American soldier William Barret Travis instructs in his letter “Commandancy of the Alamo” that Texans – and all Americans – should fight for their independence from Mexicans to honor not only himself but also the country. At Antonio, Texas in late February of 1836, Travis and other Texans were besieged by Mexicans; they were able to hold off the Mexican troops for two weeks without surrender, but on March 6, over 2000 Mexican soldiers inundated and killed Texans (Travis). Travis informs in his letter that the Mexicans under Mexican dictator Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna wanted Americans to voluntarily surrender. However, he indicates that he would “never surrender or retreat” because he must sustain the American character – liberty and patriotism …show more content…
O’Sullivan defines Manifest Destiny in order to support America’s decision to annex Texas, which was originally Mexican territory. O’Sullivan coined the term Manifest Destiny, the idea that Americans were destined by God to occupy and govern North America, in order to justify America’s annexation of Texas (O’Sullivan). After Texas was admitted to the Union, changes were made to her already republican government to mold her into America. In addition, O’Sullivan proceeds to address slavery and its role in annexation. He indicates that “annexation was a question with which slavery had nothing to do” (O’Sullivan). Then, he goes on to question whether there was any misery worse than slavery – an inferior to a superior race. No benefits of slavery were listed, nor were there attempts at explaining the evils of slavery. Besides Texas, O’Sullivan specifies other nations also joining the United States. He points out that “California [would] probably next fall away from the loose adhesion [of Mexico]” in addition to Oregon and Washington (O’Sullivan). Mexico would foolishly lose authority over California, and then California would become an independent state. By taking over land near the Pacific, America would then be able to expand and trade with eastern Asia. Thus, the spreading of America past the Mississippi River to the west coast would be immensely beneficial to trade and commerce for the