HCR161 - Commemorating the 180th anniversary of the admission of Texas into the Union.

  89R20814 KSM-D     By: Lowe H.C.R. No. 161       CONCURRENT RESOLUTION          WHEREAS, December 29, 2025, will mark the 180th anniversary   of the admission of Texas into the Union; and          WHEREAS, After the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, the annexation   of Texas became a subject of discussion among politicians and   diplomats; in the first election following the establishment of the   Republic of Texas in 1836, its citizens voted overwhelmingly in   favor of annexation; however, the following year, when the   republic's minister proposed annexation to the administration of   U.S. President Martin Van Buren, the minister was turned down on the   basis of constitutional issues and the risk of provoking a war with   Mexico, and Texas subsequently withdrew its offer; Texas President   Mirabeau B. Lamar continued to oppose annexation, and in his second   term, Texas President Sam Houston renewed the annexation effort   with no success; and          WHEREAS, In the early 1840s, British policy toward Texas   caused a change of posture in Washington, D.C.; although Great   Britain had no intention of acquiring Texas, the British opposed   Texas annexation as England sought to bolster trade with Texans, to   prevent the westward expansion of the United States, and to   interfere in the American tariff system and institution of slavery;   alarmed by these goals, U.S. President John Tyler reintroduced   annexation; Texas President Houston ultimately consented to the   negotiation of a treaty, but it was rejected by the U.S. Senate in   June 1844; and          WHEREAS, President Tyler felt great urgency in the face of   British ambitions and developed a new plan to annex Texas by means   of a joint resolution imposing certain conditions; on February 28,   1845, the U.S. Congress passed the joint resolution, which included   the requirement for Texas to deliver all military, postal, and   customs facilities and authority to the U.S. government; on July 4,   Republic of Texas President Anson Jones presented to the Texas   Congress, and a popularly-elected constitutional convention, a   choice between annexation with the United States or a Mexican   treaty granting peace and official recognition of Texas as an   independent country; both bodies voted for the American proposal,   and the annexation ordinance and constitution drafted by the   convention were ratified by popular vote in October; on   December 29, 1845, the U.S. Congress approved the Joint Resolution   to Admit Texas as a State; it was signed by U.S. President James K.   Polk, and Texas became America's 28th state; and          WHEREAS, Residents of the Lone Star State take great pride in   their heritage as patriotic Americans, and it is indeed fitting to   recognize this historic date; now, therefore, be it          RESOLVED, That the 89th Legislature of the State of Texas   hereby commemorate the 180th anniversary of the admission of Texas   into the Union on December 29, 1845.