The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 78, July 1974 - April, 1975 Page: 257
562 p. : ill. (some col.), maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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The Reluctant Imperialist
wrong, we go for our country." The editor added that this was not the
time "to discuss the propriety of his [Polk's] conduct."
Within a few days public meetings were held at courthouses throughout
the state, at which time numerous resolutions were passed in support of the
president. At the Columbia meeting Colonel F. H. Elmore told an enthusi-
astic audience that the Rio Grande had been the "recognised boundary"
of Texas since LaSalle's discovery, that the area was American territory
as much as the streets of Columbia, and that Texas's having been "polluted
by hostile footsteps," it was their duty to protect the state.9
One might have expected considerable public reaction to Calhoun's
position on the war bill. Some writers have suggested such.'o True, there
seemed to be some concern about his position and his failure to make a
public explanation. But there was only one weak open display of opposition.
A mild vote of censure occurred at a public meeting in Edgefield. Yet
shortly after, Colonel Francis W. Pickens, the alleged instigator, vehemently
denied any intention of censuring the senior senator and the local editor
said he had heard no one, in or out of the meeting, "strenuously object"
to Calhoun's stance on the war bill. Moreover, the senator's "very silence
was patriotism--the noblest of patriotism.""'
Privately, the entire South Carolina congressional delegation seemed to
be sympathetic to Calhoun. In both houses they voted to separate the army
supply bill from the declaration of war. Being unsuccessful and apparently
fearful of public opinion, all deserted Calhoun on the war vote. Congress-
man I. E. Holmes expressed the following sentiment: "Blunder and blunder
has at length been consummated by the greatest of all Blunders--sending
our Army two hundred miles from civilization or rather [from] population
to occupy the banks of the extreme River ... [and thus] evincing a spirit
of aggression [or], if you choose, annexation, which must startle Europe-
especially England."2
8Charleston Courier, May 21, 1846; Edgefield Advertiser, May 20, 1846.
9Charleston Mercury, May 23, I846. For reports of public meetings, see Charleston
Courier, May 23 (first and second quotations), June 4, 6, 1846; Edgefield Advertiser,
June 3, 1846; Abbeville Banner, May 20, 1846.
10Meigs, Calhoun, II, 385; Capers, Calhoun, 233-234; Wiltse, Calhoun, Sectionalist,
284.
11Calhoun to Anna Clemson, June 1 , 1846; Calhoun to James Edward Calhoun,
July 2, I846; Calhoun to Thomas G. Clemson, August 8, 1846, J. Franklin Jameson (ed.),
Correspondence of John C. Calhoun, Volume II of Annual Report of the American His-
torical Association for the Year 1899 (Washington, D.C., 1900oo), 695-696, 699, 705;
Edgefield Advertiser, June xo (first quotation), July I (second quotation), 1846.
12Holmes to James H. Hammond, May Io, 1846, Hammond Papers (Manuscripts Divi-257
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 78, July 1974 - April, 1975, periodical, 1974/1975; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth117149/m1/304/: accessed May 4, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.