The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 23, July 1919 - April, 1920 Page: 11
319 p. : maps ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
Texas Annexation Sentiment in Mississippi, 1835-1844 11
his charge, there is one respect in which he was perfectly consist-
ent throughout his entire public career,-and that is his zeal in
regard to expansion, an attitude which received the hearty en-
dorsement of his constituents. As a member of Polk's cabinet,
he urged upon the President at the time of the Mexican war the
acquisition of the whole of Mexico.26 In 1868 he advocated the
purchase of Alaska, St. Thomas and St. John. In this connec-
tion, he gave utterance to the following statement: "I have
never entertained any sectional views, or expressed any opinion
but those which embrace the welfare of the whole nation."27 With
Walker, as with Benton, westward expansion was a passion.
Throughout the period when the question of the annexation of
Texas was uppermost in the public mind, he acted in accordance
with the sentiment enunciated by Benton in criticizing the giving
up of Texas by the treaty of 1819: "The magnificent valley of
the Mississippi is ours with all its fountains, springs, and floods,
and woe to the statesman who shall undertake to surrender one
drop of its water, one inch of its soil, to any foreign power.'"2
During the period when Walker represented Mississippi in the
Senate,-that is, from 1835 to 1845-he advocated extreme pro-
slavery views, in this respect going even further than Calhoun
did; his pamphlet put forth in the heat of the campaign-"The
South in Danger"-bears out this view. It should be said, how-
ever, that by some it has been maintained that at heart he had
really no sympathy with the institution of slavery. It is one of
the ironies of history that Walker, the zealous advocate of the
annexation of Texas and the vehement defender of the slavery
interests of the South, should later have been instrumental in
balking the dearest'hopes of the section he represented for a de-
cade in Congress, by preventing the Southern Confederacy from
obtaining a sorely needed loan in Europe. This was accomplished
by his letters in the London Times in which he denounced Jeffer-
son Davis as a repudiator of his State's obligations.
Time only increased the apprehensions of the slave owners of
Mississippi as to the menace to the social and industrial fabric
of the South from the propaganda carried on by those openly
'"Diary of James K. Polk (ed. Quaife), III, 229.
2TWashington Daily Morning Chronicle, January 28, 1868.
28Cf. Turner, Rise of the New West, 133.
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Periodical.
Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 23, July 1919 - April, 1920, periodical, 1920; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101075/m1/17/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.