Texas voted in favor of joining the 
United States of America. 

Just 176 years later, could the state that made famous 

 Texas declared independence from Mexico.

 Nine years  later, Texas and the U.S. Congress voted in favor of 

 (when a new territory is added to a country). 

 Texas first voted in favor of annexation in 1836, but the U.S. gov't opposed it because of fears of conflict with Mexico and concerns about permitting another state into the Union that allowed slavery. 

Great Britain wanted Texas to remain independent in order to preserve their trade relations and prevent U.S. expansion

After years of debate, U.S. Pres. John Tyler proposed annexation in order to counter competition with Great Britain.

After negotiations between the U.S. & Texas, Congress passed an annexation resolution. Texas accepted the offer, but added unique terms. One example: Texas' right to retain title to its public land.

The U.S. Constitution maps out how a state enters the Union, but there's no legal roadmap for exiting.

Texas can divide itself into smaller states. Texas asserted its independence by stipulating its ability to choose to divide into five smaller states in the 1845 resolution: “

New States of convenient size not exceeding four in number, in addition to said State of Texas and having sufficient population, may, hereafter by the consent of said State, be formed out of the territory thereof 

Any change to statehood would require congressional approval. 

While not in an official Supreme Court opinion (or specific to Texas), the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia once weighed in on the issue of secession in the United States, replying in a 2006 letter, Justice Scalia wrote "

... the answer is clear. If there was any constitutional issue resolved by the Civil War, it is that there is no right to secede. (Hence, in the Pledge of Allegiance, 'one Nation, indivisible.'

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Texas to the USA 

Library of Congress OTD 

Timeline of annexation process 

Great Britain's role in annexation 

Why Texas cannot secede 

More about the "Divisionism"

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Emily Hooker