ts territory. In August succeeding, a Constitution was
framed prohibiting emancipation of slaves (56) and authorizing
their importation into Texas, which was thereafter adopted by the
people of the Republic of Texas, under which Congress, by resolution
(December 29, 1845) formally admitted Texas into the Union--the
last slave State admitted.

As a sop to Northern "dough-faces," and to induce them to vote for
the resolutions of March 1st, it recited that the new States lying
south of latitude 36 deg. 30' should be admitted with or without slavery
as their inhabitants might decide, those north of the line without
slavery. In the subsequent adjustment of the north boundary line
of Texas, it was found _no part of it_ was within two hundred miles
of 36 deg. 30'; so all of Texas (in territory an empire, in area 240,000
square miles, six times greater than Ohio) was thus dedicated
forever, by law, to human slavery, in the professed interest of
the nineteenth century civilization. The intrigue, the bad faith,
the perfidy by which this great political and moral wrong was
consummated were laid up against the "day of wrath."

(56) How different is Texas' Constitution of 1876, the first
paragraph of which runs: "Texas is a free and independent State."

XV
MEXICAN WAR--ACQUISITION OF CALIFORNIA AND NEW MEXICO 1846-8

With Texas came naturally a desire for more slave territory. Wrong
is never satiated; it hungers as it feeds on its prey.

Pretence for quarrel arose over the boundary between Texas and
Mexico. The United States unjustly claimed that the Rio Grande
was the southwestern boundary of Texas instead of the Nueces, as
Mexico maintained. Mexico was invaded, her cities, including her
ancient capital, were taken, and her badly-organized armies
overthrown. Congress, by an Act of May 13, 1846, declared that
"by the act of the Republic of Mexico a state of war existed between
that government and the United States," and it virtually ended in
September, 1847, though the final treaty of peace at Guadalupe
Hidalgo was not signed until February 2, 1848. While the annexation
of Texas was regarded by Mexico as a cause of war, yet she did not
declare war on that ground.

The principle of "manifest destiny" was proclaimed for the United
States. In the prosecution of the war, with shameless effrontery
it was justified on the necessity that "_we want room_" for the
two hundred millions of inhabitants soon to be under our