Contrary to many historians, the deciding factor in Texass annexation was not the colorful personalities involved but the U.S. Constitution, which shaped the incentives and constraints they faced. Although Texas was barely annexed by a simple majority, analysis of the political players preference rankings reveals that it could have been annexed less contentiously under a supermajority procedure-which would have made the history of the Lone Star state far less consequential.
Constitutional Rules, Political Accidents, and the Course of History
New Light on the Annexation of Texas
By Jennifer Roback Morse
This
article
appeared in
the Fall 1997 issue of The Independent Review.
Other Independent Review articles by Jennifer Roback Morse | |
Fall 2015 | Conscience and Its Enemies: Confronting the Dogmas of Liberal Secularism |
Fall 2000 | The Appeal of the Empire of Lies |