Earlier NewMexiKen discussed the 160th anniversary today of New Mexico’s conquest by the United States. Taking New Mexico from Mexico wasn’t too difficult (though it was part of a larger hard fought war). Taking New Mexico from Texas was another story.
Declaring its independence in 1836, Texas claimed the Rio Grande as its boundary from the Gulf of Mexico to the source in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado. [Map courtesy Wikipedia.] Even after it became a state in 1845, and even after New Mexico came under control of the U.S. Army in 1846, Texas maintained its claim. The Texas legislature in 1848 established Santa Fe County to include most of the disputed area.
Much of the seriousness of the contention over the land centered on slavery. If part of Texas, slavery would be permitted. If in New Mexico, probably not.
Matters worsened in late June [1850] when word arrived that a small convention in New Mexico had drafted and won ratification of a free-state constitution. [President] Taylor immediately called for New Mexico’s admission along with California’s; southern outrage flared to new heights; and the state of Texas vowed to secure its claims to all of New Mexico east of the Rio Grande, by force if necessary. Taylor ordered the federal garrison at Santa Fe to prepare for combat. By early July, it looked as if civil war might break out, pitting the United States against southern volunteers determined to secure greater Texas for slavery. (The Rise of American Democracy)
Taylor died July 9. Fillmore became president and defused the situation by laying aside New Mexico’s application for statehood. (If Taylor hadn’t gotten gastroenteritis New Mexico could have become a state 62 years sooner!) The resolution came as part of the Compromise of 1850. The boundaries of Texas were established as we know them (poor surveying and meandering rivers notwithstanding). In return, Texas received $10 million in compensation applied toward its debt (worth about $200 million today). The bill also established the territories of New Mexico (which included present-day Arizona) and Utah (which included present-day Nevada and western Colorado). The issue of slavery in those territories was ignored — for then.