"I mean to say that Congress can hereafter decide whether any states, slave or free, can be framed out of Texas. If they should never be framed out of Texas, they never could be admitted"
- William H. Seward
About this Quote
William H. Seward is suggesting that Congress has the power to decide whether any states, slave or totally free, can be formed out of Texas. He is implying that if Congress does not choose to form any states out of Texas, then those states will never be confessed. This quote is substantial because it highlights the power of Congress to make choices about the formation of states, and it also suggests that the development of states out of Texas is not a given. Seward's quote is a reminder of the value of Congress in figuring out the future of the United States.
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"If the present Congress errs in too much talking, how can it be otherwise in a body to which the people send one hundred and fifty lawyers, whose trade it is to question everything, yield nothing, and talk by the hour?"
