Isaac Van Zandt and J. Pinckney Henderson to Anson Jones, April 12, 1844
Summary: Van Zandt and Henderson told Jones about the successful signing of a treaty of annexation between themselves and John C. Calhoun. Although it was not the most ideal treaty, they had to frame it so that the Senators of the United States (both North and South) would ratify it, which meant not directly asking for the protection of slaves, annexing Texas as a territory rather than a state, and leaving the question of the assumption of debts absent. President Tyler assured them that if the Senate rejected the treaty, he would call for a joint resolution to be sure of its passage. Van Zandt also received a promise from Calhoun that the United States would send army and naval units to Texas to protect against any aggression from Mexico until the treaty was ratified.
[Despatch No. 119.]
TEXIAN LEGATION,
Washington City, April 12th, 1844.
To the Hon. ANSON JONES,
SIR,
We have the honor herewith to transmit to you, a copy of the treaty which we have this day signed, with Mr. Calhoun, the Secretary of State of the United States. We do this hastily, as this Government will, on Sunday, despatch an express to Texas to convey this and other important intelligence to our Government.
The treaty we have agreed upon, you will readily see, is not precisely such an one as we expected to make or had a right to wish. But, after consulting the wishes and views of all parties concerned, we agred[sic] to it as the best we could frame with the prospect of its ratification by the Senate of the United States. Had we been left to consult the wishes and disposition of the President and Cabinet of the United States, we could and would have concluded a treaty much more favorable to Texas than the one we have signed. But such was not the case. We have been compelled to consult the views and wishes of the two great leading parties in the United States--avoiding on the one hand the very liberal terms which the Southern politicians would have been willing to grant us and the restriction which the North would wish to impose.
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Texas has in this case consulted, through her agents here, as far as she could understand and reconcile them, the wishes of all parties in the United States. Upon examination, reflection and consultation we concluded that the best mode of our admission was as a Territory. Consequently, we did not hesitate to agree to come into the United States in that way. By the terms of the treaty, you will see that we have the right to claim the preservation of all of our property as secured by our domestic institutions as well as to claim admission into the Union as a state or states, under the provisions of the Federal constitution of the United States
We have felt ourselves obliged to avoid any allusion, directly, either to slavery or boundary, leaving the one to the future negotiations of this Government, and the other to be governed by that clause of the treaty which secures to us the right of property, etc., which we understand to include our right to slaves, as the constitution of the United States recognizes that species of property. Indeed, we have, as nearly as we could, followed the language of the treaties ceding Louisiana and Florida to the United States, in order that those precedents might be referred to, to justify the language used in the present treaty. The manner in which our present debt is to be paid, too, did not entirely meet our sanction; especially as there is no distinction made by the treaty between debts due to speculators and the debts due to our own citizens, for civil, military and naval service, or to persons who generously furnished money and supplies for our army and navy when we most needed them. But it was deemed best to accede to the terms agreed upon, in order to obviate objections. The only inquiry with us was: What will the Senate of the United State agree to? and not, What can we get from the Executive of the United States? We very much wished to have this Government pay the dues to our army, navy, civil officers, etc., but we feared the consequences of such a provision; and therefore we agreed to the terms inserted in the treaty on that subject. The additional excuse is, that our people will be in a great degree repaid by the additional security given to them by the contemplated annexation.
We fear, too, that the President expected us to make better provisions for Texas on the subject of public schools, internal improvements, etc., etc.; but we are sure that he would have been well satisfied of the impropriety of inserting any better terms, had he been present here.
You will herewith receive the reply of Mr. Calhoun, made at our request to a note addressed by your undersigned representative, I. Van Zandt, to Judge Upshur, upon the subject of the assurance of protection to Texas by the United States, during the pendency of the
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treaty negotiations. We have no doubt that the President of the United States will act on this subject in a way that will fully meet the views and wishes of the President of Texas. We have strong assurances of this. The main body of the army designed for the protection of Texas, we have agreed, shall be concentrated and stationed at Fort Jesup. Those already at Fort Towson, New Orleans, and other places, near Texas, will remain where they now are; and it is understood and agreed that the President of Texas shall at once open communications with the commanding officers at each station, so as to give them the earliest possible news of any hostile demonstrations on the part of Mexico. The Secretary of State of the United States will superintend the issuance of orders to the different officers in command at the several stations above alluded to; which instructions we are assured will be such as to meet the wishes of our Government fully.
As it is not certain that the Senate of the United States will ratify the treaty which we have signed, the President of the United States assured us, before we agreed to sign and submit it, that he would immediately upon its rejection by that body, should it be so disposed of, send to both Houses of Congress a message, recommending to them, in the strongest terms, of the passage of a law annexing Texas as a state, under that provision of the constitution of this Government, which authorizes Congress to admit new states into the Union. The history of the debates and proceedings of the convention which framed that constitution prove beyond doubt that Congress has such power. And it is confidently believed by the friends of Texas in the Congress of the United States, that such a law can be passed. It was under this view of the case that we agreed to frame the treaty and submit it to the Senate of the United States, under such doubful chances for its ratification by that body, believing that this course will be fully approved by the President of Texas.
You will observe that we have fixed the time in which the exchange of the ratification of the treaty is to be made, at six months, which will render it necessary for the Senate of the United States to act definitely on it during the present session of Congress, and not leave them at liberty to delay that action until next winter, which many of the Senators wish to do, and probably would do, if the time given by the treaty permitted it. We would respectfully suggest to you and through you to the President, the propriety of delaying any action on the part of our Senate, until after the treaty shall have been ratified on the part of the Senate of the United State, as there is some doubt of its ratification here.
The assurance has been given to us by Mr. Calhoun, verbally, which we reduced to writing in his presence and by his consent and
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then read them [sic] over to him. They are as follows, to wit: A powerful naval force, to consist of ten or twelve vessels, will be ordered to the gulf of Mexico, the commander of which, Capt. Conner, will, upon any serious demonstration being made by water by Mexico against Texas, inform the Mexican commander that any attack upon Texas will be considered as a hostile act, and the Executive will feel himself bound to use every means to repel it--that the old division as established by Mr. Calhoun as Secretary of War, extending from Florida Point to the Southern extremity of Lake Michigan, has been restored, and Gen. Gaines been put in command of the Western Division and ordered to take up his head quarters at Fort Jesup, who will receive similar orders as to any demonstration by land, to those given to the naval commander as to a demonstration by sea, and that he and the Charge d'Affaires will keep up an active correspondence with the President of Texas; and if they should receive any communication from him, which he conceives threatens any serious intention upon the part of Mexico to invade Texas by land, they or either of them shall forthwith despatch the same to Washington City, by express--that the President will in that event send a message to Congress, informing them of the fact, and request Congress to adopt, as speedly as possible, such measures as may be necessary for the defence of Texas; and if the emergency should require it, to say in his message that he would in the meantime consider it his duty to defend Texas against aggression, and will accordingly do so.
In addition to the above, we received the accompanying answer from Mr. Calhoun to the communication above alluded to; which is communicated confidentially.
Mr. Calhoun expressed to us the wish of the President of the United States, that we should inform the President of Texas that it is his desire that Texas shall herself repel any light attempt on the part of Mexico to make war upon her frontier, and not call on the United States to render the promised aid unless the demonstration made by Mexico should be such as Texas could not easily repel. This we promised to do, and at the same time assured Mr. Calhoun, that the wishes of the President of the United States would be complied with by the President of Texas.
Much more passed between Mr. Calhoun and ourselves on this subject, calculated to assure us that everything would be done by the United States to protect Texas from the aggressions of Mexico, but which we cannot now mention.
Gen. Gaines will soon be at Fort Jesup, ready to receive any intelligence which the President of Texas may have to communicate in regard to the movements of Mexico, and to move into Texas at any
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time, by the permission of the President of Texas, when it may be deemed advisable.
We have the honor to be
your obt. servts.,
ISAAC VAN ZANDT
J PINCKNEY HENDERSON
P.S.
That portion of the foregoing despatch which is obliterated was done by the request of Mr Calhoun upon the same being read to him by us.
I.V.Z.
J.P.H.
Source Copy Consulted: Isaac Van Zandt and J. Pinckney Henderson to Anson Jones, April 12, 1844, George Garrison, ed., Diplomatic Correspondence of the Republic of Texas, Annual Report of the American Historical Association for the Year 1908, (Washington D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1911), 3 vols., 2: 269-273