Independence and Annexation

Dr. R. Bruce Winders, Former Alamo Director of History and CuratorYoung Texas came of age quite youngAnd then she married Uncle Sam,She sewed her star fast to his flag,And it shall shine there while there’s a rag.— — “Uncle Sam & Mexico,”Rough & Ready Songster.New York: Cornish, Lambert, & Co., ca. 1848.One of the questions facing citizens of the Republic of Texas was whether or not to trade its status as an independent nation for a place within the federal union of the United States. President Mirabeau B. Lamar represented the faction strongly opposed to abandoning the Republic. Addressing the issue at his inauguration in 1838, Lamar said:I cannot regard the annexation of Texas to the American Union in any other light than as the grave of all her hopes of happiness and greatness; and if, contrary to the present aspect of affairs, the amalgamation shall hereafter take place, I shall feel that the blood of our martyred heroes had been shed in vain…Lamar’s pro-Republic stance, however, d...