History of Texas (1845–1860)
The tension was partially defused with the Compromise of 1850, in which Texas ceded some of its territory to the federal government to become non-slave-owning areas but gained El Paso.
[5] Due to the heavy influences of Jacksonian beliefs, the Constitution greatly discouraged the creation of companies and outright banning of banks.
The United States sent John Slidell to negotiate with the Mexican government, offering $25 million ($880,384,615 today) to set the Texas border at the Rio Grande and to purchase Mexico's provinces of Alta California and Santa Fe de Nuevo México.
Popular sentiment in Mexico was against any sale, and the army deposed President José Joaquín de Herrera when he appeared inclined to negotiate with Slidell.
Mexican troops retreated a short distance to regroup, and the following day the two sides fought fiercely in the Battle of Resaca de la Palma.
Throughout the official hostilities, the United States maintained two fronts—one in the Mexican interior south of the Rio Grande, and one in California.
The Wilmot Proviso, a bill that would have all of the newly seized territories be considered slave-free areas, caused more tension between both sides when it was first sent to Congress and was then blocked by Southern senators.
[13] Texas was a prime location for agricultural immigration, due to its numerous rivers and rich soil.
[15] German immigrants started to arrive in the early 1840s because of economic, social, and political conditions in their states.
The Meusebach-Comanche Treaty of 1847 allowed German settlers to travel through Native American territory without being harmed.
[18] With their investments in cotton cultivation, Texas planters imported enslaved blacks from the earliest years of settlement.
[20] In the late 1850s, settlers continued to push west and north, and by 1856 had begun settling parts of the Comancheria in large numbers.
Angry at the loss of their traditional hunting grounds, several bands of Comanche conducted raids on Texas settlers.
To protect settlers from Native American attacks, United States soldiers built forts to guard the roads between El Paso to San Antonio.
[26] The soldiers would also have their family live in the fort or nearby, with the wives and children doing chores, and would sometimes take their sons on scouting missions.
[28] In an effort to stop the violence and subdue the Comanche, in 1858 the Texas Rangers paired with members of the Tonkawa tribe—traditionally, enemies of the Comanche—for the Antelope Hills Expedition.
This was the first time any American forces had penetrated to the heart of the Comancheria, attacked Comanche villages with impunity, and successfully made it home.
The Southern States' fear of a Republican president changing the slavery policy of the union led to growing support for secession.
