O'sullivan Annexation Of Texas

Manifest Destiny did not end at Texas however, and neither did the debates over slavery and consequently the power of the government. In O’sullivan;s essay , The Annexation of Texas Is Part of America’s Manifest Destiny, O'Sullivan celebrated the annexation but also made this prediction, saying that the weak Mexican government, distracted by the war, could never hope to hold onto the large Californian territory and that “Already the advance guard of the irresistible army of the Anglo-Saxon emigration has begun to poor down upon it, armed with the plough and the rifle, and marking its trail with schools and colleges, courts and representative halls, mills and meeting houses.” (O'Sullivan Annexation). O'Sullivan spoke of the spread of democracy

and culture, much in the same fashion as he originally had with manifest Destiny, when talking about the expansion to California. (O’Sullivan, Annexation 241). As the people continued to more forward, the old debate of slavery reared its head, arguing now not only over Texas, but over the inevitable new states as well. Like many Southerners, John C. Calhoun was concerned about the power of the nation government, especially when it was proposed that the compromise line be moved from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean and made a plea to the President about how the northern states sought to further alienate the southern states through abolishing slavery, saying “It is a scheme, Mr. President, which aims to monopolize the powers of this Government and obtain sole possession of its territory,” (Calhoun, John ). Many southerners agreed with Calhoun, believing that the north planned to take power from them all together and that the abolishment of slavery would be the nail in their coffin. This argument, sparked by Manifest Destiny would lead to the civil war, where America would decide once and for all whether or not it was a slave nation. (Rakestraw 259).