Thoughts on the proposed annexation of Texas to the United States Page: 25 of 55
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kANEXATION OP TEXAS. 25
But it is impossible to suppose that that government will con-went
to this. If she patiently acquiesce her days are numbered,
-and even our generation may well see Mexico itself in the grasp
-of this Republic. No people can submit to such an aggression-0o
people will.
There are two other matters connected with this branch of the
;subject, not unworthy of attention. Will England look silently
on this vast increase of territory ? If this question be asked without
reference to the merits of the annexation, I do not think it
requires an answer. If the acquisition of Texas be right in it-self,
if both republics assent, and Mexico do not dissent, England
has nothing to do with the matter. This nation should
never act, or hesitate to act, from fear of any power on the face
of the globe. The States of Europe have no right, uncalled for,
to interfere with the free governments of this hemisphere, and
they have at present as little disposition. I put this, therefore,
-altogether out of view.
How far England would directly or indirectly assist Mexico if
that Confederacy claimed her aid against an alleged violation of
her rights, is a very different question. War, though a very great
evil, is by no means the greatest of ills. Its character and its
-effects depend on its origin. Like the other scourges of the
Almighty, it is not always unattended by beneficial results.
High motives, national impulses may not only ennoble the contest,
but may make it bring forth great positive good in its
-effects on national character-from such a war he is no good
-citizen who would shrink whether with England or any other
power that ventured to infringe our rights. But a war of conquest-an
unjust-an unholy war is a very different thing. In
such a -oontest we should not !merely fear to engage with England,
but with the feeblest state that has an independent exist.nce-
A war waged wiith Mexico for conquest and plunder,
,based on no national inteiests-appealing to no national feeling-with
a divided people and embittered factions, would be a
hateful-a detestable contest, and whether Mexico were assisted
by England or not-equally pernicious to this country. No man
need hesitate to avow his fears of such a war.
RBut we are told that England will go even farther than thisthat
we must seize Texas to prevent her falling into the arms of
ithat power-to prevent her becoming an English Colony, and
this is undoubtedly the most plausible of all the reasons assigned
-for the measure.
The strength and policy of England are viewed by this country
with just jealousy. I have no intention of joining in any
-common or vulgar cry against that great nation. It is because
she is great-great in her history and her promise-in the genius
-of her nation and her prodigious achievements that she must l-
ays be our most formidable rival. Wielding a power for its reourcCes,
concentration and extent far greater than any which the
worid has ever aeen, she seems urged on by an insatiable lust of
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Sedgwick, Theodore. Thoughts on the proposed annexation of Texas to the United States, book, January 1, 1844; New-York. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth2387/m1/25/: accessed April 30, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.