header by Emerson Taymor, 2005
2. The Conquest
United States Expansion
"The fact must no longer be disguised, that we, the people of the
United States must hold, and govern, under free and harmonious institutions, the continent
we inhabit."
New York Herald, 1844
"But the tide of emigration and the course of empire have since been westward.
Cities and towns have sprung up upon the shores of the Pacific . .
. Nor have we yet filled the destiny allotted us. New territory is spread out
for us to subdue and fertilize; new races are presented for us to civilize,
educate and absorb; new triumphs for us to achieve for the cause of
freedom.
North America presents to the eye one great geographical system . .
.; it is soon to become the commercial center of the world. And the period is
by no means remote, when man . . . yielding to ... laws more potent
than those which prescribe artificial boundaries, will ordain it (North America)
shall be united ... in one political system, and that, a free, confederated,
self-governed Republic."
Daniel Dickerson, U.S. Senator (N.Y.) in a speech before Congress January 12, 1848.
“This future state is admirably situated to become a powerful maritime
nation . . .
possessed as it must be by the Anglo-Norman race, and having none to enter
into
rivalry with it but the indolent inhabitants of warm climates, is
evidently destined to
fill a large space in the world's future history."
Charles Wilkes, commander of the 1841 United States Pacific Exploring
Expedition, on California
“The commerce of the world is to be ours, and both oceans are to be subject
to us. The splendors of Eastern cities which grew into greatness . . will
shine but dimly . . . an compared with the stately magnificence and colossal
structure of the cities which are to concentrate the rich elements of the
Valley of the Mississippi . . . under the culture of a people who for enterprise,
energy, and invention have no superiors—we may say no equals. "
Editor, Baltimore American
"We love to indulge in thoughts of the future extent and power of this
Republic--because with its increase is the increase of human happiness
and liberty . . .
What had miserable, inefficient Mexico-- with her superstition,
her burlesques upon freedom, her actual tyranny by the few over the many--what
has she
to do with the great mission of people in the New World with
a noble race? Be it ours, to achieve that mission! Be it ours to roll down all
the upstart
leaven of old despotism, that comes our way!"
Walt Whitman, Editorial, Brooklyn Daily Eagle, July 7, 1846.
"In other words, when a sixth of the population of a nation which has
undertaken to be refuge of liberty are slaves, and a whole country is
unjustly overrun
and conquered by a foreign army, and subjected to military law,
I think that it is not too soon for honest men to rebel and revolutionize. What
makes this duty the more urgent is the fact that the country
so overrun
is not our own, but ours is the invading army . . .This people
must cease to hold slaves, and to make war on Mexico . . ."
Henry David Thoreau, Civil Disobedience, 1849
from a speech by Stephen F. Austin, at Louisville, KY, March 7, 1836
... But a few years back Texas was a wilderness, the home of the uncivilized and wandering Comanche and other tribes of Indians, who waged a constant warfare against the Spanish settlements. These settlements at that time were limited to the small towns of Bexar, (commonly called San Antonio) and Goliad, situated on the western limits. The incursions of the Indians also extended beyond the Rio Bravo del Norta, and desolated that part of the country.
In order to restrain these savages and bring them into subjection, the government opened Texas for settlement. Foreign emigrants were invited and called to that country. American enterprise accepted the invitation and promptly responded to the call. The first colony of Americans or foreigners ever settled in Texas was by myself. It was commenced in 1821, under a permission to my father, Moses Austin, from the Spanish government previous to the Independence of Mexico, and has succeeded by surmounting those difficulties and dangers incident to all new and wilderness countries infested with hostile Indians. These difficulties were many and at times appalling, and can only be appreciated by the hardy pioneers of this western country, who have passed through similar scenes....
We have one [cause] which ought not, and certainly will not fail us--it is our cause--the cause of light and liberty, of religious toleration and pure religion. To suppose that such a cause will fail, when defended by Anglo-Saxon blood, by Americans, and on the limits, and at the very door of this free and philanthropic and magnanimous nation, would be calumny against republicanism and freedom, against a noble race, and against the philanthropic principles of the people of the United States....
The emancipation of Texas will extend the principles of self-government, over a rich and neighbouring country, and open a vast field there for enterprise, wealth, and happiness, and for those who wish to escape from the frozen blasts of a northern climate, by removing to a more congenial one. It will promote and accelerate the march of the present age, for it will open a door through which a bright and constant stream of light and intelligence will flow from this great northern fountain over the benighted regions of Mexico.
That nation of our continent will be regenerated; freedom of conscience and rational liberty will take root in that distant and, by nature, much favoured land, where for ages past the banner of the inquisition, of intolerance, and of despotism has paralized, and sickened, and deadened every effort in favour of civil and religious liberty.
But apart from these great principles of philanthropy, and narrowing down this question to the contracted limits of cold and prudent political calculation, a view may be taken of it, which doubtless has not escaped the penetration of the sagacious and cautious politicians of the United States. It is the great importance of Americanizing Texas, by filling it with a population from this country, who will harmonize in language, in political education, in common origin, in every thing, with their neighbours to the east and north. By this means, Texas will become a great outwork on the west, to protect the outlet of this western world, the mouths of the Mississippi, as Alabama and Florida are on the east; and to keep far away from the southwester frontier--the weakest and most vulnerable in the nation--all enemies who might make Texas a door for invasion, or use it as a theatre from which mistaken philanthropists and wild fanatics, might attempt a system of intervention in the domestic concerns of the south, which might lead to a servile war, or at least jeopardize the tranquility of Louisiana and the neighbouring states.