Manifest Destiny and Expansion · US History

Why did the United States hesitate to annex Texas immediately after it won independence in 1836?

  1. Texas had no valuable resources for the U.S. economy
  2. The U.S. feared that annexing Texas would provoke an immediate war with Britain
  3. Concerns over the expansion of slavery and upsetting the sectional balance
  4. A lack of support from the Southern planter class
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Correct answer: Concerns over the expansion of slavery and upsetting the sectional balance

Presidents Jackson and Van Buren delayed annexation because they knew it would ignite a fierce debate over slavery. Adding a large slave state like Texas threatened to disrupt the delicate balance between free and slave states in the Senate.

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