80 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS land by bare majorities, it certainly led many anti- slavery Whigs to throw away their votes upon the "Liberty" candidate, James G. Birney, and thus surrender New York to the Democrats. The victory of the Democrats in November was re flected in the course pursued in the ensuing congress. One of the party watchwords, in reference to the Oregon question, had been fifty- four forty, or fight," and the house of representa tives now proceeded to pass a bill organizing a ter ritorial government for Oregon up to that parallel of latitude. The senate, however, laid the bill upon the table, because it prohibited slavery in the ter ritory. A joint resolution for the annexation of Texas was passed by both houses. Proposals for prohibiting slavery there were defeated, and the affair was arranged by extending the Missouri compromise-line westward through the Texan ter ritory to be acquired by the annexation. North of that line slavery was to be prohibited; south of it the question was to be determined by the people living on the spot. The resolutions were signed by President Tyler, and instructions in accordance therewith were despatched by him to Texas on the last day of his term of office, March 3, 1845. The friends of annexation defended the constitution ality of this proceeding, and the opponents de nounced it. After leaving the White House, Mr. Tyler took
