O se hace la guerra en Tejas, O se pierde la nacion.
Benson Latin American Collection
University of Texas at Austin

The popular sentiment in Mexico, as voiced in this pamphlet, was that American annexation of Texas would be an act of war against Mexico.

However, the political climate in Texas then seemed to change. Sam Houston left the presidency late in 1844 and was succeeded by Dr. Anson Jones, who was elected without committing himself on annexation.

Once it became apparent that the United States intended to make an offer of statehood to Texas, England and France became more energetic in their attempts to keep Texas independent. The British and French chargés d'affaires persuaded President Jones to delay consideration of statehood for three months, to give them time to win Mexican recognition. Mexico agreed to arbitration, although she did so along with a threat from army commander Adrian Woll to resume hostilities if negotiations failed. Representatives of the four governments--Texas, Mexico, France, and Great Britain--met at Washington-on-the-Brazos to see if a solution could be found.

As a result of this conference, Mexico agreed to recognize Texas, on the condition that Texas never become part of the United States. President Anson Jones, who had succeeded Sam Houston, then suspended the state of hostility. Mexico had negotiated in good faith, only to discover that the momentum within Texas for statehood was so powerful that Jones, at this stage, could not have blocked annexation if he had wanted to.