Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly volume 15.djvu/150

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140 CLARK E. PERSINGER

Democrats as yet refused to vote for Texas. Hannegan, of Indiana, later explained his action by calling upon the Senators from Missouri and Tennessee to bear witness to the fact that "up to the Baltimore convention" he had been "a decided friend to the immediate annexation of Texas." "What I saw which induced me to apprehend a breach of faith at that convention," he said, "it is unnecessary at present to detail. But my friend * * * knows that he repeatedly urged me to vote for the treaty, notwithstanding my apprehensions, and that I refused to do so, for I did apprehend that if Texas were brought in if we annexed Texas without some definite action on Oregon the Baltimore resolutions would be con- strued to mean all Texas and the half of Oregon with certain gentlemen" 1 and, looking at Colquitt, of Georgia, he re- peated it, "with certain gentlemen." The Senator from Missouri testified that what Hannegan had said was "per- fectly true," and the Senator from Tennessee confirmed the Hannegan explanation. Evidently Northwestern Democrats were already suspicious of Southern Democratic intentions as to Oregon and of the recently-made "bargain."

In the exciting campaign that followed, Southern Democrats concerned themselves chiefly with Texas, but did not forget to show an occasional "Texas and Oregon" banner, nor occasionally to unite the two issues in their public utterances. Northeastern Democrats for awhile considered the advisability of bolting the Democratic congressional ticket in the hope of defeating the annexation of Texas, but finally gave it up as a hopeless task, and quietly voted the regular party ticket. Northwestern Democrats emphasized the advantages of Texan annexation, pledged the party faith to the "whole of Oregon," and united the two issues at every opportunity : "Texas and Oregon; Oregon and Texas, always went together"; 2 "every- where they were twins ; everywhere they were united." 3

When the campaign of 1844 ended in Democratic victory, the Southern group once more pressed for the carrying out of


1 Cong. Globe, 29 Cong., i sess., 15, 388.

2 Hannegan, of Indiana, Mar. 5, 1846, as reported in Niles' Register, LXX, 22.

3 Same, as reported in Cong. Globe, 29 Cong., i sess., 15, 460.