Question #35a87
1 Answer
Texas was settled by southern plantation owners and would add a slave state to the union.
Explanation:
In the years leading up to the civil war there was a constant effort to maintain a balance of political power between the northern free states and the southern slave states.
Adding Texas to the Union threatened to upset the balance of power between the slave and free. It wasn't until a free state could be admitted at the same time as Texas as a slave state was Texas approved as a state.
A secondary reason was fear of starting a war with Mexico. Texas had been a part of Mexico before wining its independence from Mexico and declaring itself a separate nation. Mexico still regarded the state of Texas as part of Mexico. When America accepted Texas as a state it did start a war with Mexico.
