Did Texas really join the United States voluntarily?

At 1845, an architectural commentator proudly announced: We accept the United States to join the Republic of Texas. ?

This sentence looks a bit like an American joke, but the fact is that it really happened in history, and even today, Texans are proud of it. Because Texas is the most special state in the United States, it is the only state that has been merged into the United States through peaceful negotiations and become a state in the United States.

Unlike the territory captured by the United States through war, Texas still retains great autonomy. Many Texans still proudly call themselves Lone Star and citizens of China. They consider themselves Texans or Lone Stars and China people are taller than Americans. The flag of Lone Star State still hangs on the state capitol in Texas.

Why is Texas so different from other federal countries in the United States? And why did Texas willingly merge into the United States instead of sticking to it and becoming an independent country? Next, let's talk about the most special state in America? Past lives, Texas.

1, American fancy Sao operation

Texas was originally ruled by Spanish colonists, but Texas is only a small part of Spanish colonies in North America. With the decline of Spanish national strength, these western colonies began to become independent. 182 1 year, Mexico declared its independence from Spain and officially became an independent country.

The land of newly independent Mexico is not small, and it can even be said that it was similar to the territory of the United States at that time, and Texas was just a province below Mexico at that time. But Mexico has a fatal flaw, that is, there are too few people and too few people to develop a huge territory. Mexico is inferior to the United States next door in attracting immigrants.

In order to develop remote land, Mexico has introduced a series of policies to attract immigrants. At that time, the land area in the United States was not enough to meet the needs of farmers, and the two sides hit it off. A large number of Americans went to Mexico for land development.

The American government not only failed to stop this kind of behavior, but even encouraged it. This must be something hidden. Since 1825, a large number of southerners from the United States have entered the land of Mexico. Texas has attracted a large number of Americans because of its vast territory and relatively suitable climate.

With the secret support of the U.S. federal government, even Mexicans would not have thought that in just a few years, the number of Americans in Texas has far exceeded that of Mexicans. The Mexican government is not stupid. If this continues, Texas may not even know whose territory it is, so it began to restrict immigration. But can the Mexican government in Water under the Bridge really get what it wants?

2. Independence of Texas

There are always several laws in Mexico that restrict Texas: controlling the number of immigrants and strengthening the management of local Americans, forcing them to learn Spanish and believe in Roman Catholicism? There seems to be nothing wrong with these bills. If Mexico continues to implement them in this way, these new Americans will certainly be assimilated by Mexicans for generations, but the Mexican government has miscalculated again.

The Mexican government raised taxes in several bills and banned the possession of slaves, which was the fuse that ignited the conflict between Mexico and Texas. Raising taxes is easy to say, but banning slavery is killing these American immigrants and even Mexicans. Because most of these Americans who go to Texas are farmers from slave-holding States in the south, but these places have a long tradition of slavery. How can you get the Mexican government to change it by decree? Isn't this moving the roots of those plantation economies?

Shortly after the promulgation of the Mexican law, Texas began to set off a massive demonstration and protest, but it was violently suppressed by the Mexican government. However, the conflict between the two sides will not weaken with the suppression of the Mexican army, but will deepen with the passage of time.

1835, Texas officially declared its independence from Mexico under the leadership of Houston and Sam, and the Mexican troops stationed in Texas were expelled by these rebels. The Mexican government looks down on it. Such a large piece of land can't be given away for nothing. So in 1836, the Mexican army and the Texan militia launched a fierce battle in the Alamo, which lasted for half a month and ended in a tragic victory for the Mexican army.

The Mexican army won Texas, but at the same time the Mexican government completely lost. The battle of the Alamo not only failed to break the backbone of Texans, but completely aroused their resistance.

Many Texans raised their guns and shouted? Don't forget the Alamo? Texan civilians joined the war against Mexico. Texans joined the army with guns and cooperated with their original Texas Legion. A month later, Texans in Sanjacinto got their revenge. In Houston, Sam led Texans to defeat the Mexican army with fewer victories, and captured Santa Anna, a senior Mexican officer, to force the Mexican government to sign a treaty and formally abandon Mexico's interference in Texas.

So far, from 65438 to 0836, Texas was officially recognized by the international community and became an independent country. In his last term, US President andrew jackson next door also announced that he recognized the acquiescence of Texas, Britain and France and other European countries. But it's not over yet. Why did Texas give up its status as an independent country and join the arms of the United States?

3. The attitude of the United States towards Texas and the United States.

The attitude towards Texas within the US federal government has never been consistent. On the one hand, the Democratic Party, which recognizes slavery, is of course in favor of Texas, while on the other hand, the Whig Party (* * * and its predecessor) has a drift attitude towards Texas. But in the end, the two parties agreed to support the integration of Texas into the United States.

But there is also a crucial issue. If Texas joins the United States, will it be an abolitionist state or a slave-holding state? This is not only related to the struggle between Whigs and Democrats, but also related to the opinions of Texans. You know, the last time Texans rebelled, it wasn't because Mexico abolished slavery. This is a lesson from the past!

On the other hand, Sam Houston, the first president of Texas, couldn't wait to start the merger negotiations with the United States. Do Texans really want to be independent? I don't want to, but I really don't have the strength.

As the first president of the Republic of Texas, Sam of Houston knew very well that Texas not only had a small population, but also could not support a large number of troops. And it's huge, sandwiched between two North American giants, the United States and Mexico, which makes Texas even more uncomfortable. To put it bluntly, Texans also understand that they lack independent strength. Instead of being annexed by the United States or Mexico again, it is better to start the accession negotiations first and strive for a better position. This is the real reason why Texans agreed to merge into the United States.

But this is just the idea of President Houston. After he stepped down at the end of his term, his successor, President Lamar, did not think so. He believes that Texas should continue to invade Mexico's territory to the west, thus forming a force that can compete with the United States. Even Lamar's idea has been endorsed by European powers such as Britain and France.

During Lamar's tenure, the proposal of Texas and China to join the United States was shelved. Instead, Texas and China began to build a large number of schools, issue their own national currencies, and establish the capitals of Texas and China. Texas independence no longer seems a foregone conclusion.

However, after Lamar became president for only one term, Houston and Sam came to power again, and Texas began to waver on the issue of integration into the United States or independent development. On the other hand, Houston, who was re-elected, hooked up with the new US President john tyler. John tyler not only supported the integration of Texas into the United States, but also insisted on the form of a slave state.

Finally, in 1844, the United States proposed Taylor? The Texas Treaty was finally signed by President Taylor three days before he left office. President Taylor's successor, President Polk, was also a president who supported the slave-holding states and greatly expanded. However, how could he let a piece of meat like Texas get away? Therefore, the integration of Texas into the United States was recognized by both sides for the first time.

Texas flag (left)

184565438+February, Texas officially became a federal state of the United States, which increased the territory of the United States a lot (the territory of Texas, which first joined the United States, was about one-ninth of that of the original United States, and later split into Texas, New Mexico, Kansas and Colorado. ).

4. What do Texans think of America?

Texans are ambivalent about America. Even in the 2 1 century, there are still a large group of Texans who think they are lone stars and China people, not Americans. Every year, Texas holds an independence parade. However, it is undeniable that Texas has become the territory of the United States, and there is no clause in the American Constitution that allows federalism to leave the United States.

The country in Texas's eyes

In the 2 1 century, Texas attracted a large number of American high-tech companies because of its unique low tax policy, and became the second highest federal state in the United States.

But even after more than a hundred years, Texas's position in the United States has not changed. Most obviously, Texas should be the only federal state in the United States that allows people to take long guns to the streets to buy food. This stems from the history of Texans carrying long guns against the Mexican army, and is also the reason why they are tough.

Texans carrying lone stars and flags.

It is definitely a wonderful flower in Texas, USA. The flag of Texas is still hanging high in the Texas Capitol, and the governor of Texas is still opposed by the people because he has not made two independent sentences. This is the son of Lone Star in Texas, USA.