It’s High Time We Messed With Texas

The trouble can be traced all the way back to the 1844 presidential election, in which James K. Polk narrowly defeated Henry Clay for the presidency. In terms of the popular vote, the race was close: 49.5 percent to 48.1 percent. As has so often happened since, the Electoral College result distorted reality, leaving Polk’s 170–105 margin looking like a more convincing win than it was. As it happened, he carried New York and Pennsylvania, the most delegate-rich states, by just 1 and 1.9 percent, respectively. As we like to say today: Turnout matters.

Why did this one matter? Because the Democrat Polk campaigned openly on the by-any-means-necessary annexation of Texas, while Clay and his Whig Party opposed it. Once in office, Polk set about trying to fulfill his promise. He first attempted to bribe Mexico, which wasn’t interested. Then he just invaded. The Republic of Texas ended at the Nueces River, north of the Rio Grande, but Polk sent his armies south. In other words, we were the aggressors, a point worth reflecting upon in this week of our overdue departure in defeat from another country we invaded. There, Polk ginned up a Mexican attack on U.S. soldiers into a casus belli; we declared war and won. Congress, as usual in such matters, went along—although a freshman Whig congressman from Illinois challenged Polk’s aggression. But Abraham Lincoln’s position was a minority one, and it was so unpopular he didn’t even seek reelection.

That, in a nutshell, is how the United States got Texas. And I haven’t even mentioned: The whole point in wanting to nab Texas for the Southerner Polk, who owned a number of slaves, including about a dozen children, was to expand slavery.