavery Southerners and people of all political stripes who feared (with some reason) that Britain was considering an active role in Texas. Opposing annexation were Northerners who objected to the spread of slavery on either moral or economic grounds, and those who predicted that admitting Texas would lead to war with Mexico.

President John Tyler waited until three days before leaving office to sign a joint resolution providing for the annexation of Texas, sparing his successor, James K. Polk, from making that momentous decision but saddling him with the prospect of war with Mexico. Despite peace attempts, the Mexican War began in 1846.

While the war was in progress the Wilmot Proviso was advanced in an effort to stop the spread of slavery.

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