Address on the annexation of Texas, and the aspect of slavery in the United States, in connection therewith: delivered in Boston November 14 and 18, 1845 Page: 4 of 56
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4
that the spirit which the occasion requires is to be evoked
from the apathy and indifference which pervade the community.
I
say again, Let us deliberate. I know full well, - I feel it
deeply,- that Massachusetts must be prepared for early action,
or fail to redeem the pledge she has given to the country.
Many eyes are turned on Massachusetts. By common consent
she occupies the front rank in the struggle of the Free
States against the extension of slavery, and by her conduct
she must prove whether she will continue true to herself and
an example to them. For the reason, therefore, that we occupy
a conspicuous position, and are made responsible for
important consequences, and because the manner in which
we perform our duty ought not to be disregarded, I earnestly
desire that the brief opportunity which is afforded by every
meeting like the present may be used for deliberation, and
that our deliberation may manifest such a spirit as will
render our action what it should be, dignified, discreet, and
effectual.
In considering the subject before us, I do not propose at
this time to enter into all its details, or to dwell upon any of the
facts relating to it, except those which are of recent occurrence.
The plot for the annexation of Texas, in its earlier
stages, was marked by a succession of incidents, which but
slowly developed the foul purpose in which it originated, and
did not lead nmany to suspect the means by which it was to
be accomplished. At the Faneuil Hall Convention in January,
1 attempted to recotunt them, and, tedious as was the
task, I did not find it difficult to show, that, from the outbreak
of the insurrection in the department of Texas consequent
upon the abolition of slavery in AMexico, every step that was
taken to promote a revolution, and to establish temporarily
a new government, was taken under the advice, and chiefly
through the agency, of slave-holders belonging to the United
States, who were intent upon defeating the anti-slavery policy
of the Mexican republic, and sought at the same time,
through the accession of a vast slave-holding territory, to extend
and perpetuate the power of the Slave States in this
Union. This design, as recently avowed by Mr. Calhoun,
was scarcely concealed by his firiends in their first movements
to obtain the recognition of Texan independence, and
immediate annexation therewith ; and although at that time
partially firustrated, anid afterwards obstructed firom the want of
executive co6peration during the administration of Mr. Van
Buren, the evidence is conclusive that it was tenaciously ad
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Phillips, Stephen C. Address on the annexation of Texas, and the aspect of slavery in the United States, in connection therewith: delivered in Boston November 14 and 18, 1845, book, January 1, 1845; Boston. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth2361/m1/4/: accessed April 27, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.